$84.5 million to implementing NVES including improving ROVER functionality – fair share of funding needed to fix the known underlying system problems.
14 May 2024 – The Hon. Catherine King MP, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government has tonight announced $84.5 million in federal funding to support the implementation of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard and improve the functionality of the Road Vehicle Standards Act’s (2018) online portal, ROVER for the operation of New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES).
CVIAA President Mr Clive Polley said: “Today’s budget announcement is an acknowledgement that the ROVER system needs investment to improve its functionality to be able to regulate the NVES. It is hoped that some of this substantial funding will go to improving the underlying system.
The Commercial Vehicle Industry Association of Australia (CVIAA) has been calling for a system overhaul since 2019, so we encourage the government to allocate part of this funding to fix the underlying system.”
CVIAA has been at the forefront of this advocacy since 2018. Over many years, the association has tirelessly contributed to numerous stakeholder roundtables and participated in BETA trials of the pre-launched ROVER system. Despite undergoing various ‘upgrades,’ the system has remained unfit for purpose, necessitating a complete system rebuild to meet the needs of industry and the obligations of the government.
“The system, which has undergone numerous ‘upgrades,’ has remained unfit for purpose for some time and requires a complete system rebuild to meet the needs of industry and obligations of government. This announcement comes at a critical time for industry who has been increasingly frustrated by the system’s lack of functionality that substantially increases business costs and time,” Mr Polley said.
In a recent letter addressed to Minister King, CVIAA, alongside 49 additional industry stakeholders, including the Motor Trades Association of Australia (MTAA), outlined five key areas for immediate reform as they relate to the ROVER system.
The letter recommended the Federal Government:
- Immediately reinstate case managers within the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts to verbally liaise with the industry on open applications. This should help ease the ongoing backlog of applications and could be achieved at minimal expense.
- Allocate adequate federal funding to rebuild the ROVER system to meet its stated objectives.
- Establish a ministerial-led steering committee of select industry participants to inform and guide the system’s rebuild.
- Conduct the legislated RVSA Implementation Review, as a matter of priority, by an independent organisation, and not as an internal departmental review. Anything less than a comprehensive, external review would carry no credibility with industry.
- Establish an independent Ombudsman, or other dispute resolution mechanism, to address complaints or outstanding issues related to applications.
Mr Polley said: “It is critical for a functional and efficient portal that supports the commercial vehicle industry’s operations and regulatory compliance. The united voice, led by the CVIAA, is clear – fix ROVER.
CVIAA welcomes the funding but will need to work with the Federal Government and its related agencies to ensure the ROVER system meets the needs of both industry and government.”
CVIAA calls for the Federal Government to utilise this funding in part to ensure a more effective and user-friendly ROVER system that will enhance industry’s capabilities and streamline compliance processes.