Caravan Industry Association of Australia today welcomed the release by the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, Minister for Urban Infrastructure of the exposure drafts for a new Road Vehicle Standards Act.
This legislation will replace the existing Motor Vehicle Standards Act which has been in place for nearly thirty years and will modernise and strengthen the laws governing road vehicles including caravans and RV’s.
The announcement of today’s draft package of changes to the Road Vehicle Standards Bills will be available for public consultation in the New Year and is a welcome signal that long-awaited changes are moving forward.
“Our industry has been waiting for over four years for this legislation which will improve standards in the industry, and provide greater confidence for caravanning consumers” CEO Stuart Lamont commented.
“The caravanning and camping industry employs over 53,000 Australians and contributes a total value to the Australian economy annually that is an estimated $19.02 billion”
“We look forward to further working with the Government through the final formal consultation process which ends in February 2018.”
Caravan Industry Association of Australia is particularly pleased that the bill includes tougher measures in getting RV product onto the road for manufacturers and far-reaching penalties for businesses not adhering to their compliance obligations. In addition, powers within the bill will apply to all road vehicles supplied in Australia, regardless of origin.
Another important component is the introduction of the Register of Approved Vehicles, an online, publicly accessible database of vehicles approved for supply in Australia. This will be a huge deterrent to the supply market of stolen or re-birthed RV product.
“The Government and the Hon Paul Fletcher MP deserve great credit for their successful working through of complex measures which included extensive ongoing consultation with Caravan Industry Association of Australia. We look forward to the Road Vehicle Standards Act finally being legislated through Parliament in early 2018 and coming into effect from 2019.” Mr Lamont concluded.
Media Release: 14 December 2017
