Australia’s existing vehicle emissions standards are set by Australian Design Rules (ADRs), which are legislative instruments under the Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989.
The ADRs specify the maximum level of emissions permitted by a vehicle under a specified test. [1] All light vehicles sold in Australia are tested to determine both fuel consumption and the level of CO2 emissions emitted and this information is displayed on the fuel consumption label on the windscreen of new vehicles.
The fuel consumption labelling standard (ADR81/02) requires the label to show fuel consumption of the car in litres/100km and the CO2 emissions in g/km based on a standard test. For electric vehicles, this label shows the vehicles energy consumption in Wh/km, expected range when fully charged, fuel consumption in L/100km and CO2 emissions in g/km based on a standard test. [2]
Light vehicles
All new light vehicles produced from 1 November 2016 are required to comply with the standards for emissions control for light vehicles (ADR79/04), which adopts Euro 5 standards, but some vehicles in Australia meet Euro 6 standards at the vehicle manufacturers discretion, which imposes tighter emission limits.
Petrol vehicles
Under Australia’s emission standards, vehicles fuelled by petrol, LPG or natural gas are required to meet emission limits for CO, HC and NOx. In addition, diesel and Euro 5 or later direct injection petrol vehicles must also meet a limit for the emissions of PM. The emission limits applicable to a particular vehicle vary according to vehicle mass, its fuel type and whether it is a passenger or light commercial vehicle. [3]
For more information on vehicle emissions standards, refer to the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities, and Regional Development.
Read more about the types of emissions and how to account for vehicle emissions.