ANCAP funding extended by five years

THE federal government has extended the funding of the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) for another five years at a cost of $6.64 million.

Deputy prime minister and minister for infrastructure and transport Michael McCormack and minister for urban infrastructure and cities Paul Fletcher were on hand to make the announcement at the ANCAP display warehouse in Canberra this morning as part of National Road Safety Week.

The announcement means the government will continue to fund ANCAP until at least 2023 after coming on board in 2010 as one of 23 member organisations alongside all state and territory governments, the New Zealand government and the Australian and New Zealand automobile clubs.

“The work of the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) is vital to improving the safety of vehicles on Australian roads and it is crucial we provide assistance at a federal level to help it continue,” Mr McCormack said.

“We are investing in making roads safer around Australia – especially in the regions – which helps drivers, but this is just one piece of the puzzle.

“That’s why the government is working as best it can with state and territory governments, road safety advocates and organisations, such as ANCAP, to head towards zero road fatalities in Australia.”

Mr Fletcher said it was important for ANCAP to continue its work in ensuring Australian consumers are informed about vehicle safety.

“While safety standards have improved over the past 20 years, our support for ANCAP will keep ensuring Australians get the right information about their vehicle’s safety before purchase and independent testing of vehicles will continue to provide consumers with that information.”

ANCAP chief executive James Goodwin said the extension of funding would help the vehicle safety watchdog to expand the range of tests it already conducts.

“Continued emphasis to elevate the safety of new vehicles – as well as to reduce the overall age of the nation’s registered vehicle fleet – are critical to reducing the number of deaths and injuries caused by serious crashes,” he said.

“All Australian road users will see the benefits of this contribution, with the new funding commitment announced today enabling ANCAP to further broaden its range of tests, and expand its advocacy and community education activities.”

ANCAP introduced tougher standards for Australian-market vehicles that took effect on January 1 this year, bringing its testing protocols and scoring systems into line with that of Euro NCAP.

Its previous scoring system – a best of 37 points tally – was dropped in favour of the Euro NCAP model of four pillars of safety performance, including adult occupant protection, child occupant protection, pedestrian protection and safety assist system assessment.

Any car assessed under the new system needs to pass minimum requirements before it can be considered for the next pillar.

ANCAP was established in 1992 as only the second new car assessment program in the world and it was the first such organisation to introduce a frontal offset test, back in 1993.