Energy Grants (Credits) Scheme: on-road credit - emergency vehicles - firefighting

Is a vehicle attached to a rural fire brigade in New South Wales a 'registered vehicle' for the purposes of section 47 of the Energy Grants (Credits) Scheme Act 2003 (EGCSA)?

Yes. A vehicle attached to a rural fire brigade in New South Wales is a 'registered vehicle' for the purposes of section 47 of the EGCSA.

The entity is a local shire operating emergency vehicles.

The vehicles used by the entity: • are for fire fighting • are designed, permanently fitted out and equipped for the purposes of preventing and fighting fires, and • have external markings that identify the vehicle as a fire fighting vehicle.

The vehicles have a compliance plate attached identifying each individual vehicle that is recorded in the Bush Fire Vehicle register.

In the state of New South Wales, vehicles that are attached to a rural fire brigade, and which conform to the Fires Act 1997 (NSW), are exempted from registration requirements under Clause 12 of Schedule 1 of the Road Transport (Vehicle Registration) Regulations 1998.

Due to the above exemption, the vehicles are not recorded on the Roads and Traffic Authority register. However, in the event of an accident, these vehicles would be covered under the Nominal Defendant Scheme operated by the Motors Accidents Authority.

All emergency vehicles are inspected and certified for road worthiness by the Roads and Traffic Authority before they can be entered in the Bush Fire Vehicle register.

Section 47 of the EGCSA provides that (subject to various conditions) an entity is entitled to an on-road credit if it purchases, or imports into Australia, on-road diesel fuel, or on-road alternative fuel, for use in an emergency vehicle that is a registered vehicle and has a gross vehicle mass of 4.5 tonnes or more.

The definition of the term 'registered vehicle' appears in section 4 of the EGCSA: registered vehicle , means a vehicle that is registered for use on public roads.

The term 'registered' is not defined in the EGCSA. However, given its connection with vehicles, and use on a public road, it is reasonable to conclude that when determining whether a vehicle is registered, one must consider whether the vehicle meets the registration requirements set out in the relevant State's legislation.

The vehicle registration requirements in New South Wales are set out in the Road Transport (Vehicle Registration) Act 1997 (NSW) (RTA) and the Road Transport (Vehicle Registration) Regulation 1998 (RT regulations).

Section 3 of the RTA states that the objects of that Act are: (a) to make provision for the registration of registrable vehicles in accordance with the agreements scheduled to the National Road Transport Commission Act 1991 of the Commonwealth as part of the uniform national road transport legislation envisaged by that Act, and (b) to improve road safety and transport efficiency and reduce the costs of administering road transport.

Section 18 of the RTA prohibits the use of unregistered registrable vehicles on a road or road related area - except where the vehicle is covered by a regulation referred to in section 16 of the RTA.

Section 16 of the RTA states that the regulations to the Act may provide that the Act does not apply to registrable vehicles of a kind identified in the regulations.

The RTA provides for various exemptions from the registration requirements of the Act. The exemptions are set out in Schedule 1 of the RT regulations.

Clause 12 of the Schedule states that the registration provisions do not apply to any registrable vehicle that is used on a road or road related area if the vehicle is attached to a rural fire brigade formed under the Rural Fires Act 1997 , and has painted on it, or securely fixed to it, a sign clearly identifying the rural fire brigade to which it is attached, and is used for specified purposes while travelling on a public street.

The rural fire brigade has advised that their vehicle meets the requirements of clause 12 of Schedule 1 of the RT regulations and is excluded from the registration provisions in the RTA.

While this may indicate that the vehicle is not registered in the sense of displaying licence plates and being entered on the vehicle registry by the NSW Road Traffic Authority, the vehicle nonetheless complies with the legislation pertaining to registration in NSW. Significantly, the vehicle can be driven lawfully on roads in that State.

When considering the meaning of the term 'registered vehicle', the purpose behind the requirement in the EGCSA should be considered. The explanatory memorandum to the bill that introduced energy grants is silent as to the reason for including the registration requirement. The on-road credit provisions of the EGCSA replaced the former Diesel and Alternative Fuels Grants Scheme Act 1999 (DAFGSA) which contained a similar registration requirement. The explanatory memorandum to the Bill that introduced the former provisions is also silent as to the reasons why the registration requirement was introduced.

Consistent with beneficial Commonwealth legislation generally, it is implicit within the EGCSA that the focus of the Act is on encouraging activities that are conducted lawfully. Therefore, it is considered the main reason for including the registration requirement in the EGCSA was to ensure that vehicles that are not registered, in contravention of State laws, are excluded from entitlement to on-road credits. If credits were payable in respect of vehicles that should be registered but are not, the EGCSA would in effect be subsidising illegal transport activities.

Given this, it is reasonable to conclude that the registration requirement should be read as equating to a requirement that the use of the particular vehicles on public roads is sanctioned under the registration provisions that apply in the relevant State.

Therefore, a vehicle attached to a rural fire brigade in New South Wales is accepted as being a 'registered vehicle' for the purposes of section 47 of the EGCSA. Note: The Agreements referred to in paragraph 3(a) of the RTA were the Heavy Vehicle Agreement and the Light Vehicle Agreement. The National Road Transport Commission Act 1991 has been repealed and replaced by the National Transport Commission Act 2003 of the Commonwealth. That Act does not have any Agreements scheduled to it but does make provision for an Agreement 'entered into in relation to [that] Act'. That Agreement is the Inter-Governmental Agreement for Regulatory and Operation Reform in Road, Rail and Intermodal Transport. Although the Road Transport (Vehicle Registration) Regulations 1998 have been superseded by Road Transport (Vehicle Registration) Regulations 2007, clause 12 of Schedule 1 in the 1998 Regulations has been retained in the 2007 Regulations.