Safety concerns over WOF plans

The Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association (VIA) has voiced caution about plans by the government to extend warrant of fitness (WOF) intervals for some light vehicles.

Greig Epps, chief executive officer, says VIA supports modernising the WOF regime and is not opposed in principle to changes in inspection frequency. 

However, he adds any decisions by the coalition to update regulations should recognise New Zealand’s distinctive legal settings and behavioural patterns.

“We are cautious about proposals to extend WOF intervals – for example, from annual to two-yearly – unless there is strong, published evidence that safety and other outcomes will be at least maintained,” says Epps, pictured.

“The change must also be considered within the wider regulatory and behavioural context, not in isolation.

“We are not seeking to defend the current regime for its own sake. Our concern is that purely cost-cutting or ‘international alignment’ arguments, if applied without a New Zealand lens, risk undermining other policy goals.” 

VIA explains in a submission on the government’s proposals that used-vehicle imports are typically aged eight to 12 years and the WOF system is a critical factor in how those units are managed throughout the rest of their life in New Zealand. 

The association supports a modern, efficient regime that maintains or improves road safety outcomes, bolsters emissions and end-of-life policy objectives and uses inspection touchpoints to educate vehicle owners. 

Epps suggests the WOFs should serve at least four functions, with those being in-service safety checks, a behavioural nudge for maintenance, a delivery channel for other policy objectives and system integrity. 

“We encourage NZTA to ensure the consultation and final decisions are explicit about which of these functions are in scope, and how proposed frequency changes will impact them,” he explains.

There is also concern about how international comparisons of inspection intervals are often used to argue for longer gaps between inspections, which Epps says is only meaningful if behavioural and legal contexts are similar.

“We note the Associate Minister of Transport has pointed to overseas practice – including Europe’s two-yearly checks, and some Australian and Canadian jurisdictions relying on change-of-ownership or defect-triggered inspections – as part of the case for longer intervals,” he continues. 

“Those comparisons need to be treated carefully. They sit within different legal, insurance, enforcement and maintenance cultures, and they do not operate under New Zealand’s national no-fault ACC settings.” 

The submission states many vehicle owners rely on the requirement of regulatory inspections to tell them when their car needs to be checked.

As a result, VIA argues the frequency of inspections carry more weight here than in more litigious countries. “Extending WOF intervals without compensating measures may unintentionally signal to some motorists that less maintenance is acceptable.”

The Automobile Association has noted some people wait until inspections to be told what needs doing to their vehicles, while the Motor Trade Association has warned longer gaps between checks can allow faults to compound, increasing safety risk and eventual repair costs.

Epps adds extending the period between WOFs for large parts of the fleet from one to two years means vehicles may go twice as long between any professional checks and basic issues, such as tyres, brakes, steering, fluid leaks and structural rust, risk being left unattended for longer.

“This interacts particularly badly with older vehicles, where age-related issues can accelerate. 

“We are not saying this should automatically block change, but we are saying this needs to be confronted openly in the analysis and modelling.

“We request that NZTA publish the key data and modelling underpinning any decision so industry and the public can understand and test the reasoning.”

Diving into data

VIA’s submission points out the government’s consultation material appears to treat four to 10-year-old light vehicles as a relatively low-risk group, but NZTA data suggests otherwise. 

There were 38,497 fails from 175,529 WOF inspections – equivalent to about 22 per cent – for four-year-old, NZ-new vehicles in 2024. 

Across all NZ-new and used imports aged four to 10 years in the same year 450,303 out of 1,785,851 inspections were fails, about 25 per cent, with the faults mostly related to tyres and brakes.

Epps says these are parts you do not want degrading for two years at a time and the figures indicate a large volume of safety-relevant defects emerging within the current 12-month cycle. 

“Doubling the interval would, by design, increase the time defects remain undetected and unfixed for owners who treat WOF as their primary maintenance trigger.”

Used-imports coming into New Zealand are subject to what Epps calls one of the most rigorous entry-inspection regimes in the world. At the point of import, structural, safety and emissions-related issues are checked to a high standard. 

He notes other NZTA data shows that at entry and in the first years in New Zealand, “used imports at WOF time perform as well or better than NZ-new at the same age”. 

“Beyond 12-13 years, outcomes are driven less by where the vehicle started life and more by age, kilometres travelled, and how owners have maintained the car.”

As a result, VIA advocates that any move to lengthen WOF intervals be tested specifically against the risk profile of older vehicles and not just late-model cars.

“A blanket shift to two-yearly WOFs for vehicles aged four to 10 years is not supported by the available inspection evidence because in 2024 around one in four WOFs such vehicles resulted in a fail,” continues Epps. 

“We also do not support shifting the first WOF for NZ-new vehicles from three to four years unless it is paired with a distance-based trigger, because wear is driven by kilometres as much as time.

“We agree with the Automobile Association that distance travelled is a better proxy for wear and tear than age alone, and that any reduced-frequency model should be built around kilometres travelled, with the odometer providing a practical trigger.” 

To reduce compliance burden, VIA recommends a hybrid approach for the four to 10-year cohort. This would retain annual WOFs for higher-kilometre and higher-exposure vehicles, such as those used for commercial purposes, while allowing longer intervals for demonstrably low-kilometre units.

It also urges any relaxation of the rules decided upon by the government be phased and subject to formal post-implementation review with published safety metrics.