2022

The Parliament of the

Commonwealth of Australia

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Presented and read a first time

Fuel and Vehicle Standards Legislation Amendment (Reducing Vehicle Pollution) Bill 2022

No.      , 2022

(Ms Tink)

A Bill for an Act to amend the law relating to fuel quality standards and road vehicle standards, and for related purposes

Contents

1............ Short title............................................................................................. 1

2............ Commencement................................................................................... 1

3............ Schedules............................................................................................ 2

Schedule 1—Amendments                                                                                                3

Fuel Quality Standards Act 2000                                                                             3

Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018                                                                           4

A Bill for an Act to amend the law relating to fuel quality standards and road vehicle standards, and for related purposes

The Parliament of Australia enacts:

1  Short title

                   This Act is the Fuel and Vehicle Standards Legislation Amendment (Reducing Vehicle Pollution) Act 2022.

2  Commencement

             (1)  Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.

Note:          This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.

             (2)  Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.

3  Schedules

                   Legislation that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.

Schedule 1—Amendments

Fuel Quality Standards Act 2000

1  Subsection 4(1) (at the end of the definition of fuel standard)

Add “or 21A”.

2  At the end of subsection 20A(2)

Add “, and (if applicable) the standard set out in section 21A”.

3  After section 21

Insert:

21A  Fuel standard for petrol

             (1)  On and after 1 January 2024, petrol must:

                     (a)  in relation to a parameter mentioned in an item of the following table, comply with the specification mentioned in that item (with compliance being determined using the testing method mentioned in that item); or

                     (b)  be of sufficient quality to enable vehicles of a kind to which Euro 6d relates to, at a minimum, comply with the requirements of Euro 6d.

             (2)  However, if:

                     (a)  a European emissions standard relating to vehicles that use petrol includes requirements that, if complied with, would result in petrol of a higher quality than petrol that meets the standard mentioned in subsection (1); and

                     (b)  that European emissions standard applies on and from a day (the start day) in a foreign country;

then, from the end of the period of 6 months starting on the start day for the first foreign country in which that European emissions standard applies, petrol must be of sufficient quality to enable vehicles of a kind to which that European emissions standard relates to, at a minimum, comply with the requirements of that European emissions standard instead of the standard mentioned in subsection (1).

             (3)  In this section:

% v/v means per cent volume by volume.

ASTM followed by an alphanumeric code means the testing method developed under that code by the standards development organisation called ASTM International.

Euro 6d means the European emissions standards known as Euro 6d, as in force from time to time.

mg/kg means milligrams per kilogram.

petrol does not include aviation gasoline (avgas) supplied for use in aircraft.

Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018

4  Subsection 5(1) (definition of national road vehicle standard)

Omit “section 12”, substitute “sections 12 and 12A”.

5  After section 12

Insert:

12A  National road vehicle standard for light vehicles

             (1)  This section sets out a national road vehicle standard for all road vehicles of a kind to which ADR 79/04 applies.

             (2)  In addition to the requirements of ADR 79/04, a road vehicle of a particular kind must comply with the requirements of Euro 6d for vehicles of that kind on and after the following day:

                     (a)  if the type of fuel normally used by the vehicle is diesel—the day this section commences;

                     (b)  if the type of fuel normally used by the vehicle is petrol—1 January 2024.

             (3)  However, if:

                     (a)  a European emissions standard includes requirements that, if complied with, would result in road vehicles of a particular kind having lower emissions than those that meet the requirements of Euro 6d for vehicles of that kind; and

                     (b)  that European emissions standard applies on and from a day (the start day) in a foreign country;

then, from the end of the period of 6 months starting on the start day for the first foreign country in which that European emissions standard applies, vehicles of that kind must (in addition to the requirements of ADR 79/04) comply with the requirements of that European emissions standard instead of the requirements of Euro 6d.

             (4)  In this section:

Euro 6d means the European emissions standards known as Euro 6d, as in force from time to time.