To support the safety, environmental and anti-theft performance of all road vehicles being provided to the Australian market for the first time, the Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018 (RVSA) replaced the Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989 (MVSA) on 1 July 2021.
The RVSA introduced a Register of Approved Vehicles (RAV), an online publicly searchable database of vehicles that have met the requirements of the RVSA and been approved for provision to the Australian market.
Two pathways to RAV entry have also been established, type approval and concessional RAV entry approval. Further information is on the Road Vehicle Standards laws webpage.
The details of each vehicle approved for road use will be entered on the RAV.
Payment of type approval RAV entry charges
The Road Vehicle Standards Rules 2019 (the Rules) allow the Australian Government to charge an amount to enter a vehicle on the RAV via the type approval pathway.
Generally, the Rules require the RAV entry charge to be paid before a vehicle is entered on the RAV. However, a vehicle type approval holder may request to enter into an agreement with the department to pay RAV entry charges after vehicles have been entered on the RAV. A separate agreement is required for each RAV organisation, which may hold one or more type approvals.
The department will issue entities with such an agreement with a periodical invoice for the charges related to vehicles entered on the RAV via the type approval pathway since the last invoice. Invoice terms are strictly 30 days and failure to pay an invoice by the due date may result in the agreement being suspended or terminated.
Download a pre-approved RAV submitter agreement form.
After filling out the applicant's portion of the agreement, please complete an enquiry form and upload the file.
If the department agrees, a copy of the co-signed agreement will be returned to you within 14 days of receipt. Once you have received confirmation of your agreement, ROVER will allow you to enter vehicles onto the RAV without making a payment.
You may apply for this written agreement any time after your organisation has created an account in ROVER—even if you have not yet had your vehicle type application approved. You only require one agreement per organisation, no matter how many vehicle type approvals the organisation holds.
Resources
The following documents are for vehicle type approval and authorised vehicle verifier approval holders:
- Example of an XML file created using public data from the Road Vehicle Descriptor
- Guidance note—Adding a vehicle manufactured and/or imported under the MVSA to the Register of Approved Vehicles
- Guide to submitting a VIN to NEVDIS
- Guide to the Register of Approved Vehicles
- Guides and resources
- How to add your road vehicle to the Register of Approved Vehicles once specified conditions have been met
- RAV submission CSV template
- RAV tips: Submitting second stage of manufacture vehicles to the RAV
- ROVER guide: How to create a RAV submitter ID
- Vehicle Identification Numbers
- Written agreement for payment of RAV charge after vehicle entered on the RAV
- Guidance note—Amending entries on the Register of Approved Vehicles
You can also visit the RAV public search page.
(Note: the above documents are not relevant to holders of a concessional vehicle approval)
If you are aware of an error on the Register of Approved Vehicles, please notify the department via ROVER. The notification process requires you to identify the relevant record(s). Please use one of the following templates:
We will confirm when these records can be re-added to the RAV.