Vehicle Certification in Australia
Peter Robertson
Assistant Secretary
Vehicle Safety Standards
(Administrator of Vehicle Standards)
Vehicle Safety Standards (VSS)
• A branch within the Commonwealth
Department of Transport and Regional
Services
• Administers the Motor Vehicle Standards
Act 1989
• 56 Staff
VSS Top Structure
Assistant Secretary
Peter Robertson
Research, Audit and Recalls
Automotive Trade Policy
Certification
Keith Seyer
Director
Mike Kimberlee
Director
Alan Gascoyne
Director
Bob Seow
Team Leader
Audit
Allan Jonas
Team Leader
Standards
K C Wong
Team Leader
Used Vehicles
Roger Payne
Team Leader
New Vehicles
RVCS
Lawrence Glynn
Team Leader
Motor Vehicle Standards Act
Uniform National Vehicle Standards which aim to:
• make road vehicles safe to use;
• control emissions from road vehicles;
• secure road vehicles from theft.
Australia
• A federation of six states and two territories
• “Commonwealth” Government created in
1901
• Certain powers vested in the
Commonwealth – remainder in states
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Brisbane
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L. Torrens
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Perth
L. Frome
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AUSTRALIAN
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Adelaide
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AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL
TERRITORY
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Auckland
Sydney
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Newcastle
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NEW SOUTH
WALES
Wellingt
Christchurch
SOUTH ISLAND
Hobart
STEWART ISLAND
N EW Z EA L A N D
Jurisdictional Responsibilities
• Commonwealth - to point of first supply to
the market
• States and Territories - in-service regulation
(vehicle registration, licensing,
roadworthiness etc)
Australia
• Small Population
• 19 million
Population Comparison
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ADRs - The Australian Design Rules
• The national standards set under the
Act, against which road vehicles, trailers
and components are assessed
• Progressively being reviewed
• Policy intention to harmonise with ECE
Regulations where possible
New and Amended ADRs
• Justification via Regulation Impact
statement
• State and Territory agreement (two thirds
majority)
• This process is necessary before an ECE
Regulation can be applied in Australian law
Supply to the Market
• Requires an authority from the minister
(Administrator of Vehicle Standards)
• The authority is referred to as a Compliance
Plate Approval
Certification Streams
• Full volume - generally import or manufacture
more than 100 vehicles per year.
• Low Volume (Specialist and Enthusiast vehicle
Scheme) – up to 100 vehicles per annum per
vehicle category
• Ultra Low Volume
Full Volume
• Supply in unlimited numbers
• Must meet all relevant ADRs
• Full evidence
• “Standard Vehicles”
Certification in Australia
• Type Approval System
• Manufacturers arrange own testing
• Evidence submitted in summary form
electronically to VSS
• Verification through conformity of production
audit and test facility inspection
Certification in Australia
Vehicle Manufacturer
SE Forms
VSS
Discussion Items
Arranges
Own
Testing
Auditors
Test Facility
COP
TFI
Test Results
•The vehicle manufacturer sends a summary
of the the test results to VSS using a standard
form, called a Summary of Evidence (SE)
form
•There is one SE form for each ADR
•For some ADRs there is also a Selection
from Fleet (SF) form which indicates which
variant of a vehicle should be tested (worst
case)
Electronic Processing
•Electronic forms using a package called
Informed Filler is used
•Electronic forms allow VSS to collect the
tests results electronically and enter the
information directly into a database
•They also provide VSS and the manufacturer
an indication of errors on the form
Submitting Forms
•The manufacturer arranges for testing to the
appropriate ADRs and fills in the SE forms
•When they are ready, the manufacturer
attaches (electronically) the forms to a special
form called a Routing Slip
•The Routing Slip has a submit option which
sends the forms to VSS via HTTP over the
Internet
Receiving Forms
•When received there is an automatic check of
the manufacturer, the vehicle etc before the
form is accepted
•The forms are then unpacked from the
Routing Slip and their details recorded in the
database
•If the form has any errors on it VSS marks
the form for manual checking
Processing Forms
•Any errors found on the form either manually
or automatically, are reported back to the
manufacturer by a Discussion Item
•Discussion Items are automatically listed in a
secure part of the Web site so that the
manufacturer can see what errors have been
found with their forms and follow the
progress of the approval
Generating an Approval
•When all the errors have been resolved, and
the application has tests results for all
appropriate ADRs a Compliance Plate
Approval can be generated
•The approval is printed and signed, but a
notification is automatically sent to the
manufacturer electronically
Rapid Response
•If all the forms submitted are correct a new
application from initial receipt to signed
approval can be processed in less than half a
day
•Service standard is to complete process
within 32 days from the last receipt of
acceptable evidence
•About 1500 approvals are issued each year
using 7 staff
Productivity benefit
•RVCS computer system has reduced the
certification service standard from 90 to 32
working days
•The average response time is 24 calendar
days
•The response time for the major category,
passenger vehicles, has been around 6
calendar days
After the Approval
•Once the Compliance Plate Approval is
issued the manufacturer can supply vehicles
to the market
•Manufacturers are also required to provide a
Road Vehicle Descriptor (RVD) which
describes the vehicle and the various
options/variants, including photographs
•RVDs are publicly available on the Web site
Audit
•Because the vehicle testing is not conducted
by VSS, there is an audit program to inspect
the test facilities used by the manufacturers
•Manufacturer’s production and design
facilities are also audited
Test Facility Inspection
• 18-24 month intervals
• ISO Guide 25 as basis
Conformity of Production Audit
• Audit of production process
• Ensure ADR compliance
• 18-24 month intervals
• ISO 9000 series as a guide
Discussion