VSI 26 - Roadworthiness requirements
This page outlines the roadworthiness requirements as set out in the written directions given by the Secretary under Regulation 251 of the Road Safety (Vehicles) Regulations 2021.
Published: March 2023.
This page supersedes all previous copies of VSI 26.
VSI 26 - Roadworthiness requirements (PDF) is the official guideline made under the Road Safety (Vehicles) Regulations 2021. The content on this page is reproduced from the official guideline. While every effort has been made to ensure consistency, the official guideline must be referenced for approved content.
The information on this page applies to vehicles with a gross vehicle mass (GVM) of 4.5 tonne or less. For heavy vehicle requirements please refer to the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator website.
For motorcycle and moped requirements please refer to vehicle standards information (VSI) 4: Summary of standards for registration requirements for motorcycles and mopeds.
Licensed vehicle testers must ensure that a vehicle meets these standards before a certificate of roadworthiness is issued.
Part 1: Introduction
When new vehicles are manufactured, they must adhere to a range of vehicle standards, including the Australian Design Rules (ADRs), as well as various industry and consumer requirements.
These standards serve to ensure the vehicles meet specific safety, environmental, and serviceability criteria necessary for operating on the road network.
During their use, vehicles are subject to wear and tear and can be altered from their original form and in some cases this can become a hazard to road users and others.
Although the owner of a vehicle is responsible for keeping the vehicle in a safe and roadworthy condition at all times, roadworthiness testing is undertaken to help minimise the possible hazard to road users, including buyers of used vehicles where the vehicle may be in a potentially harmful condition, often without the owner being aware of it.
The roadworthiness standards set out on this page are aimed at detecting any excessive wear, deterioration, or alterations that could adversely affect the safety of the vehicle, its compliance with the standards for registration, and the ADRs where the items can be
assessed by inspection.
Compliance with certain elements of ADR and regulatory requirements are established by ensuring that parts of the vehicle which can't be tested for compliance in a roadworthiness inspection such as crumple zones, airbags and emissions equipment aren't modified or tampered with in any way.
It's also important to note that the roadworthiness requirements can't be used to impose more stringent requirements on a vehicle than it would be required to comply with in a new and unaltered condition, as per the standards for registration applicable at the date of manufacture of the vehicle. The requirements have been limited to items which relate to safety and compliance and which lend themselves to detection by inspection.
A certificate of roadworthiness issued by a licensed tester is certification that at the time of inspection a vehicle meets the requirements in this document and is fit for use on the road. A certificate of roadworthiness isn't an inspection of the mechanical quality, reliability or cosmetic aspects of the vehicle.
A licensed vehicle tester (LVT) must ensure that vehicles are examined in respect of the appropriate standards in this document, applying normal industry standards and test procedures.
The tester must also take into consideration any relevant information including manufacturer’s specifications, an approval certificate issued by a member of the Vehicle Assessment Signatory Scheme (VASS) or testing authorities, and various guidelines, VSI sheets, and other information provided by provided by the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) in assessing whether or not the vehicle meets the criteria provided.
The standards in this document may be overridden by this information in some circumstances.
Part 3 of this document contains sections dealing with various aspects of vehicle safety and environmental requirements. Some of these will only apply to certain vehicles and should be disregarded where they don"t apply.
There will also be a number of vehicles that are exempt from some requirements under conditional registration or permit procedures. In these examples these standards need not be checked.
The information provided in other VSIs prepared by DTP may be of assistance when interpreting the requirements in this document.
Part 2: Certificate of roadworthiness
In Victoria, a certificate of roadworthiness (CoR) is generally required when a vehicle is sold or re-registered, or as part of a mandatory periodic inspection requirement for a bus or taxi.
A CoR is also required after a vehicle identity validation inspection on a repairable write-off vehicle.
In some cases, a CoR is required to clear a vehicle defect notice.
A CoR can only be issued by a LVT operating from an approved facility such as a garage or service station.
Before a CoR can be issued for a vehicle, the vehicle must be inspected and found to be within manufacturers specifications, free of excessive wear, severe deterioration and alterations that would make it unsafe for normal use on the road.
A roadworthiness inspection isn't a check of the mechanical reliability or general condition of the vehicle. If a comprehensive check of the overall condition of the vehicle is required, you should arrange for a separate independent report.
A roadworthiness inspection is also not a complete assessment of a vehicle’s compliance with the standards for registration which, in most cases, are the ADRs. The ADRs are a set of minimum standards for the construction of motor vehicles and trailers. In most cases, compliance with these standards can't be assessed by inspection alone.
The cost of obtaining a CoR will depend on a variety of items such as the age, type and condition of the vehicle being examined. Accordingly, the fee can vary significantly, and it's wise to seek a quote for the cost of the inspection before you authorise the inspection to take place.
A CoR is current, for the purposes of a transaction, for 30 days from the date of issue.
Part 3: General inspection standards for roadworthiness test
Section A: Wheels and tyres
Section B: Steering and suspension
Section C: Brakes
Section D: Seats and seatbelts
Section E: Lamps, signals, reflectors etc
Section F: Exhaust and emission control
Section G: Windscreen and windows
Section H: Windscreen wipers, washers and demisters
Section I: Body and chassis
Section J: Engine and driveline
Section K: Other items
Part 4: Buses
Seats
Any padding originally provided on bus seat backs must be present and in good condition.
Lamps
Hazard warning lamps are required on certain buses.
Stairwell lighting is required on all buses with a stairwell structure.
Body structure and chassis
Where a bus is more than 25 years old, proof of a current acceptable structural assessment must be provided and sighted by the tester.
In some buses, extensive corrosion may be hidden by inner and outer body panels necessitating panel removal or other means to determine the extent of structural deterioration.
Floors and steps must have a suitable non-slip surface.
Luggage racks
Where a bus is fitted with a luggage rack or racks, there must be no projections that could cause injury to passengers, and the rack or racks are to be adequately secured and prevent movement of luggage during normal braking and cornering manoeuvres.
Doors, emergency exits and warning devices
Driver controlled doors on buses must open and shut correctly when operated from the driver’s position.
Emergency exits on buses must be clear of obstruction and must be clearly identified, with the method of opening clearly indicated unless obvious from the design. The exits must be capable of being readily operated.
The warning devices provided on all emergency exits, other than service doors and breakable glass emergency exits, must be present and serviceable.
The warning must be given when the engine is started and/or vehicle is in motion, if:
- the primary opening or ejection device is moved
- an emergency exit is locked from the outside
- an emergency door or window is not securely closed.
The warning device must provide a visible and audible warning to the driver and must activate with movement of the catch or other device securing the emergency exit, not only by movement of the emergency exit itself.
Every service door shall be capable of being easily opened from inside and from outside the vehicle when the vehicle is stationary. Provision to lock the door from outside is permissible, provided that the door can always be opened from the inside.
Fittings
Any guard rail provided for the driver must be secure and in a sound condition.
Padding on seatbacks and bars in buses, where originally provided must be secure and must not have deteriorated to the extent that its effectiveness is substantially reduced.
Handgrips, rails, straps or stanchions on buses must be in a serviceable condition and effective.
Fire extinguishers
Buses subject to ADR 44 or ADR 58 must have the correct number and type of extinguishers fitted in an accessible location.
Fire extinguishers should be fully maintained and marked as complying with the relevant Australian Standard.
Additional inspection standards for buses
The inspection standards in this section apply to buses subject to the Bus Safety Regulations 2020 as in force from time to time.
Door interlocks
Where a bus is fitted with door interlocks, the interlocks must be serviceable.
Internal mirrors or CCTV
Internal mirrors or CCTV used to provide the driver with a view of passengers in or on the bus must be serviceable and functioning.
Maximum safe carrying capacity signs/notices
Maximum safe carrying capacity signs/notices on buses with seating positions for 13 or more adults, including the driver, which display the maximum number of passengers that may be safely carried on that bus, must be in a position visible to the driver and use letters that are at least 25 millimetres high and of proportionate width.
Tail shaft guards
Where the transmission incorporates any longitudinal drive shafts, couplings, or intermediate shafts, provision shall be made to prevent the front end of any such shaft or coupling contacting the road in the event of detachment of the front end from its normal position.
Part 5: Additional inspection standards for wheelchair accessible vehicles operating as a commercial passenger vehicle
The inspection standards in this section apply to wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAV) licensed under the Commercial Passenger Vehicle Industry Act 2017.
Allocated floor space/access for wheelchair positions
Each wheelchair position (allocated floor/ceiling space) must be allocated at least 1300mm (length) x 800mm (width) x 1500mm (height) as required by the Commonwealth Government’s Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport.
All WAVs must have door entry dimensions (i.e. where wheelchairs enter) of at least 1500mm high and 800mm wide.
Wheelchair/occupant restraint systems
Each wheelchair position in a WAV must be fitted with an occupant restraint system (seatbelts) and a wheelchair restraint system.
Seatbelts must be a lap and sash emergency locking retractor type or a lap and harness type assembly.
Note: A lap only seatbelt is not a compliant restraint system for people in wheelchairs.
Wheelchairs must be secured to the WAV using at least four tie down points with approved wheelchair restraints. The number of complete sets of restraints in the vehicle at all times must equal the number of wheelchair positions.
Wheelchair and occupant restraints must be free from fraying, tears and knots.
All restraints fitted must comply with the applicable Australian/New Zealand standards including ‘AS/NZS 10542 Parts 1 and 2 Wheelchair tie down and occupant-restraint systems’ and any requirements contained in ‘AS2942- 1994/Amendment 1-1998 Wheelchair Occupant Restraint Assemblies for Motor Vehicles, which aren't covered in AS/NZS 10542 Parts 1 and 2.
Wheelchair accommodation, hoists and ramps
Refer to Section I of Part 3 of this document.
Child restraint anchorages
Child restraint anchorages must be provided for at least two forward facing rear seating positions.
Anchorages must be the clip type and compliant with the applicable ADRs.
Fire extinguisher
All WAVs must be equipped with a fully maintained fire extinguisher of at least 20B rating. It must be securely mounted in a position so as to be readily available for use and not be a hazard or cause annoyance to the vehicle occupants.
Approval certificates
All vehicles converted to be a WAV require a VASS approval certificate when first converted to show that the vehicle meets the relevant standards for registration.
The certificate must contain a notation identifying that the vehicle is suitable for use as a WAV. Approval may also be required if the number or position of seat and seatbelts are changed.
If any concerns arise regarding the VASS certification, the vehicle should be referred to a VASS signatory.