Electric Powered Vehicle Labels Now Required

July 16, 2021

SOURCE: Reposted from Department of Transport and Main Roads – June 8 2021

Please be advised that some changes to legislation in Queensland have been made in relation to electric or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Registered owners of electric vehicles manufactured after 1 January 2019 (or modified to be an electric-powered vehicle after 1 January 2019) are now legally required to display an electric vehicle label to the front and rear number plates of the vehicle.

Electric vehicles pose risks to emergency service workers in certain situations. The labels have been introduced as a safety measure to alert emergency personnel when they are dealing with an electric vehicle so they can discharge the vehicle’s high-voltage power source if required.

This means that any electric vehicle our dealership now registers must have a specific label attached that meets the requirements below before it can leave the dealership. The specific requirements are detailed in the Transport Operations Road Use Management – (Vehicle Safety and Standards) Regulation 2010, Section 140 & 14 which you can find by clicking here. The Department will also be writing to all registered operators of vehicles affected by the legislative change.

For those Bill Robertson Toyota guests who’ve purchased a new or used electric/hybrid vehicle from our dealership that has been manufactured after January 1 2019, you are invited to contact us to book in a free appointment to have this label attached to your number plate. The appointment will take approximately 15 minutes and requires a booking through our service department to conduct this free service. To book click here or phone 4972 8577.

An electric vehicle is defined in legislation as a vehicle powered by 1 or more electric motors or traction motors that—

(a) are the only propulsion system for the vehicle; or

(b) are used in conjunction with another propulsion system for the vehicle.

Electric Vehicle labels must:

be attached to a plate made of metal that is at least 1mm thick, and
be an equilateral triangular shape where each side has width of 30mm in length and each interior angle of which is 60º, and
have a blue surface that complies with class 2 of AS 1906.1 Retroreflective Materials and Devices for Road Traffic Control Purposes—Retroreflective Sheeting, and
be marked ‘EV’ in white capital letters that are at least 8mm high and have the orientation shown in the example below, and
be fitted to each number plates so that the letters on the label are in an upright position, and
not wholly or partly obscure a character on a number plate.

You may wish to source your own electric or hydrogen vehicle labels, however they are currently available to order from the Motor Trades Association at https://mtasant.com.au/order-form.

If you require further information on electric vehicle label requirements, please visit https://www.qld.gov.au/transport/registration/labelling-requirements-for-electric-vehicles-and-hydrogen-vehicles or email vehiclestandards@tmr.qld.gov.au