MIA surprised that Clean Car Standard includes motorbikes

The MIA has been surprised to learn that the Land Transport Clean Vehicles Amendment Act, which enables the Clean Car emissions standard that will come into effect on 1 January 2023, also applies to any importer of a road-going motorcycle.

The Act applies to any motor vehicle that weighs under 3500kg, but goes on to define vehicles that will incur penalties or earn credits under the Clean Car Standard (CCS) as light passenger vehicles like cars or light commercial vehicles including utes and vans.

“It all comes down to interpretation of the Act, and whether the section on the Clean Vehicle Standard only applies to light passenger and commercial vehicles, or all light vehicles,” says MIA Principal Technical Advisor Mark Stockdale.

“The problem is that under the Act any importer of a light vehicle has to set up a CO2 account and record the CO2 emissions values of all light vehicles they import before they can be registered – which includes motorcycles and potentially electric bicycles – even if they aren’t subject to penalties or credits.

“The MIA was under the impression the Act only applied to cars, SUVs, utes and vans, and was incredulous to recently learn from officials that all importers of light vehicles have to set up a CO2 account – by 1 December 2022,” Mr Stockdale said.

“What makes it more farcical is that motorcycle importers can’t obtain CO2 data for their motorcycles, so they can’t enter any data in the CO2 account, and they have no CO2 targets
under the Act anyway.

“It’s all a pointless exercise and a mistake in the drafting of the Act which will put motorcycle importers to unnecessary extra work.

“What with the rollout of the Clean Car Discount causing issues for used car importers in particular, this mistake will create new problems for both new and used motorcycle importers, and other vehicles which are also meant to be exempt, like Special Interest Vehicles or low volume vehicles.

“It’s another illustration that this is a government of mistakes,” Mr Stockdale said.

The MIA says the solution is for an emergency amendment to the Act to clarify that vehicles declared to be excluded in the accompanying regulations, are excluded from the whole section on the Clean Vehicle Standard.