Self-certification, pre-market approval and accreditation on the proposal
The National Transport Commission (NTC) is seeking feedback from relevant stakeholders on regulatory options for the development of a national safety assurance regime for automated vehicles (AV).
Australian governments, vehicle manufacturers, transport technology providers and other interested parties are being urged to consider the four options outlined in NTC’s new discussion paper, Regulatory options to assure automated vehicle safety in Australia.
The paper examines the balance between government oversight and industry self-regulation for AV safety.
NTC chief executive Paul Retter says Australia’s transport ministers had asked the NTC to look at what level of regulation is needed to ensure automated driving technologies are safe now and into the future.
“Australian governments are starting to remove legislative barriers to more automated road vehicles. Without a safety assurance system, these vehicles could potentially be deployed with no government oversight or regulatory intervention,” Retter says.
“These technologies are highly innovative, technically advanced and varied, and we don’t yet know if they will be safe. We need a mechanism that supports innovation without unnecessary red tape, but also assures the Australian public that automated vehicles are safe.”
The four options include:
- continuing the current approach
- self-certification
- pre-market approval
- accreditation.
Retter says it is significant reform in road transport.
“Over time we will see the risks associated with the driving task shift away from the human driver towards the automated driving system and our regulatory system must be able to accommodate this shift.”
Following consultation on this paper, the NTC will present a preferred regulatory option to transport ministers in November.
The work is a part of the NTC’s roadmap of reform to prepare Australia for automated road vehicles.
Submissions for this discussion paper are open until 4pm on July 28 via the NTC website.