Vehicle Emission Star Rating logo

Disclaimer

Website Terms

Vehicle Emissions Star Rating

This website is provided and maintained by the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) (ABN 20 770 707 468) (Website) with registered office at 4 Paramatta Square 12 Darcy Street Paramatta NSW 2150 (Department, We, Us, or Our). 

The term 'you' refers to the user or viewer of the Website who may view, access, use, browse, or download information on the Website.

  1. Overview
    1. The Website grants you access to a Vehicle Emissions Star Rating (VESR), calculated using CO2 emissions data as published by the Australian Government in the Green Vehicle Guide (GVG) and an independently developed methodology that provides a comparative rating based on tailpipe CO2 emissions (collectively Information). 
    2. The VESR gives you the ability to view and compare the tailpipe emissions and the estimated fuel and electricity costs of different vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass on the Australian market since 2004. 
    3. These Terms include provisions covering the permitted and prohibited uses of the Website, and standards for content that you may submit to the Website.
       
  2. Changes 
    1. These Terms were last reviewed and updated on 22 February 2024.
    2. We may, from time to time, change these Terms and the content of the Website (including, but not limited to, updating the VESR and Information and any published policies where there are updates to the GVG Database or GVG Data as defined in clause 12 of these Terms) at our discretion and without notice to you. 
       
  3. Consent

By viewing, accessing, using, browsing or downloading information on, the Website, you expressly consent to these Terms.

  1. Access and availability of the Website
    1. We may immediately and without notice suspend or terminate the availability and operation of the Website or restrict access to it or to parts of it without notice to you. This may be for repair, maintenance, improvement or for another technical reason.
    2. We may immediately suspend or terminate your access to the Website if you breach any of these Terms. 
    3. If you do anything which is a criminal offence under applicable law, your right to use the Website will end immediately. 
    4. We take no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the Website being unavailable.
       
  2. Disclaimer 
    1. Your access to, and use of, the Website is at your own risk. 
    2. You should use your own skill and judgement before you rely on anything on the Website. You should also seek professional advice to suit your individual circumstances. 
    3. We make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability, with regard to the Website, the Information and content contained on the Website, or information linked to or from the Website.
    4. You agree and warrant that you understand the following:
      1. The Department is an independent entity and is not affiliated with any vehicle manufacturing brand.
      2. All information and content provided on the Website is for information purposes only and We make no representation to you on the accuracy of the information provided.
      3. The Website does not recommend or endorse any vehicle make or model.
      4. We make no representation on the performance and/or safety of any vehicle referred to on the Website.
         
  3. Intellectual Property
    1. The Website and all content (such as photos, illustrations, videos, product descriptions and information) on the Website are owned or controlled by Us or third parties who licence this to Us. 
    2. All right, title, and interest in and to the content available via the Website, displayed on the Website, and the Website itself (including the selection, compilation, arrangement and layout of the content) are the property of Us or licensed to Us by third parties and may be protected by copyright, trade mark, patent, design and/or other intellectual property rights and laws. 
    3. Subject to your strict compliance with these Terms, you have a limited right to access and use the Website and its content or Information for your personal use. No other right or licences are granted or may be construed.
    4. All rights in the Website and contents or Information are reserved by the Department and other third parties. 
    5. If you believe our intellectual property has been or is being infringed, please let Us know by contacting: Privacy Coordinator
      Department of Customer Services 
      2-24 Rawson Place 
      Sydney NSW 2000 

      Email: [email protected]
       
  4. Prohibited Use
    1. You must respect the intellectual property and other rights of the Department and others. 
    2. Your unauthorised use, reproduction, communication or other distribution of any content or Information on the Website may breach intellectual property, privacy or other laws, and any such use may result in your personal liability, including potential criminal liability.
    3. You must not:
      1. monitor, gather, copy, or distribute any content or Information (except as may be a result of standard search engine activity or use of a standard browser) on the Website or by using any robot, rover, "bot", spider, scraper, crawler, spyware, extraction tool, or any automatic or manual process;
      2. modify any content or Information on the Website;
      3. copy, modify, reproduce, archive, communicate or otherwise distribute, create derivative works from, publish, or otherwise use or exploit our content or Information (in whole or in part) in any way for any purpose except as expressly permitted by these Terms; or 
      4. insert any code or product to manipulate the Website in any way that adversely affects any user experience or breaches any laws; 
         
  5. User generated content and uploading content to the Website
    1. The Website may allow users to post content (User Content). 
    2. By submitting, posting or uploading User Content, you:
      1. grant Us an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, transferable, sublicensable, license (by Ourselves or with others) to use, copy, modify, adapt, publish, communicate, translate, distribute, display, publicly perform, print, reformat, and incorporate the User Content or any works derived from the User Content; and 
      2. warrant that the User Content was created by you and you own the intellectual property rights in the User Content or that you have all required consents and permissions to upload, submit, or post the User Content.
    3. You must not submit, upload or post User Content that:
      1. any of these Terms;
      2. violates any third party’s intellectual property rights;
      3. is offensive, racist, obscene or discriminatory in nature;
      4. poses any harm;
      5. is or contains malware, viruses or other harmful software;
      6. encourages or incites illegal activities or violations of any applicable laws;
      7. impacts the privacy or discloses personal information of any individual, including third parties, without their consent;
      8. repeatedly re-posts the same content;
      9. contains advertising or promotional material;
      10. involves content created or posted under a new account after being suspended or banned from using that account; or 
      11. infringes the rights, reputation, or privacy of any individual or organisation.
    4. We reserve the right to not publish User Content or to remove the User Content (or any part of it) at our sole discretion. 
       
  6. Viruses and Online Offences
    1. While We take all reasonable steps to protect the security of the Website, the Department cannot guarantee or provide any assurances and warranties that any file or program, including external articles and links (External Source) available for download and/or execution from or via the Website is free from viruses or other conditions which could damage or interfere with data, hardware or software with which it might be used.
    2. You must not misuse the Website by transmitting, sending or uploading any data or material that contains viruses, trojans, worms, logic bombs, keystroke loggers, spyware, adware or other programs or code which is malicious or harmful. We will report any such breach to the relevant law enforcement authorities and We will co-operate with those authorities by disclosing your identity to them. In the event of such a breach, your right to use the Website will cease immediately, and may give rise to a claim for damages and/or a criminal offence.
       
  7. Links to third party sites and knowledge library
    1. The Website contains a knowledge library that may include links to other government and external websites that may cover topics such as emissions offsets, lifecycle emissions, battery recycling, EV charging, EV rebates, fuel/running costs and other ways to reduce vehicle emissions. 
    2. These links have been included on the Website with the intention of increasing the information available to you. If you use these links, you may leave the Website. 
    3. You acknowledge that the Department has no control over these external websites.
    4. The Department makes no guarantees in relation to the security of any external website and cannot accept liability in relation to security issues arising should you choose to visit those sites.
    5. The Department does not accept responsibility or liability for any loss, damage, cost or expense you might incur if you rely on information which appears on an External Source.
    6. When you visit a linked site, you will be subject to the privacy policy and terms of that site.
    7. We are not responsible for the views, opinions, standards or information expressed on an External Source. 
    8. The provision of an External Source does not imply that the Department endorses those sites or the people or companies who own them, and vice versa.
    9. Some of the information on the Website may include views or recommendations of others who are not part of the Department. Those views might not be the same as the views of the Department. They also do not indicate the Department’s commitment to a particular course of action.
       
  8. Use of Cookies 
    1. To analyse user behaviour on the Website, We use Google Analytics, a tool that employs "Cookies”, text files that are stored on your computer to collect standard Internet log information and anonymous data on visitor behaviour. The information generated by these Cookies, including your IP address, is sent to Google for analysis. We then use this information to assess how you use the Website and generate statistical reports on Website activity for the Department. Please note that We will not link any data collected from this site with any personally identifiable information from any source. We also collect data from the site using "IP files".
    2. If you would like to learn more about Google's privacy policy, you can visit their website or click here to understand how Google utilises data.
    3. For more information about how the Department uses cookies, you can visit the NSW Climate and Energy Action website or click here. 
    4. When a user visits the Website to read, search, browse, or download information, Our web server will automatically recognise and record the user's IP address (the address that identifies the user's computer on the internet), as well as the date and time of their visit, the pages viewed, and any information downloaded. This data is collected for site analysis and to help us improve our online services. In addition, We may collect non-personal information about users, such as the type of internet browser used or the Website from which the user linked to our site. This information is used to assist Us in providing an effective service on the Website and cannot be used to identify individuals.
    5. If you wish to opt-out of personalised Google Display Network ads and Google Analytics for Display Advertising, you can access Ads Settings. Alternatively, you may use the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on to prevent your tracking data from being transmitted to Google Analytics.
       
  9. GVG Database and GVG Data
    1. The GVG Database and the GVG data in the database which may be in (i) an unaltered form or (ii) an altered, adapted, abridged, or supplemented, and/or incorporates additional functionality (together and each GVG Data)  is used by Us in calculating the Vehicle Emissions Star Rating.
    2. The GVG Data provides Us with information on fuel and energy consumption and emissions data.  
    3. The GVG Data:
      1. is based on laboratory testing in controlled conditions; 
      2. is provided to you on an “as-is” basis; and
      3. should only be used to compare vehicles as contemplated by GVG and on the Website. 
    4. The GVG Data is used on the Website with the permission of the Commonwealth of Australia Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.  
    5. The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts have not evaluated GVG Data as altered and incorporated within the Website, and therefore gives no warranty regarding its accuracy, quality, timeliness, completeness, currency or suitability for any particular purpose.
    6. The GVG Data is provided by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts under a limited licence where you may only print and reproduce views obtained from the GVG Data so long as it is for personal use only and you retain the following notice:
      1. for GVG data that is unaltered

© Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications) 2021

Limited End-user licence provided by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications: You may print and reproduce views obtained from the Green Vehicle Guide data, retaining this notice, for your personal use only. The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications gives no warranty regarding the Green Vehicle Guide data's accuracy, completeness, currency or suitability for any particular purpose.

 

  1. For GVD data that altered, adapted, abridged, or supplemented, and/or incorporates additional functionality:

© Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications) 2021

Limited End-user licence provided by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications: You may print and reproduce views obtained from the Green Vehicle Guide data, retaining this notice, for your personal use only. The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications gives no warranty regarding the Green Vehicle Guide data's accuracy, completeness, currency or suitability for any particular purpose. 

  1. You agree that the terms and notices in clauses 12(d), (e) and (f) would apply to any page where GVG Data is displayed.  You agree to comply with such terms and notices.   
  2. We make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability, with regard to the GVG Database or GVG Data for any particular purpose,

 

  1. VESR Methodology  

The VESR Methodology and the Website is endorsed by the NSW Office of Energy and Climate Change with Ministerial approval. 
 

  1. Energy Prices
    1. Any default content or Information relating to fuel pricing relating to petrol, diesel, electricity, hydrogen and energy costs have been sourced from GVG Data. You can also enter your own values into the costs calculator tool to provide an estimate of annual petrol, diesel, electricity, hydrogen and energy costs of a vehicle.   
    2. The information displayed on the Website is for the purpose of comparing vehicles only and is not indicative of a vehicle’s performance or costs experienced by individuals in the real world. 
    3. You acknowledge that consumption figures experienced when driving a vehicle will vary from the figures displayed by the Website and will be influenced by numerous factors including but not limited to the maintenance of your vehicle and how you use it, the conditions of roads, and traffic conditions. 
       
  2. General
    1. Severability. If any provision of these Terms is unlawful, void or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision will be deemed severable and will not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions
    2. Entire Agreement. These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and Us with respect to the Website and will supersede all previous representations, agreements and other communications between you and Us, both oral and written.
    3. Governing Law. These Terms, their subject matter, and their formation, are governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia. The courts of New South Wales, Australia will have non-exclusive jurisdiction over any claim arising from or related to a visit to the Website.