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The Australian government commissioned an independent review of the Australian Design Rules (ADR) after criticism from car manufacturers that they were too onerous.
It has engaged Dr Warren Mundy to conduct the review, which will look at ways to improve the process of approving a vehicle for sale in Australia.
ADRs are national regulations that vehicles must meet to be sold here and cover everything from lighting to seat belts and crash protection.
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This is not the first independent review by Dr Mundy, who published his findings on the National Legal Aid Partnership (NLAP) earlier this year. He has also served as both an executive director and board member of organizations such as Melbourne Airport.
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The government invites members of the public to have their say on the 2024-25 ADR Harmonization Review. between now and Friday, January 24, 2025.
It notes that “the function of this review is not to review the content of individual NDRs”.
The review will look at how well our NDRs are in line with international standards and how they can be better aligned.
It will also consider the implications of streamlining the ADR harmonization process, as well as the risks and opportunities associated with adopting UN standards and “transforming” them into ADRs.
It will also consider “factors that are relevant to determining appropriate timeframes for ADR implementation”.
The review will “seek to identify practical changes to current harmonization practices that will reduce the regulatory and administrative burden of providing road vehicles to the Australian market and remove any unnecessary barriers to performance without compromising road safety objectives”.
The Government notes that Dr Mundy is particularly interested in feedback from stakeholders on how the process can be improved to reduce the cost and time it takes to bring a vehicle here, and how ADRs affect productivity and innovation , as well as a selection of vehicles on our market.
“Dr Mundy will bring a fresh perspective to regulatory frameworks that traditionally serve not only safety and emissions objectives but also protect local manufacturing,” Motor Trades Association of Australia (MTAA) CEO Matt Hobbs said.
“We applaud the Government for committing to an independent review of ADR, which will contribute to a competitive and safe market for all consumers.
“We fully support this review as an opportunity to address the outdated regulatory barriers that hinder the adoption of new technologies, particularly electric vehicles.
“Aligning Australian standards with international best practice will create a more competitive market and accelerate our nation’s transition to a sustainable future.”
Adverse drug reactions can often be more stringent than regulations in markets such as the UK and US.
For example, the introduction of ADR 85/00 – side impact characteristics in a pillar in 2021. resulted in countless vehicles being discontinued, although they were allowed to continue to be sold in other major markets.
This includes cars from Lexus, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Alpine.
Not surprisingly, two of these brands have been particularly vocal about the continued impact of NDR.
Nissan has blamed the Australian government’s requirement for child seat anchorage points with top strap for all second row seats – ADR 34/02 – as the reason for the electrical Aria The SUV took so long to launch here.
This requirement led Honda to simply introduce the current HR-V as a four-seater rather than investing in retrofitting the rear seat fulcrum configuration.
“What I would challenge is that because you are CBU [completely built unit] market with the government, help us compress that homologation,” Nissan regional senior vice president and chief planning officer Francois Bailly said earlier this year.
“If a car is homologated, let’s say in Europe, which is a very safe market, or us. Can we reduce the time? No value to the customer [to modify cars for Australian Design Rules].
“Can we compress this? That is what I would discuss or dispute.”
Nissan disputes that by harmonizing our regulations with those of major markets such as the UK or Japan, the time frame for type approval can be cut from 20 months to just six.
Mitsubishi subsequently urged the government to reform its type-approval and ADR processes “to support the delivery” of vehicles it wants to bring to meet the new Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES), which comes into force next year.
It is claimed that it can take 18 to 24 months for a vehicle to go through the Australian type approval process and be marked for sale in our market – not ideal when the new legislation comes into force on 1 January 2025. , with upcoming sanctions effective July 1.
Vehicles cannot be shipped until approval is issued by the government.
Mitsubishi is calling for all ADRs to be fully harmonized with UN regulations, or for Australia to at least adopt equivalent standards in other “advanced markets” such as Japan, the European Union and the UK, which it says will have no impact on vehicle safety.
He blamed local regulations for dooming the eK X electric car to our market, arguing that it would be “uneconomical” to introduce it here.
It also says ADR 69/00, which covers full frontal occupant protection, can be harmonized with European frontal impact requirements and has made an exception to ADR 61/03 (the Australian-specific VIN tag requirement) and ADR 81/02 (the requirement for a windscreen-mounted fuel consumption label).
MORE: Mitsubishi is joining the chorus calling for red tape to be cut around Australian car importsMORE: Australian design rules and ANCAP slow down new Nissan modelsMORE: How Nissan wants to make it easier to deliver more efficient cars to Australia
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