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What vehicles are eligible 'emergency vehicles' for the purposes of Part 2 of the Diesel and Alternative Fuels Grants Scheme Act 1999 (the Act)?

In order to be an eligible emergency vehicle under Part 2 of the Act, the relevant vehicle must have the following attributes: • it must have a gross vehicle mass of 4.5 tonnes or more as required by section 10AD of the Act; and • it must meet one of the descriptions in Diesel and Alternative Fuels Grants Scheme Regulations 2000 Regulation 3B (Regulation 3B) paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e); and • it must be registered under section 7 of the Act for entitlement to fuel grants.

The applicant applied under section 7 for registration of a vehicle for entitlement to fuel grants. The registration is a prerequisite to making a claim for a fuel grant.

The vehicle, which the applicant sought to register, has a gross vehicle mass of less than 4.5 tonnes, modified to be used as a fire tender.

The application for registration was refused because the vehicle does not meet the requirement of paragraph 7(2)(c) that its gross vehicle mass is 4.5 tonnes or more.

The applicant contended that recent legislative amendments have extended the Scheme to cover 'all usage of emergency vehicles'.

Subsection 10AD(1) of the Act relevantly creates an entitlement to a fuel grant for the use of diesel fuel or alternative fuel in an emergency vehicle that has a gross vehicle mass of 4.5 tonnes or more.

Section 5 of the Act defines the term 'emergency vehicle' to mean a vehicle that is specified in the regulations to be an emergency vehicle, or that is in a class of vehicles that are specified in the regulations to be emergency vehicles.

Regulation 3B states for the purposes of section 5, the following: '...emergency vehicles a) a vehicle operated by an ambulance service that is fitted with a siren and flashing warning lights; b) a vehicle operated by a firefighting service that: (i) is designed, permanently fitted out and equipped for the purposes of preventing and fighting fires; and (ii) has external markings that identify the vehicle as a firefighting vehicle; c) a vehicle operated by a police force or service that is fitted with a siren and flashing warning light; d) a vehicle that: (i) is designed and permanently fitted out for the purposes of emergency response or search and rescue operations; and (ii) has external markings that identify it as such a vehicle; e) a vehicle, other than a vehicle mentioned in paragraph (a), (b) (c) or (d), operated by the Commonwealth or a State or Territory, or a Commonwealth, State or Territory authority: (i) for a purpose similar to the purposes indicated in those paragraphs; and (ii) identified as such a vehicle by a siren, flashing warning light, appropriate markings, or similar means.

In summary, an eligible emergency vehicle must have the following attributes: (i) it must have a gross vehicle mass of 4.5 tonnes or more, and (ii) it must meet one of the descriptions in paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e) of Regulation 3B; and (iii) it must be registered under section 7 for entitlement to fuel grants.

As the applicant's vehicle does not meet these criteria, it is not an eligible emergency vehicle for the purposes of the Diesel and Alternative Fuels Grants Scheme.