These health benefits are expected to stem from positive public health effects as reduced emissions cleared the air.
The Parliamentary Committee said the new vehicle emission standards will bring about $8 billion (US$51.1 billion) to Australia.
At a hearing of a recent investigation into the transition to electric vehicles (EVs), representatives from the Climate Change Department said that since the new Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVE) became law in May 2025, the government has been in the scope milestone He said he achieved the Decarbonization of the transportation sector.
Steve Refshauge, director of the Department of Distributed Energy Policy and Electricity, also known as the Euro VI, has introduced a new harmful emissions standard in stages for heavy vehicles starting November 2024 and lightweight vehicles starting December 2025. He said that it was done.
Under the changes, new larger vehicles are needed to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 60% and particulate matter emissions by up to 50%.
New lightweight vehicles are needed to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 50%. This applies to both gasoline and diesel vehicles.
“The heavy vehicle standards will generate $7.4 billion in health benefits and $1.5 billion fuel savings by 2050,” Refshauge told the Standing Committee on Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water.
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“The mild vehicle standards will generate $06 billion in health benefits and $1.5 billion in fuel savings through 2040.”
These health benefits are expected to stem from the positive impact on public health caused by clean air and reduced emissions, including reducing medical costs for the treatment of air purification treatment conditions. It’s there.
Introducing the Acoustic Vehicle Alert System Standard
At the same time, Refshauge said the government would require that EVS and other low-noise vehicles emit safe noise at slow speeds under Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System (AVAS) standards.
This increases the risk of conflict, especially for blind people and those with poor eyesight.
Refshauge said the AVAS standard will begin on November 1, 2025, for new model vehicles, and on November 1, 2026.
“It is estimated that by 2060 this will save around 68 lives, 2,675 serious injuries and 2,962 minor injuries,” he said.
“This is above the new standards that took place in the second half of 2023 to improve safety for electric vehicles.”
Hyundai Kona electricity bills at an EV charge station in Sydney, Australia on January 19, 2021. Brendon Thorne/Getty Images
A fuel-efficient car triples in 3 years
Matthew Ryan, branch manager of the Emissions Reduction Division, said that even before the NVE came into effect, the number of fuel-efficient cars had risen significantly over the past few years.
“The 2021 figure was 7.8% of what I call fuel-efficient cars (and EVs), 11.7% in 2023 and 16.9% in 2023,” he said.
“And the most recent in 2024 was 24.3%.
“So nearly a quarter of sales will move to more fuel-efficient standards.”
Automakers are not motivated to change without regulations
Labour MP Tony Zapia, the committee chair, questioned whether ice vehicle manufacturers were trying to compete actively with EVs by producing far more fuel-efficient combustion engines.
In response, Tristan Kathage, assistant secretary to the Department of Transport, said that manufacturers are not willing to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles if there is no regulations in Australia.
“What we saw in Australia, which is different from other markets, is that without regulations requiring improvements in efficiency, Australian vehicles were actually very inefficient compared to their international counterparts. That’s what it is,” he said.
“The intent of the new Vehicle Efficiency Act is to provide a very strong message with a regulatory obligation to improve vehicle efficiency as vehicles enter the market.”
