Did you know that approvals under the Road Vehicle Standards laws are granted for seven years, unless revoked earlier, and will expire after this time unless renewed? This includes all Component Type Approvals (CTAs) and some Vehicle Type Approvals (VTAs) if they are not ‘Opt in’ (see below).
This means approvals lodged through ROVER at its inception in 2021 won’t be coming up to their seven-year renewal date until after July 1, 2028. So, the good news is, there is still lots of time for industry to prepare.
However, there are some other approval types referred to as ‘Opt in’ approvals. For these, a five-year time limit applies (this is covered in s5 of the Road Vehicle Standards (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Act 2018 – Federal Register of Legislation). The arrangements to obtain an ‘Opt in’ transitional approval only applied for six months after commencement of the RVSA on July 1, 2021.
These approvals, if still in force, will have expiry dates between July 1, 2026 and December 31, 2026. It’s worth noting that ‘Opt-ins’ do not make up the majority of current approvals in ROVER. More information on ‘Opt-in’ approvals and what they are is provided here. Until December 31, 2021, eligible holders of some approvals under the MVSA could transition to a RVSA vehicle type approval via an opt-in process.
The Department of Infrastructure has released a guide on ‘Reapplying for an expiring or expired approval’ which is accessible here.
The systems team within the Department is looking at the options for automated reminders to be sent out for expiring approvals and will advise all stakeholders once this functionality has been added to ROVER.
HVIA recommends that affected members familiarise themselves with the requirements to renew expiring approvals to ensure compliance for any existing approvals.