As we move towards a more sustainable future, the Australian Government has introduced the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) to encourage more lower emissions vehicles on Australian roads. The NVES came into effect on 1 January 2025.
Established under the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard Act 2024(Opens in a new tab/window) (NVES Act) it sets carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions targets (emissions targets) for new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, such as utility vehicles (utes) and vans, entering the Australian market from 1 July 2025. The NVES applies to all new passenger and light commercial vehicles up to 4.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass (GVM).
Regulated entities (such as car manufacturers and suppliers that hold a vehicle type approval) must comply with set emissions targets for all new vehicles they bring into Australia, which they must meet or beat.
Over time, the emissions target is lowered. To continue to meet or beat the target, entities must provide more choices of fuel-efficient, low or zero emissions vehicles across their fleet.
Entities can still sell any vehicle type they choose, including sport utility vehicles (SUVs), sedans, four-wheel drives (4WDs), utes and vans, but they’ll need to sell more efficient models to offset any less efficient models.
To view the CO2 emissions of new vehicles covered under the NVES you can go to the Green Vehicle Guide(Opens in a new tab/window) (GVG).
The GVG helps consumers by providing user friendly tools to search for and compare the environmental performance and fuel consumption of new light vehicles (up to 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass) sold in Australia since 2004. It uses the CO2 emissions values for each light vehicle as the key measure for ranking and comparing all light vehicles.
Read our guide about the NVES and the NVES Regulator
We’ve developed this complete About the NVES and the NVES Regulator guide (PDF 6.09 MB) to support you to better understand what the NVES means for you and how it works in practice.
What’s inside?
- An overview of the NVES, who we are and why it matters.
- Key information about compliance obligations for regulated entities.
- Scenarios to explain complex topics such as interim emissions value calculation, final emissions values, unit issuance and trading.
- Guidance on our online systems and how they are used.
- Key dates and useful links for those seeking updates.
