Vehicle emissions

Vehicles are a major source of air pollution. Vehicle emissions contain air pollutants – for example:

• carbon monoxide
• nitrogen dioxide
• PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 particles
• sulfur dioxide (diesel vehicles).
  

Vehicle emissions and the law

The general environmental duty applies to managing vehicle emissions.

Under the Environment Protection Regulations 2021(opens in a new window), motor vehicles must meet emissions standards when travelling on roads. These standards are set out in the Australian Design Rules(opens in a new window) and also include noise.

It’s against the law to use or permit the use of a vehicle that doesn't meet the standards. It's also against the law to sell a vehicle that doesn’t meet the standards.

Motor vehicles include:

• cars
• motorcycles
• light trucks up to 4.5 tonnes
• buses up to 4.5 tonnes.
  

You can report a smoky vehicle to us. You can report air quality concerns from traffic to VicRoads(opens in a new window) or your local council(opens in a new window).

Our role in vehicle emissions

We enforce the law by issuing fines for not complying with a vehicle testing notice.

We monitor air quality around Victoria. We have air monitoring equipment that measures air pollutants, including vehicle emissions. The data we collect supports our daily air quality forecasts.

We also help set national standards to reduce vehicle emissions, including:

• fuel quality standards(opens in a new window)
• Australian Design Rules(opens in a new window).
  

We cannot approve changes you want to make to your vehicle exhaust, such as diesel particulate filters. Contact VicRoads(opens in a new window).

Impact of vehicle emissions on your health

Vehicle emissions contain air pollutants that can affect human health and cause air quality issues, such as smog.

Reduce your vehicle emissions

To reduce your vehicle emissions:

• walk, cycle or use public transport instead of driving, where possible
• plan your trips so that you do more than one thing on each trip
• drive smoothly and keep a constant speed without braking or accelerating often
• maintain your vehicle well to reduce emissions (by up to 25%) and help cut fuel costs
  
• when buying a new car, look for one that produces fewer emissions.