Authorised vehicle verifiers

An authorised vehicle verifier (AVV) is a corporation that has been approved to provide independent vehicle inspection and verification services under the Road Vehicle Standards (RVS) legislation.

An AVV's role is to give the department, road vehicle owners, and the public more broadly, greater assurance of the integrity of road vehicles modified or manufactured by a registered automotive workshop* (RAW). AVVs assess these road vehicles for their compliance with applicable national road vehicle standards.

When a corporation is granted an AVV approval, it can provide an independent road vehicle verification service:

for road vehicles manufactured or modified by a RAW in accordance with an approved Model Report
if required by specified conditions on an approval under the RVS legislation.

AVVs can only conduct road vehicle verifications in Australia and cannot apply for a RAW approval. Further, an AVV and its key management personnel cannot have shares or any other financial interest in an approved RAW.

An AVV approval is subject to any conditions specified in the approval. This includes a requirement that the AVV maintains a vehicle verification booking system where the department can access all details of bookings.

*Important: Under the RVS legislation, RAW approval holders can modify or manufacture road vehicles in accordance with approved Model Reports. They can modify specialist and enthusiast vehicles and used motorcycles to comply with the RVS legislation. They can also complete second stage of manufacture (SSM) in accordance with an approved Model Report. This enables road vehicles to meet the requirements of the concessional Register of Approved Vehicles (RAV) entry pathway.

Why AVVs are needed

Under the RVS legislation, certain vehicles cannot be entered on the RAV through the concessional RAV entry pathway until they have been:

modified or manufactured by a RAW approval holder in accordance with an approved Model Report, and
verified by an AVV.

A RAW approval holder (on behalf of a vehicle approval holder, or as the vehicle approval holder) engages an AVV to verify a road vehicle.

A concessional RAV entry approval holder, a non-RAV entry import approval holder or a reimportation import approval holder may also need an AVV's services if their approval includes requirements that the road vehicle, or modifications to the road vehicle, be verified by an AVV.

For more details about these approval types see Figure 1 below.

AVVs do not verify vehicles entered on the RAV via the vehicle type approval pathway.

To assist people seeking to engage an AVV the department publishes the business names and contact details of AVVs. This includes details of the states and territories where the AVV operates.

Figure 1. Types of vehicle approvals requiring AVV verification

Types of vehicle approvals requiring AVV verification

*Concessional RAV entry approvals may be granted for vehicles that satisfy an eligibility criterion in section 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 or 41 of the Road Vehicle Standards Rules 2019 (the Rules).

**Non-RAV entry import approvals may be granted for vehicles that satisfy an eligibility criterion in section 151 or 152 of the Rules.

***Reimportation import approvals may be granted for vehicles that satisfy the eligibility criterion in section 163 of the Rules.

What does a vehicle verification involve?

An AVV inspects a road vehicle to verify whether it has been manufactured or modified in accordance with:

an approved Model Report, or
specific requirements of an RVS approval condition.

When verifying a road vehicle manufactured or modified by a RAW in accordance with an approved Model Report, the AVV must, as a condition of their approval, comply with the requirements included in:

Verification of Road Vehicles Determination (section 106)

This Determination sets out the:

steps that must be undertaken by the AVV approval holder to verify a road vehicle
circumstances, or limits on the circumstances, in which the approval holder may be satisfied the signed declaration presented by a RAW approval holder is true and accurate
kinds of supporting material the approval holder may rely on or take into account when determining whether to verify a road vehicle
technology and equipment to be used in inspecting a road vehicle
calibration and maintenance of the technology and equipment
verification procedures and the verification checklist for conducting a road vehicle verification
procedures for identifying and assessing the degree of any damage or corrosion to a road vehicle
administrative matters, including records that must be kept and processes for notifying the department of a verification's results.

Different requirements for different kinds of road vehicles are also under section 106. For more information, please visit Road Vehicle Standards (Verification of Road Vehicles) Determination 2021.

Limit of Acceptable Damage or Corrosion Determination (section 107)

This Determination specifies the extent or types of damage or corrosion, or repair of damage or corrosion that would not prevent an AVV from verifying a road vehicle.

The Determination also clarifies the extent of damage or corrosion, or repair of damage or corrosion acceptable for the road vehicle to be modified, and when it must not be modified due to the level of damage or corrosion, for AVVs and the road vehicle industry more broadly.

For more information, please visit Road Vehicle Standards (Limit of Acceptable Damage or Corrosion) Determination 2021.

Authorised vehicle verifiers

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