How To Register Your DIY Caravan After July 2023 With ROVER

Article by - Caravans Plus

Read Time: 4 mins

The rules surrounding the registration of new build caravans in Australia have changed.

Whilst there is some miss information on websites and forums who promote doom and gloom for all DIY builders of low ATM caravans (up to 4.5T ATM), with some suggesting it is impossible to register a DIY caravan build anymore, we will try to set the record straight.

As of July 2023 all new caravan builds must be approved through ROVER before your caravan (or trailer) can be registered with your state or territories vehicle registration department.

The first step is to ensure your caravan is approved on ROVER and entered onto the RAV (Register of Approved Vehicles).

What is ROVER?

ROVER (ROad VEhicle Regulator) is an administration system for the Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018 (RVSA), which replaced the long standing Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989.

ROVER is administered by the Commonwealth Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications and Arts (DITRDCA).

Essentially, this is a register for all vehicles which have not been road registered in Australia previously.

The service is also applicable for people who wish to import a vehicle such as a Vauxhall Monaro from the UK (even though the car was made right here in Australia!), or perhaps you may also wish to register your one off imported British caravan.

We will concentrate on the DIY caravan builder who intends to register a caravan wth an ATM up to 4.5T. This is a relatively straight forwards process, and like anything government based, fees are applicable for doing so.

Register with ROVER

As mentioned, ROVER is administrated by DITRDCA, and the application can be made online via their website https://rover.infrastructure.gov.au/

You will need to register (free) as an applicant to use the service, however you will need to provide 100 points of identification (ie licence, medicare cards etc).

Once you have registered, you will be able to access the following through ROVER:

Submit and pay for an application

Monitor the progress of your application

Receive and respond to requests for information regarding your application

Be notified of the decision / outcome of your application.

Applying for a Single Road Vehicle Approval.

Before you can register your caravan you will need to apply for a Single Road Vehicle Approval. The best advice here is to ensure you have a precise idea of your build. You should have a reasonable idea before you start, especially if you have read through our resource section on building your own DIY caravan. If you haven't, then we have them linked them below:

If you know exactly what you are building it is highly beneficial during the next step of your application.

Simply sign in to ROVER (if you aren't already), and find the NEW APPLICATIONS tab,
then select SINGLE ROAD VEHICLE APPROVAL for a caravan or camper trailer,
or SPECIALIST AND ENTHUSIAST VEHICLES REGISTER should you have built a motorhome.

From here you will be required to fill out a number of self explanatory steps within forms, including details about the applicant (usually yourself), and technical details regarding the vehicle you intend on registering.
Payment will also be required at this stage, which at time of writing was around the $35 mark.

What's Next?

Your application will be reviewed by the accessors behind the scenes, and should everything be fit, you will receive an approval.

If they have any questions or find a potential problem with your application, they will advise, or request further information to assist with progressing and issuing your approval.

You can monitor the progress from within ROVER during this stage, and it is generally accepted this will take around a week.

Once approval has been granted, your caravan can now be registered with your State to Territories vehicle registration department.

Remember!

To register a new DIY caravan (anywhere in Australia) it will need to meet the Commonwealth Road Vehicle Standards legislation certification requirements as per here:
https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/infrastructure-transport-vehicles/vehicles/rvs/low-atm-trailers

Your DIY caravan must also comply with Vehicle Standards Bulletin 1 Version 6 which can be found here:
https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/infrastructure-transport-vehicles/vehicles/vehicle-design-regulation/rvs/bulletins#current-vsb

Finally you will also need to have your ROVER approval, and be recorded on the Commonwealth Register of Approved Vehicles.