The New Vehicle Efficiency Standard Act 2024 establishes Australia's first legally binding fuel efficiency standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from specified road vehicles.
The objectives of the Act are to:
(a) Establish a vehicle emissions standard covering certain vehicles that will:
(i) Create economic incentives for the manufacturers and suppliers of such vehicles to provide models to the Australian market that emit less carbon dioxide; and
(ii) Provide consumers in Australia with a choice of vehicles that meet their work and lifestyle needs while also meeting the environmental expectations of the community; and
(iii) Be transparent, flexible and able to be calibrated over time according to policy needs; and
(iv) Be robust and based on the best available evidence and data; and
(b) Reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the transport sector, thereby contributing to the achievement of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets; and
(c) Give effect to certain obligations that Australia has as a party to the Climate Change Convention, the Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement.
