Australia’s 2026 fleet outlook

Australian fleet managers should expect to face a fast-moving 2026. Here are five trends to watch and what they mean for safety, cost and compliance this summer and beyond.

1. NVES changes how you buy and operate

The New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES)

is now law and begins tightening CO₂ targets across new passenger and commercial light vehicles, shifting procurement towards more efficient utes, vans and cars. Fleet teams should stress-test their total-cost-of-ownership models (fuel, capex, resale, etc.) under NVES credit/debit scenarios and update company policy as a result.

2. New ANCAP rules raise the safety bar

ANCAP’s 2023–25 protocols

add assessments for child-presence detection, pedestrian protection, safety assist, whiplash protection and more. You’ll want to specify five-star vehicles with the newest ANCAP date stamp and make sure all your drivers are trained on any new active-safety features.

3. Fatigue compliance goes digital

Electronic work diaries (EWDs)

are an accepted alternative to written work diaries under NHVR. If your heavy-vehicle operations still rely on paper, moving to an approved EWD system can streamline processes, such as fatigue records, while improving audit readiness and supporting safer scheduling during peak periods and heat events.

4. Heat and extreme weather demand summer-ready risk plans

The latest State of the Climate report

from the CSIRO confirms Australia’s heat extremes are only increasing. To account for this, build seasonal operating procedures into your workflow – monitor heat advisories, adjust duty cycles and payloads, review tyre pressures and cooling systems, and deploy driver heat-stress systems (hydration, rest breaks, PPE), especially over summer.

5. WHS duties still underpin road-risk management

Beyond the tech, your legal baseline and duties

are the same. Every person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) must manage risks “so far as is reasonably practicable”. For fleets, that means having a documented safe-system-of-work for driving (vehicle choice, maintenance, training, supervision, incident review) and traffic-management controls around depots and job sites.

Quick actions for your 2026 planning

• Update vehicle specs to follow the NVES and latest ANCAP protocols.
• Phase in EWDs and set up your rosters to manage fatigue risk.
• Publish a summer operating appendix (heat, storms, bushfire smoke) and brief your crews.
• Re-issue your driving-for-work policy under WHS duties. Don’t forget to audit compliance at least quarterly.

_Disclaimer
^{Viva Energy Australia Pty Ltd (“Viva Energy”) has compiled the above article for your general information and to use as a general reference. Whilst all reasonable care has been taken by Viva Energy in compiling this article, Viva Energy does not warrant or represent that the information in the article is free from errors or omissions or is suitable for your intended use.}