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 Staff

VSS Top Structure

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

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

Australia But large land mass…..

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 VSS SE Forms Discussion Items TFI COP Auditors Vehicle Manufacturer Test Facility Arranges Own Testing

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 month intervals ISO Guide 25 as basis

Conformity of Production Audit Audit of production process Ensure ADR compliance month intervals ISO 9000 series as a guide

Discussion