Concessional RAV Entry Approvals
Concessional RAV Entry (CRE) approvals are an approval pathway introduced as part of the Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018 legislation. The pathway allows an individual road vehicle to gain access to the register of approved vehicles and therefore become eligible for registration in Australia. Concessional RAV entry approvals are managed by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communication and the Arts and applied for through the ROVER portal.
What are Concessional RAV Entry Approvals?
CRE approvals are an alternate path to the vehicle type approval pathway for getting a road vehicle on the register of approved vehicles. The pathway is limited to certain vehicles subject to meeting the applicable eligibility criteria.
Concessional RAV entry approvals are an important pathway for many different applications, including
Special purpose vehicles requiring exemption from one or more ADRs
Individual manufacture of a light or heavy trailer
importation of light or heavy trailers
Importation of a road vehicle owned by a migrant moving to or returning to Ausralia
Specialist and enthusiast vehicles with performance, environmental, mobility or other characteristics approved on the SEVs register.
Vehicles over 25 years old seeking registration in Australia for the first time
CRE approvals are not required for vehicles with no or limited use on public roads. These vehicles should instead use the Non-RAV approval pathway.
What are the concessional RAV entry approval requirements?
The CRE pathway has different requirements depending on the type of vehicle, with all approvals being processed through the ROVER portal in a single vehicle approval.
Where ADR evidence is required to be presented, this can be in any of the below forms
Component Type Approval (CTA)
UNECE approval where accepted as an alternate standard for applicable ADRs
Test results from a registered test facility with active approval
Any matter or other thing described in the national road vehicle standards, such as calculations
Information supporting a declaration, such photographs, drawings or other documentation which demonstrates compliance.
Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs)
As of July 1, 2024 all SPV applications need to show compliance with all applicable national road vehicle standards (Australian Design Rules) unless the vehicle cannot comply with a particular standard. If an exemption to an ADR is sought, a letter of in-principle support must be sought from the relevant authority confirming the non-compliance as otherwise suitable for use on public roads.
Low and High ATM Trailers
The CRE pathway provides applicants with provision to manufacture or import up to 4 low and 4 high ATM (aggregate trailer mass) trailers in a rolling 12 month period.
A high ATM trailer is any trailer with an aggregate trailer mass exceeding 4500kg. When completing the application process in ROVER evidence must be uploaded for all applicable ADRs at the time of application.
Low ATM Trailers do not require applicants to complete uploads of all ADR evidence, however they must be able to demonstrate the basis of the ATM desired. The department may request evidence to be supplied for some or all ADRs during the assessment process. All ADR evidence must still be possessed by the applicant even if it is not asked for prior to approval - declaring that it is present to get approved and not having it is a breach of the Road Vehicle Standards Act.
Personal Effects Importation
Migrants coming into Australia can bring their vehicle with them via the CRE pathway. To be able to achieve this, an applicant must meet all the eligibility criteria as follows:
You own the vehicle at the time of application and have for at least 12 months immediately prior to moving
You became owner while living overseas
You have not previously been granted approval with this pathway in the last 5 years (or at all)
The application is submitted within 6 months of arriving in Australia
You are of sufficient age to have a license or operate the vehicle in Australia.
As part of the application process you must also be able to demonstrate to the Australian government that you intend on staying in Australia indefinitely.
Specialist and Enthusiast Vehicles (SEVs)
Vehicles looking to gain CRE approval such as SEVs or similar need to be modified by a Registered Automotive Workshop (RAW) approval holder and verified by an Authorised Vehicle Verifier (AVV). Eligible vehicles for this process include those on the SEVs register, used two or three wheel vehicles and those to be subject to second stage manufacture prior to being supplied to market.
Older Vehicles
Light vehicles manufactured or significantly modified over 25 years prior to application, including passenger cars, vans, motorcycles and light commercial vehicles with GVM less than 3500kg, can be added to the register of approved vehicles (RAV) provided that documentation can be produced verifying the VIN/chassis number, date of manufacture and if applying for a light commercial vehicle, the GVM. If applying for a significantly modified vehicle, you must show that the modifications were completed at least 25 years prior, which include chassis, body, drivetrain and braking modifications along with steering conversions.
Our Concessional RAV Entry approval Services
In the short time since the RVSA legislation has been in place, BTT Engineering has specialised in concessional RAV entry approval applications for light and heavy trailers and special purpose vehicles. We have worked extensively with ADR compliance and can help generate any evidence required as part of an application, including doing the necessary design, testing, calculations and drawings. As each concessional RAV entry approval is unique, contact us for further information on how we can assist with your particular requirements.
Benefits of Concessional RAV Entry Approvals
Concessional RAV entry approvals are an excellent pathway for any person looking to build a small volume of light or heavy trailers. Those looking to get into trailer manufacturing can use the CRE pathway to provide 4 units in a 12 month period without having to worry about the quality management system (QMS) and VIN requirements that a vehicle type approval (VTA) holder needs to have in place, whether this be for the purpose of building units for personal use, to compliment an existing fleet of vehicles or begin a new venture into larger volume manufacturing if market demand is unknown.
Similar to building trailers, the CRE process is an excellent pathway for importing specialised trailers which don't require high volume. Many overseas manufacturers do not have QMS procedures in place to meet the VTA requirements, therefore their units are only able to be brought in via this pathway. In addition, used trailers can also be imported via this method, meaning that an affordable used trailer from overseas could be an economically viable option. It must be noted that overseas manufacturers may not design specifically for the Australian market, and therefore changes may be required prior to RAV entry approval.
The CRE process also benefits those looking to import special purpose vehicles, especially those that may only be capable of being purchased from overseas. The applicant is able to get access to these vehicles without the requirement of being a type approval holder and therefore being responsible for the manufacture of the road vehicle. In addition this process enables exemptions to potentially be sought on ADRs which the vehicle would otherwise need to comply with, including dimension and mass requirements which cannot be complied to without affecting the function of the vehicle.
In terms of getting approval for individual, older or SEVs vehicles, the CRE process allows for personally significant, rare or high performance vehicles to be approved in Australia for use on a public road. This prevents these units from needing to be sold or stuck in a museum as a display item!
Why Choose BTT Engineering for Concessional RAV entry approvals?
BTT Engineering has worked extensively with the new ROVER system and its regulations and has a detailed understand of the process that needs to be followed in order to get an approval. Our team of engineers are capable of not only advising of any testing, calculations or other technical evidence required but have the ability to complete this ourselves. We work closely with industry bodies and have great working relationships with the necessary government organisations to ensure that any enquiry or potential issue is given the utmost attention and care. Most importantly, our team pride ourselves on top-level client service, including consistent communication, excellent responsiveness and willingness to take the time to understand your problem and explain clearly what might need to be done.
Previous projects we have been involved in CRE approvals for are:
Importation of a heavy trailer designed to manufacture environmentally friendly wood fibre products (read more here)
Importation of a heavy trailer specifically for testing of high voltage equipment
Manufacture of a semi trailer designed for cleaning grain
Manufacture of light and heavy boat trailers designed for a client's new boat
Importation of a street sweeper under the special purpose vehicle pathway
Importation of a small batch of caravans for sale in Australia
Low volume manufacture of dog trailers by a fabrication workshop for sale
The Concessional RAV Entry approval Process
Clients going through the CRE approval process with BTT Engineering should expect the following workflow:
Initial discussion of requirements
Client supplies all available existing information to support approval
BTT Engineering to review information and identify any missing or potentially insufficient evidence
BTT liaises with client to determine the client's preferred method of attaining compliance to any ADRs not yet addressed (if required for pathway)
BTT Engineering arranges for the required ADR evidence to be generated (if required for pathway)
After being granted Authority to Act in ROVER, BTT submits the CRE application and handles any subsequent Requests for Information (RFIs) from the ROVER assessment team.
Client obtains CRE approval and can get their vehicle registered
A CRE approval is legislated to have a decision made by 30 business days from submission into the ROVER portal. This does not include any time spent while an application is waiting for an RFI response.
Related services that we can help with
For further information on some of our particular ROVER services, please follow the links below:
Contact Us for an obligation free quote on your Concessional RAV entry approval
Please contact us via the details at the top of the page!