NVES and NVES Regulator Glossary of Terms

Last updated: 9 December 2024

Use this information to understand the common terms used to talk about the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard Act 2024 (NVES Act) and the NVES Regulator.

A glossary of terms has been developed to support users to understand commonly used terms and abbreviations in relation to the NVES Act and the NVES Regulator.

Term	Definition
ABS	The Australian Bureau of Statistics is the central statistical authority for the Australian Government and, by legal arrangements, provider of statistical services to Australian state and territory governments.
ADRs	The Australian Design Rules are the national standards for vehicle safety, anti-theft and emissions.
Attribute-based standard	Is a standard that is based on an attribute of a vehicle such as mass, or footprint (i.e. length and width), which is further defined by the limit curve.
BAU	Business as usual.
BCR	Benefit-cost ratio.
BEV	Battery electric vehicle, otherwise known as plug-in electric vehicles or ‘pure’ electric vehicles.
Car parc	A term that refers to all registered vehicles in Australia.
CO₂	Carbon dioxide, the key greenhouse gas expelled from the exhaust systems of internal combustion engines.
CO₂-e	Carbon dioxide equivalent is a single metric that takes into account the relative global warming potential (GWP) (defined below) of different greenhouse gasses and aligns them with carbon dioxide. For example, multiplying a mass of a particular gas by its GWP gives the mass of carbon dioxide that would produce the same warming effect over a 100-year period ). For more information please refer to the Department of Climate Change, Energy the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) Australian National Greenhouse Accounts Factors 2024.pdf
CBA	Cost-benefit analysis.
Units	A mechanism to track when a supplier beats its target and by how much.
DCCEEW	Australian Federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
The department	Australian Federal Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts
EV	Electric Vehicle. A vehicle that exclusively uses chemical energy stored in rechargeable battery packs to power at least one electric motor with no secondary source of propulsion.
Exemptions	Type 1 and/or Type 2 vehicles (MA, MB, MC, NA or NB1 category vehicles) that are not subject to the NVES due to an exemption instrument. Exempt vehicles are defined by a legislative instrument made under section 29 of the NVES Act.
FCEV	A hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle is an electric vehicle that is powered by electricity generated by a fuel cell that uses compressed hydrogen, as opposed to being powered by externally sourced electricity stored in an onboard battery like in a battery.
FLC	Fleet limit curve adjusts an individual vehicle’s CO₂ target (or a fleet’s CO₂ target) based on its average mass. In practice, this means that heavier and lighter vehicles have different targets that are appropriate to their size. Where a vehicle falls on the curve indicates how efficient it is for its size. If a vehicle’s results are above the curve, the vehicle is underperforming against the target. If a vehicle’s results are below the curve, the vehicle is overperforming against the target.
GVM	Gross vehicle mass is the maximum loaded weight of a vehicle while driving on the road.
GHGs	A greenhouse gas is any gas that contributes to global climate change. CO₂ is one of the key GHGs emitted by ICE-powered vehicles.
GWP	Global-warming potential is used to describe the relative potency, molecule for molecule, of a greenhouse gas, taking account of how long it remains active in the atmosphere.
Hybrid / HEV	A hybrid (electric) vehicle is a vehicle that is powered by the combination of an internal combustion engine and an electric motor, which is not able to plugged into an external source of power to charge its internal battery.
ICE	An internal combustion engine-powered vehicle solely utilises the power from its internal combustion engine and no other source of propulsion. ICE engines power cars that most Australians have historically driven and generally consume carbon-based fuels such as petrol or diesel. ‘Advanced’ ICE refers to ICE vehicles that have improved efficiency above what is currently available on the Australian market.
Infringement notice	An infringement notice is sent to a regulated entity when they have not complied with their duty to reduce their IEV to zero within two years. Entities may pay the amount specified in the notice, or they may challenge the notice by requesting a review or attending court.
Intensity	The carbon dioxide emissions intensity for vehicles is calculated using the method described in Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule 81/02 – fuel consumption labelling for light vehicles) and expressed in grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre (g/km). Vehicle emissions intensity is a measure of vehicle efficiency, not actual vehicle emissions, which depend on many real-world factors, such as the distance travelled, the nature of the driving, and road and traffic conditions.
IEV	An entity’s interim emissions value for a year is worked out by measuring the performance of each of the entity’s vehicles for the year against the set emissions targets for the year. A positive value indicates the regulated entity has not met the target for the year (the fleet’s average emissions are greater than the target). A negative value indicates the regulated entity has met the target for the year (the fleet’s average emissions are less than the target), and the entity will be issued units on the NVES Registry.
LCV	Light commercial vehicles are utes and vans. Under the relevant legislative framework (see Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule – Definitions and Vehicle Categories) 2005), we place NA (light goods vehicles) and NB1 (medium goods vehicles) in the light commercial vehicle category with exemptions available for some NB1 vehicles.
LZEV	Low and Zero Emission Vehicles is a catch-all term to describe: BEVs, HEVs and PHEVs.
MIRO	Mass In Running Order is mass of the vehicle with all fluids, standard equipment and 75kg for the driver.
Net zero	The United Nations defines net zero as a state where GHG emissions are as close to zero as possible, and where any remaining emissions are re-absorbed from the atmosphere, for example into forests or seas.
NEVS	The National Electric Vehicle Strategy sets out Australia’s ambition to improve supply and access to EVs, improve EV infrastructure and increase demand for EVs.
NVES	The New Vehicle Efficiency Standard is a legislative framework that regulates CO₂ emissions from vehicles, by applying an average CO₂ target to a suppliers’ fleet of new vehicles. The NVES becomes more stringent over time. Previously, this policy was referred as a Fuel Efficiency Standard.
PVs	Passenger vehicles are sedans, hatchbacks, SUVs and most 4WDs. Under Australian legislation (see Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule – Definitions and Vehicle Categories) 2005) cars are further sub-categorised. MA (passenger cars), MB (forward-control passenger vehicles) and MC (off-road passenger vehicles) are classified as passenger vehicles.
PHEV	A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle is a vehicle that is propelled by a combination of power from a battery that can be recharged by plugging it into an external source of electric power, and an on-board ICE engine, which also acts as a generator to recharge the battery.
RAV	Register of Approved Vehicles is the Commonwealth Government’s publicly accessible online database of vehicles that have met the requirements of the RVS legislation and been approved for provision to the Australian market.
Regulated entities	Under the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard Act 2024 (NVES Act) the NVES Regulator defines regulated entities as: The entity that holds a road vehicle type approval for a covered vehicle and that enters it on the Register of Approved Vehicles (RAV) for the first time. (NVES Act S.12(1) (a) to (d)) A road vehicle type approval has the meaning from the Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018 (RVSA) A covered vehicle is a Type 1 or Type 2 vehicle as defined in the NVES Act In general: Holders of road vehicle type approvals are vehicle manufacturers or original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), or distributors, suppliers or importers (domestic or international) that provide passenger vehicles or light commercial vehicles (up to 4.5 tonnes) to the Australian market A covered vehicle is a passenger or light commercial vehicle up to 4.5 tonnes Gross vehicle mass (GVM), unless a vehicle class is exempted from the NVES by a legislative instrument. Entry on to the RAV is an administrative step that must be completed by regulated entities for all vehicles before they are provided to the Australian market for the first time. Under the RVSA these regulated entities must hold a vehicle type approval and enter covered vehicles on the RAV. A vehicle type approval holder is responsible for ensuring ongoing compliance. Regulated entities must enter NVES-specific data onto the RAV from 1 July 2025 when compliance is enforced
ROVER	ROVER is the administration system for the Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018 within the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.
Type 1 Vehicles	MA (passenger car) MB (forward‑control passenger vehicle) a light off‑road passenger vehicle is in a class of road vehicle determined to have type 1 vehicle status in an instrument in force under section 29 (NVES Act).
Type 2 Vehicles	the NA (light goods vehicle) vehicle category the NB1 vehicle subcategory of the NB (medium goods vehicle) vehicle category is a heavy off‑road passenger vehicle is in a class of road vehicle determined to have type 2 vehicle status in an instrument in force under section 29 (NVES Act).
ZEV	A Zero-Emissions Vehicle, which is a vehicle with no tailpipe emissions. Where reference is made to a zero emissions vehicle for the purposes of NVES, it is taken to mean a vehicle that does not have an internal combustion engine and therefore does not produce CO₂ while driving. There may be other emissions, such as grid emissions from charging an EV or hydrogen electrolysis, and lifecycle emissions from manufacturing processes.