New Age gets compliance tick of approval

Big-selling Melbourne caravan manufacturer New Age has jumped the gun and ticked the boxes on tougher new compliance legislation due to come into force in mid-2023.

New Age joins a small number of local manufacturers, including Melbourne's Track, to have achieved Vehicle Type Approval on its entire range, as per the upcoming Road Vehicle Standards Act (RVSA) that will help raise design and manufacturing standards across the Australian RV industry.

The deadline for Australian RV manufacturers and importers to comply with the tougher new compliance laws was recently pushed back to July 1, 2023, after concerns the roll-out of the new regulations this year would, among other things, unfairly impact construction industry jobs in the mobile crane industry.

Whilst Vehicle Type Approval is not yet compulsory for caravans sold in Australia, the 14-year old Melbourne caravan and pop-top manufacturer said it "was considered essential for New Age Caravans, ensuring a higher standard of safety and quality in the entire range, putting it above its competitors".

The compliance milestone would help ensure that "building a New Age Caravan is documented and structured to ensure the repeatability during the manufacturing process from start to finish".

“To have Vehicle Type Approvals for our entire New Age Caravan range in production right now is something we are all extremely proud of," New Age Caravans Managing Director, Chris Polites said.

"It speaks to the quality and safety of the process we undertake, from design to manufacturing, and the commitment from all our staff.
 
“While ADRs are not yet formally mandated by the road vehicle regulators in the caravan industry, it’s something we believe is essential, and that’s why we’ve gone above and beyond what is required. We want all New Age owners to know that their caravan has met the national standards by the governing body, for wherever their journey takes them," he continued.   

"We categorically believe Vehicle Type Approvals should be mandatory across the entire RV and leisure industry, to ensure all caravans out there on the road are safe."

Part of a long-threatened shake up of RV manufacturing standards designed to protect local buyers against backyard manufacturers and shoddy imports, the Road Vehicle Standards ACT (RVSA) replaces the previous Motor Vehicle Standards Act (1989) legislation, and will apply to all trailers with an aggregrate trailer mass (ATM) of 4500kg or less.

The Australian Design Rules (ADRs), which the Vehicle Type Approvals are associated with, are national design rules that mandate minimum safety standards, dimensional requirements, structural requirements as well as performance and emission targets for all vehicles that are registered for travel on Australian roads.

"The RVSA ensures that the process of building a New Age Caravan is documented and structured to ensure the repeatability during the manufacturing process from start to finish," Polites said.

Also recently celebrating the production of its 20,000th chassis, New Age has been fully owned by the Walkinshaw Group since late-2018, and employs around 300 staff locally and builds around 2000 RVs annually.