Adding accessories and equipment to vehicles

You must ensure all accessories and equipment are safe for pedestrians and other road users.

They must be designed and fitted in a way that reduces the risk of injury in an accident, whether your vehicle is parked or in motion.

Accessory gauges

Any internal or external gauges you fit must not:

interfere with the field of view of the driver
produce glare to the driver
be fitted in a way that risks injury to vehicle occupants or pedestrians.
have the possibility of a pressurised line that could break and spray the windscreen with fluid.

Bonnet scoops

Bonnet mounted scoops and projections must meet the following requirements.

Sphere test

Place a 165 mm diameter sphere on the bonnet in front of the scoop and roll it backwards until it touches the scoop.
Work out where a horizontal line would pass through the centre of the sphere.
Compare that line to the most forward point of the scoop and the point of contact between the sphere and the scoop.
Neither of those points can lie higher than the sphere's horizontal centre line.

Vision

You must be able to see either:

the surface of the road 11 m in front of the driver's eye
all of the front edge of the original body when looking across the top of the bonnet scoop.

For this, the driver's eye position is a point 730 mm above and 270 mm forward of the junction of the seat cushion and seat back. You should measure this when the seat is in its lowest and rearmost position.

The scoop must not have reflective surfaces that will cause glare towards the driver.

Safety

For all bonnet scoops you must sure:

all edges and corners have a radius of at least 5 mm
you must treat any sharp edges created
general design and construction to reduce the chance risk of bodily injury to any person
that if you cut bonnet reinforcing braces you design the modified bonnet to be of equal strength.

If you use a plastic or fibreglass bonnet scoop you must ensure:

the bonnet hole doesn't substantially reduce the strength or impact resistance of the bonnet
no rigid components, such as an air cleaner or carburettor can protrude above the original bonnet profile.

If you use a gauge mild steel bonnet scoop you can have a rigid component protrude above the original bonnet profile.

Bull bars

All bull bars must:

be designed to reduce the risk of injury to any person who may be hit by the bull bar.
be designed and fitted so they do not affect the safety of the vehicle
be securely mounted and supported and must not be a danger to other road users
be free of sharp protrusions such as rod holders
have all exposed sections of the bull bar and fittings radiused and deburred
have any surfaces that could reflect light from the vehicle's headlights be matt black.

Bull bars must not:

block the vision of the driver
project further from the front of the vehicle than is necessary for its attachment
add a significant load to the front suspension
have any sharp protrusions such as rod holders
block any light
reduce the view of indicator lights, unless you add new lights or move the originals as per Australian Design Rules (ADRs).

Your new bull bar can't affect function of airbags on your vehicle. If your vehicle has an airbag and complies with ADRs 69 or 73, then your new bull bar must either:

be certified by the vehicle manufacturer as suitable for that vehicle
be shown by the bull bar manufacturer to not adversely affect compliance with the ADRs or interfere with the critical airbag timing mechanism.

Bull bars that comply with Australian Standard 4876.1-2002 give a higher level of pedestrian protection.

Canoe and kayak carriers

You must:

only fit and use canoe and kayak carriers if everything is then correctly secured
ensure no part of the canoe and kayak appears below the roof line when in front of the windscreen
ensure there are no sharp edges or protrusions that could hurt a pedestrians or cyclist in an accident.

Driving lights and brackets

Driving lights and brackets must not protrude forward from the front face of any bumper or above the top of any bull bar.

Fishing rod holders

Fishing rod holders must allow the driver to see the road and traffic to the front and sides of the vehicle. They must not obstruct vehicle lighting either in use or not in use.

When you are not using the rod holder, they must be either:

removed
retracted behind the bull bar with no protruding surfaces that could cause injury to a pedestrian.

Large base radio antennas

You must:

only mount a large base radio antenna to the front of your vehicle if it is not possible to fit it to the rear
mount the antenna, so its large diameter section appears above the bonnet for the least distance
mount only one large base antenna to the front of your vehicle and it must be on the left-hand side
only have an antenna with a diameter on 75mm or less
remove all sharp edges or protrusions which could cause injury to anyone in an accident.

Your antenna must not:

block any light
reduce the view of indicator lights, unless you add new lights or move the originals as per Australian Design Rules (ADRs).

Roof racks

Some vehicles add vertical supports to allow overhead racks or carry platforms to carry longer loads. These are often commercial vehicle carrying long pipes or similar loads.

If you fit vertical supports, they must be:

50 mm or less when position in from of the windscreen
matt black, non-reflective finish if in a position where it can reflect light.

There must be no:

part of the rack or load appears below the roof line when in front of the windscreen
sharp edges or protrusions which could injure pedestrians or cyclists in an accident
ladder rack positioned forward of the windscreen when it's not in use.

Any support braces or brackets must not:

have any sharp edge or protrusions
interfere with a person's normal access to the vehicle
project any more than 150 mm from each side of the vehicle or make the vehicle more than 2.5 m wide.

Your vertical supports must not obscure any light. If they do, you should add new lights or move the originals as per the ADRs.

You must ensure any attachments or modifications to the vehicle's chassis follow either:

engineering practices
the manufacturer’s recommendations.

Side skirts, flares and spoilers

Side skirts, front or rear spoilers must be of a suitable thickness and be free from sharp edges and corners.

They must not:

affect road clearance
affect air flow for brake cooling
increase the risk of bodily injury to any person.

Rear spoilers must be:

within the body shape or outline of the mounting surface
4 mm thick or more
free of sharp edges and corners.