More about the legislation

Protection of the Environment Operations (Clean Air) Regulation 2010 

Clause 16: Motor vehicles emitting excessive air impurities

1. An owner of a motor vehicle is guilty of an offence if the vehicle emits excessive air impurities while being used.

Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997

Section 154 (2)

1. This clause applies to motor vehicles propelled by a spark-ignition or diesel engine.
2. For the purposes of section 154 (2) (a) of the Act, a motor vehicle emits excessive air impurities if, when in operation, it emits air impurities in excess of such a standard of concentration that air impurities are visible for a continuous period of more than 10 seconds when determined in accordance with TM-31.
3. For the purposes of section 154 (2) (b) of the Act, a motor vehicle emits excessive air impurities if, when tested in accordance with TM-31, it emits air impurities in excess of an amount per test that results in air impurities being visible for a continuous period of more than 10 seconds.

Prescribed Manner from section 154 (2) POEO Act

Observation procedure for excessive air impurities: visible emissions - Test Method 31

When an observer is determining if a vehicle is being used in breach of the clause limiting visible emissions, the following principles apply:

• The observer must be satisfied that the vehicle generating the visible emissions is correctly identified.
• The observer must be satisfied that the emissions are visible not just because of heat or the condensation of water vapour.
• The emissions must be continuously visible for more than 10 seconds.

The following details of the observation must be recorded:

• Length of time in seconds that the visible emissions were observed.
• Registration number of the motor vehicle under observation.
• Type of motor vehicle under observation.
• Colour and darkness, in the opinion of the observer, of the air impurities emitted.
• Location, date and approximate time of day that the observation was made.