{"id":"F2009L04050","name":"National Transport Commission (Model Law on Engine Brake Noise Limits) Regulations 2009","slug":"national-transport-commission-model-law-on-engine-brake-noise-limits-regulations-2009","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"294 of 2009","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":81576,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2009L04050-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Name of Regulations","content":"#### 1 Name of Regulations\n\n  These Regulations are the National Transport Commission (Model Law on Engine Brake Noise Limits) Regulations 2009.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"#### 2 Commencement\n\n  These Regulations commence on the day after they are registered.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Model legislation—Model Law on Engine Brake Noise Limits","content":"#### 3 Model legislation—Model Law on Engine Brake Noise Limits\n\n  Under section 7 of the National Transport Commission Act 2003, Schedule 1 sets out amendments, in the form of regulations and suggested provisions, to model legislation about engine brake noise limits.\n\n> Note 1: These Regulations are not subject to disallowance—see regulations made for the purposes of paragraph 44(2)(b) of the Legislation Act 2003.\n\n> Note 2: These Regulations are not subject to sunsetting—see regulations made for the purposes of paragraph 54(2)(b) of the Legislation Act 2003.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"1. Name","sectionType":"section","heading":"1. Name","content":"#### 1. Name\n\n  This is the Model Law on Engine Brake Noise Limits.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"2. Purpose","sectionType":"section","heading":"2. Purpose","content":"#### 2. Purpose\n\n  The purpose of this Law is –\n    (a) to amend the Australian Vehicle Standards Rules and the Vehicle Standards Regulations to impose a limit on the level of noise emitted by engine brake devices; and\n    (b) to set out suggested evidentiary provisions to support those amendments.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"3. Approval","sectionType":"section","heading":"3. Approval","content":"#### 3. Approval\n\n  This Law was approved by the Australian Transport Council on 26 October 2007.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"4. Amendment to the Australian Vehicle S","sectionType":"section","heading":"4. Amendment to the Australian Vehicle Standards Rules","content":"#### 4. Amendment to the Australian Vehicle Standards Rules\n\n  After rule 153 of the Australian Vehicle Standards Rules insert –\n\n“153A Limits on engine brake noise\n\n  (1) In this rule –\n\n> approved engine brake noise measuring and recording device means a device that measures and records the engine brake noise emitted by a vehicle and that is of a type that has been approved by the \\[relevant jurisdictional authority\\] as suitable for the enforcement of engine brake noise limits;\n\n> modulated RMS means the figure that results from applying the method set out in National In‑Service Test Procedures for Engine Brake Noise From Heavy Vehicles dated August 2007 published by the National Transport Commission, as amended from time to time, to a heavy vehicle’s engine brake noise as measured and recorded by an approved engine brake noise measuring and recording device in accordance with the procedures set out in that document.\n\n  (2) An engine brake device fitted to a motor vehicle must not emit noise that has a modulated RMS of more than 1.7.\n  (3) For the purposes of sub‑rule (2), an engine brake device includes any exhaust outlets of the device, and anything attached to such outlets, including mufflers.”.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"5. Amendment to the Vehicle Standards Re","sectionType":"section","heading":"5. Amendment to the Vehicle Standards Regulations","content":"#### 5. Amendment to the Vehicle Standards Regulations\n\n  After regulation 14 of the Road Transport Reform (Vehicle Standards) Regulations insert –\n\n“14A. Engine brake devices not complying with Vehicle Standards\n\n  If an engine brake device contravenes rule 153A of the Vehicle Standards, the operator of the vehicle to which the device is fitted commits an offence.\n\nPenalty: \\[local variations\\].”.\n\n\\[Implementation note: As these provisions are novel, it is intended that the amendments will only be introduced after the intention to introduce them has been well‑publicised. It is also intended that first offenders will be dealt with by way of a warning that includes information as to how a repetition of the offence can be prevented.\\]","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"6. Suggested supplementary evidentiary p","sectionType":"section","heading":"6. Suggested supplementary evidentiary provisions","content":"#### 6. Suggested supplementary evidentiary provisions\n\n  \\[Drafting note: In most, if not all, jurisdictions, these provisions will need to be enacted as primary legislation.\\]\n\n“x. Evidence of engine brake noise\n\n  A document that has been produced by either an approved engine brake noise measuring and recording device or an approved camera recording device and that shows one or more images of a vehicle together with details purporting to be a modulated RMS and the date, time and place at which the modulated RMS was measured and recorded –\n    (a) is admissible in any proceedings; and\n    (b) is evidence that the engine brake noise emitted from the engine brake device fitted to that vehicle had that modulated RMS at that date, time and place.\n\ny. Evidence of engine brake noise\n\n  A statement in a certificate purporting to have been issued by \\[relevant jurisdictional authorities/ officers\\] that, at a specified time or during a specified period –\n    (a) a specified device is, or was, an approved engine brake noise measuring and recording device or an approved camera recording device;\n    (b) a specified approved engine brake noise measuring and recording device or approved camera recording device was tested or sealed in a specified way;\n    (c) a specified approved engine brake noise measuring and recording device or an approved camera recording device was operated in a specified way;\n    (d) a specified modulated RMS relates to a specified vehicle –\n  is admissible in any proceedings and is evidence of the matters stated.”.\n\n\\[Drafting note: These provisions will need to be supported by definitions of “approved engine brake noise measuring and recording device”, “modulated RMS” and the following:\n\n> “approved camera recording device means a device approved by \\[relevant jurisdictional authority\\] as suitable for the enforcement of engine brake noise limits that is designed to be attached to an approved engine brake noise measuring and recording device for the purpose of producing, in respect of any vehicle that has any noise that it emits measured and recorded by that device, a document containing one or more images of the vehicle together with details of –\n\n    (a) the modulated RMS of that noise as recorded by that device; and\n    (b) the date, time and place the measurement was taken and recorded;\n\n> engine brake device includes any exhaust outlets of the device, and anything attached to such outlets, including mufflers.”.","sortOrder":8}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument implements the Model Law approved by the Australian Transport Council to add an engine‑brake noise limit and supporting evidentiary rules. Nothing in the text indicates an expansion or narrowing of the stated purpose; adoption details and penalties are left to jurisdictions."},"complexity_factors":["Technical measurement standard: the limit is expressed as a ‘modulated RMS’ that must be calculated using the National In‑Service Test Procedures (August 2007)—measurement method complexity and technical calibration matter (Rule 153A(1)).","Device approval and administrative discretion: which measuring/camera devices qualify is left to each ‘relevant jurisdictional authority’, creating variability and administrative discretion across jurisdictions (Rule 153A(1); evidentiary definitions).","Evidentiary regime: draft provisions admit device output and officer certificates as evidence and require proof of testing/sealing/operation, shifting trial mechanics toward recorded data (Suggested provisions x and y in Part 6).","Liability and enforcement allocation: the operator of the vehicle commits the offence if a device contravenes the standard, concentrating compliance/legal risk on operators (Regulation 14A).","Penalty uncertainty and local variation: penalties and enforcement approach are left to jurisdictions (Regulation 14A; ‘local variations’ and implementation note about warnings), which affects predictability and compliance costs.","Legislative implementation gap: the evidentiary provisions are drafted as needing primary‑law enactment in most jurisdictions, so adoption requires further legislative work (Drafting note, Part 6).","Operational implementation: enforcement depends on device testing, sealing and calibration procedures (Suggested provision y(b)–(c)); where practice or capacity is weak, effective enforcement may be limited.","Scope of regulated items: the rule explicitly includes exhaust outlets and attachments (e.g., mufflers), broadening what operators must modify or inspect to comply (Rule 153A(3)).","Transitional/behavioural implementation: an implementation note anticipates publicity and first‑offender warnings rather than immediate penalties, introducing phased compliance and discretionary enforcement."],"plain_english_summary":"Mechanically, this model law adds a numerical noise cap for engine‑brake devices (a modulated RMS limit of 1.7), requires measurement by jurisdiction‑approved noise‑measuring and camera devices, and makes the vehicle operator criminally liable for breaches. Stated purpose: to amend vehicle standards and provide evidentiary rules to support enforcement. Jurisdictions decide which devices are approved and set penalties; operators pay compliance and retrofit costs; enforcement depends on device approval, testing/sealing and recorded outputs being admitted as evidence."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose of creating a model law for engine brake noise limits. The scope has not expanded beyond the specific technical and evidentiary provisions needed to implement and enforce noise limits on heavy vehicle engine brakes."},"complexity_factors":["Short document (only 6 substantive sections plus name/commencement provisions)","Minimal defined terms (only 2 technical definitions: 'approved engine brake noise measuring and recording device' and 'modulated RMS')","Simple conditional structure (single offence provision with straightforward penalty placeholder)","Heavy reliance on external documents (references to National In-Service Test Procedures and Australian Vehicle Standards Rules without reproducing their content)","Contains drafting notes and implementation guidance rather than complex legal machinery","No nested exceptions or multi-layered conditional logic"],"plain_english_summary":"This model law sets a national template limiting heavy‑vehicle engine‑brake noise to a modulated RMS of 1.7, measured with approved devices under the National Transport Commission’s test procedure. It creates an offence for operators whose vehicles exceed the limit and includes rules for using measurement records and camera images as evidence. States and territories are expected to adopt the standard, which aims to reduce community noise with a “soft start” of warnings before penalties."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/national-transport-commission-model-law-on-engine-brake-noise-limits-regulations-2009","history":"/api/acts/national-transport-commission-model-law-on-engine-brake-noise-limits-regulations-2009/history","analysis":"/api/acts/national-transport-commission-model-law-on-engine-brake-noise-limits-regulations-2009/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/national-transport-commission-model-law-on-engine-brake-noise-limits-regulations-2009/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/national-transport-commission-model-law-on-engine-brake-noise-limits-regulations-2009/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/national-transport-commission-model-law-on-engine-brake-noise-limits-regulations-2009/documents"}}