Welcome to RAWS
On 1 July 2021, the Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018 (RVSA) replaced the Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989 (MVSA). As a result, no new applications for MVSA Registered Automotive Workshop Scheme (RAWS) approvals are being accepted.
However, applications to import specialist and enthusiast vehicles (SEVs) to be modified under RAWS can continue to be submitted until 30 April 2023 if they are on the MVSA Register of SEVs, or until 31 March 2023 if they are on the Interim SEVs List through the RAWS system.
All new applications must now be submitted through ROVER, the department’s applications and approvals portal.
You will need to create an account in ROVER so your identity can be verified and you can submit applications. More information including how to create an account in ROVER can be found on our ROVER resources webpage.
The operational aspects of the RVSA are contained in the Road Vehicle Standards Rules 2019 (the Rules). The RVSA, the Rules and other related legislation are collectively referred to as the Road Vehicle Standards (RVS) legislation.
More information about operating as a registered automotive workshop under the RVS legislation and through the transitional period is available at the RVS Registered automotive workshops web page.
More information about all the MVSA to RVSA transitional arrangements is also available.
Under the RVS legislation, before road vehicles can be provided to another person for road use in Australia for the first time, they must be entered on the Register of Approved Vehicles (RAV). The RAV is an online database of vehicles that meet the requirements of the RVS legislation and are approved for provision to the Australian market.
For enquires regarding the RVS laws and importing a vehicle into Australia, please complete an online enquiry form.
Latest Updates
Vehicles potentially affected by the Takata NADI airbag inflator recall
The department understands that several vehicle makes and models supplied to the Australian market under concessional schemes may potentially be affected by the compulsory Takata airbag recall. These types of airbag inflators pose a critical safety risk and may kill or injure people as a result of a misdeployment in the event of a collision.
Visit the recalls website for more information on Takata NADI 5-AT airbags recall.
The vehicles currently under the active recall list is general in nature. The models identified may not include vehicles imported under concessional schemes. The department strongly encourages organisations that have supplied a vehicles to the Australian market to identify if an affected vehicle has been supplied and if so initiate urgent recall action.
Should you have any questions in relation to undertaking recall action please contact the department at recalls@infrastructure.gov.au
Interim arrangements for specialist and enthusiast vehicles and vehicles at least 25 years old
Between 10 December 2019 and 1 July 2021, SEVs applications were assessed against both the MVSA and RVS eligibility criteria. Under these interim arrangements, vehicles meeting the RVS SEVs Register eligibility criteria were placed on the ‘List of eligible SEVs under the interim arrangements’ (Interim SEVs List). However, vehicles that met MVSA eligibility criteria were placed on the MVSA Register of SEVs. Applications for new entries on the MVSA Register of SEVs are now closed.
Vehicles on the Interim SEVs List can be entered on the RVS SEVs Register if a SEVs Register entry application is submitted in ROVER. Applications can be made up until 30 June 2022 and the fee will be waived.
Applicants seeking a transfer from the Interim SEVs List should complete the RVS application in ROVER and submit without payment, then email ROVERinfo@infrastructure.gov.au with details of the Interim SEVs List entry and RVS SEVs application number so the standard requirement to pay a fee before an application will be accepted can be waived. More detailed instructions on how to do this, and what to include in the email subject line and body text, can be found here.
If the vehicle continues to meet the SEVs Register entry criteria, its details will be entered on the SEVs Register with an expiry date of 3 years from the date the SEVs Register entry was made.
Where the vehicle no longer satisfies the SEVs Register entry criteria, the vehicle’s details will still be entered on the SEVs Register. However, the entry’s expiry date will be 3 years from the date the vehicle’s details were entered on the Interim SEVs List.
More information about RVS SEVs is available on the department’s website.