Australia has four new vehicle lighting standards on the Federal Register of Legislation, and the installation rule that governs every lamp and reflector on a camper trailer has been amended to accept them. ADR 102/00 – Light Signalling Devices is the one that matters for trailers. It covers stop lamps, direction indicators, position lamps, registration-plate lamps, side marker lamps, rear fog lamps and reversing lamps, and since 10 July 2026 it has been an accepted alternative to the older component ADR for each of them. ADR 104/00 does the same job for reflectors.
For a buyer or owner the short answer is that nothing on an existing trailer changes. The amendment to ADR 13/00 adds certification pathways; it does not add a lamp, move one or make any lamp stricter. The government’s explanatory statement says the changes “do not increase the stringency of requirements with regard to vehicle lighting components, so will not require any vehicles demonstrated to comply with the original version of the ADR prior to these amendments to be re-tested or re-certified.”
For a trailer manufacturer or a lamp importer the answer is more useful. Lamps and reflectors tested to UN Regulations 148 and 150, the consolidated international lighting regulations, now have a named Australian Design Rule to be certified against. Until July, the ADR tables only pointed at the older, device-by-device UN regulations.
The six documents, in order
All five instruments were signed on 11 June 2026 by the Assistant Minister for Regional Development, Anthony Chisholm, under section 12 of the Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018. Each new ADR states that it “commences on the day after it is registered”, so the commencement dates below follow from the registration dates.
| Instrument | Register ID | Registered | Commenced |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule) Vehicle Lighting Amendment 2026 | F2026L00854 | 1 July 2026 | 2 July 2026 |
| ADR 103/00 – Road Illumination Devices (Lamps) | F2026L00929 | 8 July 2026 | 9 July 2026 |
| ADR 104/00 – Retro-reflective Devices and Markings | F2026L00930 | 8 July 2026 | 9 July 2026 |
| ADR 101/00 – Light Emitting Diode (LED) Light Sources | F2026L00926 | 9 July 2026 | 10 July 2026 |
| ADR 102/00 – Light Signalling Devices | F2026L00928 | 9 July 2026 | 10 July 2026 |
| ADR 13/00, Compilation No. 9 (consolidated text) | F2026C00613 | 17 July 2026 | Shows the law as at 2 July 2026 |
According to the legislation history in the ADR 13/00 compilation, the amendment commenced on 2 July 2026, a week before the ADRs it refers to were registered. The record does not explain the sequencing.
The amendment makes the same change to ADR 19/01 and 19/02 (motorcycles and mopeds) and ADR 67/00 (three-wheeled vehicles); those schedules do not touch trailers.
What ADR 102/00 covers on a trailer
ADR 13/00 does not itself contain photometric requirements. Its Appendix A is UN Regulation 48, the installation regulation, and every lamp in that appendix is described by reference to a separate UN component regulation. Clause 7.7 of ADR 13/00 is the table that translates those UN references into ADRs. The amendment rewrote that table. For the devices that can be fitted to a trailer, the translation now reads as follows.
| UN R48 paragraph | Device | Equivalent ADR before July 2026 | Equivalent ADRs now (clause 7.7 as amended) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.4 | Reversing lamp | 1/00 | 1/00 and 102/00 |
| 6.5 | Direction indicator lamp | 6/00 | 6/00 and 102/00 |
| 6.7 | Stop lamp | 49/00 | 49/00 and 102/00 |
| 6.8 | Rear registration plate lamp | 48/00 | 48/00 and 102/00 |
| 6.9 | Front position lamp | 49/00 | 49/00 and 102/00 |
| 6.10 | Rear position lamp | 49/00 | 49/00 and 102/00 |
| 6.11 | Rear fog lamp | 52/00 | 52/00 and 102/00 |
| 6.13 | End-outline marker lamp | 49/00 | 49/00 and 102/00 |
| 6.14 to 6.17 | Rear, front and side retro-reflectors | 47/00 | 47/00 and 104/00 |
| 6.18 | Side marker lamp | 74/00 | 74/00 and 102/00 |
| 6.21 | Conspicuity markings | None (UN R104 applied directly) | UN R104 or ADR 104/00 (new clause 7.8) |
Two things in that table deserve a plain reading. First, the older component ADRs are still there. The colour table in clause 8.2, also replaced by the amendment, lists each pair with “or”: a stop lamp must be red and must meet “49/00 or 102/00”. The explanatory statement describes the new ADRs as “additional certification pathways” and “equivalent alternatives”. Nothing in the instrument withdraws ADR 49/00 or its siblings, and no date for doing so is given.
Second, the new clause 7.8 is a different kind of change. Conspicuity markings, adaptive front lighting and manoeuvring lamps had no ADR equivalent at all before July, so they were certified to the UN regulation directly. Clause 7.8 keeps that option open alongside the new ADRs. The explanatory statement says this “ensures manufacturers are not forced to certify these specific vehicle lighting components to the new ADRs the day after this Amending Instrument is registered.”
The remaining items in Schedule 1 of the amendment are typographical corrections to quotation marks in the side marker lamp clauses.
The four new ADRs, one by one
ADR 102/00 – Light Signalling Devices. Appendix A is UN Regulation 148 in its 01 series of amendments; clause 7 accepts the technical requirements of either the 00 or the 01 series as an alternative standard. Clause 2 lists the eleven functions it covers, from reversing lamps to parking lamps. Clause 3 is explicit that ADR 102/00 decides nothing about where a lamp goes: ADR 13/00 (and ADR 19 and 67 for other vehicle groups) “set out the circumstances under which the installation of Light Signalling Devices on vehicles is mandatory, optional, or prohibited.” Three Australian variations matter for trailers. Front end-outline marker lamps may be amber (clause 6.2). Side marker lamps may meet an Australian specification in Appendix B instead of the UN text (clause 6.3): amber or red light, at least 0.3 candela within the prescribed angles and no more than 12 candela in any direction, with a 60 candela allowance for lamps combined with a front position lamp. And where UN R148 requires light sources approved to UN Regulations 37, 99 or 128, the ADR substitutes ADR 51/… (filament lamps), ADR 78/… (gas discharge) and ADR 101/… (LED) (clause 6.4).
ADR 104/00 – Retro-reflective Devices and Markings. Appendix A is UN Regulation 150, 01 series, with the 00 and 01 series both accepted under clause 7. It covers retro-reflectors of classes IA and IB (the ordinary rear and front units), IIIA and IIIB (the triangular reflectors used on trailers) and IVA, and retro-reflective marking materials of classes C, D, E and F. Clause 6.1 removes the parts of UN R150 that deal with advance warning triangles and the rear marking plates for heavy, long and slow-moving vehicles, along with the administrative annexes.
ADR 103/00 – Road Illumination Devices (Lamps). Appendix A is UN Regulation 149, 01 series. It covers headlamps, adaptive front-lighting systems, front fog lamps and cornering lamps. Every one of those is prohibited on a trailer under ADR 13/00 Appendix A (paragraphs 6.1.1, 6.2.1, 6.3.1 and 6.22.1), so in our reading ADR 103/00 has no application to a camper trailer’s own lamps. It matters to the tow vehicle.
ADR 101/00 – LED Light Sources. Appendix A is UN Regulation 128 in its original version. It sets dimensional, electrical and photometric requirements for replaceable LED light sources so that they are interchangeable and work correctly in the lamp units designed for them. It is not referenced by ADR 13/00 at all. It enters through ADR 102/00 clause 6.4 and ADR 103/00 clause 6.2, which is why the amendment’s explanatory statement speaks of “three new ADRs” while four instruments were registered.
Why the lighting ADRs changed
The explanatory statements for the three device ADRs give the same account. A UN expert group on lighting restructured the requirements “to a more modern simplified approach based on three road safety functions”, road illumination devices, light signalling devices and retro-reflective devices, and in doing so “reduced the number of UN regulations for vehicle lighting from 20 to three.” The statements add that “the simplified UN regulations maintain the same level of stringency as the lighting regulations they replace.”
ADR 102/00 accordingly “combines the technical provisions” of ADRs 1, 6, 48, 49, 52, 53, 74, 76 and 86, which between them correspond to UN Regulations 23, 6, 4, 7, 38, 50, 91, 87 and 77. ADR 104/00 combines ADR 47 (UN R3) with UN Regulations 27, 69, 70 and 104.
The department ran a six-week public consultation titled Harmonisation of Vehicle Lighting Standards, which closed on 7 October 2025. It received ten submissions, “including from peak bodies representing vehicle and component manufacturers, state and territory governments and the general public.” The majority supported the new ADRs as an alternative certification pathway and “there were no submissions opposing the new ADRs.” The consultation produced minor drafting changes and “no change to the technical requirements.” A preliminary impact analysis was lodged with the Office of Impact Analysis, which decided a detailed analysis was not required (reference OIA24-07660).
Camper News AU could not read the consultation paper or the submissions: the department’s website did not respond to our requests on 28 August 2026. The account above is the explanatory statements’ summary, not our own reading of the submissions.
What a camper trailer must still carry
ADR 13/00 applies to TA and TB trailers manufactured on or after 1 October 1991. The definitions ADR puts a single-axled trailer with a gross trailer mass not exceeding 0.75 tonne in category TA and any other trailer up to 3.5 tonnes GTM in category TB, so most camper trailers are TB and the lightest single-axle units are TA. Our explainer on ATM, GTM and tare sets out how gross trailer mass is defined.
None of the presence rules below was touched by the amendment. They come from ADR 13/00 Appendix A (UN R48) as varied by the Australian clauses in sections 7, 9 and 10 of the same standard. This is the design standard applied when a trailer is first supplied; the in-service rules that states and territories apply at registration and roadworthy inspection are separate documents and are not covered in this article.
| Device | Presence on a TA or TB trailer | Where it says so |
|---|---|---|
| Rear position lamps (red) | Mandatory; two | Appendix A 6.10.1, 6.10.2 |
| Stop lamps, categories S1 or S2 (red) | Mandatory on all vehicle categories; two | Appendix A 6.7.1, 6.7.2 |
| Direction indicator lamps (amber) | Mandatory; trailers use arrangement “B” | Appendix A 6.5.1 |
| Rear registration plate lamp (white) | Mandatory | Appendix A 6.8.1 |
| Front position lamps (white; amber if combined with a side marker lamp) | Optional up to 1,600 mm wide. Over 1,600 mm to 1,800 mm wide: mandatory if the trailer is over 4 m long, unless two compliant side marker lamps are fitted; optional if under 4 m. Over 1,800 mm wide: mandatory unless two compliant side marker lamps are fitted | Clauses 7.5 and 10.3.1 |
| Front retro-reflectors, non-triangular (white) | Mandatory; optional on a TA trailer not more than 980 mm wide | Appendix A 6.16.1; clause 10.12.1 |
| Side retro-reflectors, non-triangular (amber) | Mandatory on all trailers | Appendix A 6.17.1 |
| Rear retro-reflectors, triangular (red) | Optional: the ADR reads the Appendix A “Mandatory” as “Optional” | Clause 10.11.1 |
| Rear retro-reflectors, non-triangular (red) | Optional on trailers, provided they are grouped with the other rear signalling lamps | Appendix A 6.14.1 |
| End-outline marker lamps (white or amber front, red rear) | Mandatory over 2.10 m wide and optional from 1.80 to 2.10 m under Appendix A; optional on trailers with no permanent structure over the load compartment, and at the front where they would sit no more than 1.5 m above the front position lamps | Appendix A 6.13.1; clauses 10.5.1, 10.5.2 |
| Side marker lamps | Under the Australian route, required on trailers over 2.1 m wide or over 7.5 m long and optional otherwise; under the UN route, mandatory on any vehicle over 6 m long | Clauses 7.4 and 9.2.1; Appendix A 6.18.1 |
| Reversing lamps (white) | Optional on trailers: the ADR reads “Mandatory” as “Optional” for trailer categories | Clause 10.8.1 |
| Rear fog lamps (red) | Optional | Clause 10.4.1 |
| Conspicuity markings | Prohibited on TA; optional on TB | Appendix A 6.21.1.1; clause 10.14.1 |
| Daytime running lamps | Prohibited on trailers | Appendix A 6.19.1 |
| Headlamps, front fog lamps, adaptive front lighting | Prohibited on trailers | Appendix A 6.1.1, 6.2.1, 6.3.1, 6.22.1 |
Two details are easy to miss. A TA trailer not more than 980 mm wide, the narrowest single-axle units, may use either the ordinary lamp positions with a minimum 180 mm between the inner edges of each pair, or the motorcycle provisions of ADR 19/02, for its indicators, stop lamps, rear position lamps and rear reflectors (clauses 10.1.3, 10.2.2, 10.9.1 and 10.10.1). And the side marker lamp and front position lamp rules interact: on a trailer wider than 1,800 mm, two side marker lamps fitted to the Australian specification take the place of front position lamps.
What the change means in practice
For a buyer or owner:
- There is nothing to do. A trailer supplied before July 2026 was certified against the ADRs in force at its date of manufacture, and the explanatory statement says no re-testing or re-certification follows from the amendment.
- The trailer compliance plate and the Register of Approved Vehicles entry are unaffected. A plate that cites ADR 13/00 is citing the same installation standard it always did.
- If a dealer describes a trailer’s lighting as “ADR compliant”, the rule that decides which lamps must be there, where and in what colour is still ADR 13/00. ADR 102/00 only decides whether a lamp is an acceptable component.
- Replacement lamps are governed by the in-service rules of the state or territory, not by these instruments, which say nothing about what an owner may fit later.
For a manufacturer or lamp importer:
- An evidence package for a stop lamp, indicator, position lamp, plate lamp, side marker, rear fog lamp or reversing lamp may now cite ADR 102/00 or the older component ADR. Both are listed in clause 8.2 Table 1.
- Under ADR 102/00 clause 7, the technical requirements of UN R148 in either the 00 or the 01 series are an accepted alternative standard. ADR 104/00 clause 7 does the same for UN R150.
- Lamps with replaceable LED light sources must use sources meeting ADR 101/00, or filament and gas-discharge sources meeting ADR 51/… and ADR 78/… (ADR 102/00 clause 6.4).
- The administrative parts of the UN regulations, including approval markings and conformity-of-production annexes, are excluded (ADR 102/00 clause 6.1; ADR 104/00 clause 6.1). The explanatory statement’s reason is that “the Commonwealth administers approvals through the RVSA and the ADRs”.
- The Australian side marker lamp specification survives as Appendix B of ADR 102/00, and the Australian front position lamp and side marker lamp presence rules survive as clauses 7.4, 7.5, 9.2 and 10.3 of ADR 13/00.
What the record does not say
- Whether, or when, the older component ADRs (1/00, 6/00, 47/00, 48/00, 49/00, 52/00 and 74/00) will be withdrawn. The amendment keeps them and sets no date.
- Anything about lamps fitted to trailers already in service.
- Why the amendment commenced on 2 July 2026 while the ADRs it names were registered on 8 and 9 July.
- The content of the ten consultation submissions, which we could not obtain.
- Whether the department intends the same treatment for other component ADRs. The instruments deal with lighting only.
Where one of those points matters to a certification decision, the answer will have to come from the department, not from these documents.
Disclosure and how we verified this explainer
Camper News AU is edited by Gauthier T., who works with brands in the Australian camper trailer industry, including Breath Trailer. Breath Trailer, like every other trailer manufacturer, is subject to ADR 13/00 and can use the new certification pathways; it had no part in the consultation described here and received no favourable treatment in this article. Every manufacturer is treated the same way under our published methodology.
We downloaded the five instruments, their explanatory statements, ADR 13/00 Compilation No. 9 and the current definitions ADR from the Federal Register of Legislation on 28 August 2026, compared Compilation No. 9 against Compilation No. 8 line by line to isolate the amended clauses, and checked every presence rule in the table above against the compiled text. If a later compilation or a further amendment changes any of it, we will update this article and log any material change on the corrections page.