Driving Light Legal: New South Wales
— May 04, 2020 | 2 min read
Making Sure Your Additional Spotlights or LED Light Bars are Legal Across Australia
One of the most practical and easiest upgrades for your 4WD or vehicle, especially if you do a lot of night driving in country and rural areas, would have to be fitting driving lights or LED light bars for increased visibility. But what you may not know is that there are laws on how many additional lights you can fit to your car, as well as where you mount them. There can be hefty fines if you do not adhere to these laws – and to add more complexity to the situation, these laws can differ depending on what part of the country you live in.
Interpreting and remembering these rules can be tricky, so we've created a series of blogs summarising each state's rules regarding the fitment and use of additional lighting. That way you can ensure wherever you are in Australia, your additional forward facing lights are legal. Please be aware though, that because the laws differ from state to state and can change from the time of us writing these blogs, it is always best to check official sources and stay up to date with the state or territory that you will be driving in/through. You can find links to respective traffic authority websites at the bottom of each article to assist you.
Continuing on with our summary of each state, we turn our attention to NEW SOUTH WALES, where additional lighting and spotlight laws are somewhat relaxed compared to other states:
Number of Lights
Unlike other states, the NSW Legislation states no rules as to the number of additional lights that can be fitted to your vehicle. Instead, any lights that you install to your vehicle must be done in pairs – therefore you must fit 2 lights at a time. To quote the NSW Legislation website, “Additional pairs of headlights may be fitted to a motor vehicle with 4 or more wheels that was built after 1969.”
Fitting of Lights
When fitting additional lights (such as spotlights and LED lightbars), NSW rule states that additional headlights must be fitted in pairs and as far apart as possible. This is a technical term for ensuring your additional lights are a matching pair and are symmetrical relevant to your vehicle.
For example, if you chose to run two sets of spotlights on your vehicle such as a pair of Narva Ultima 175’s and a second pair of Narva Ultima 225’s, you would mount the 225’s at each edge of your bull bar, with the 175’s mounted on the inside of each one. This makes the pairs “as far apart as possible, and in pairs”.
Operation of Lights
The additional lights must be installed in such a way that they only come on when the vehicle’s high beam (or main beam) headlights are activated, and must automatically turn off when the high beams are switched off.
The NSW Government states that additional headlights fitted to a vehicle can only show a white light and must project its light ahead of your vehicle.
Type of Lights
NARVA stock a wide range of additional lighting, including L.E.D driving lights and light bars, plus work lamps suitable for a variety of applications and legal fitment. You can check out our full range here: NARVA Driving Light Range
The information provided by us is correct as of May 2020. As mentioned, it is worthwhile keeping up to date with local laws as they are subject to change. To check out the NSW Legislation page on additional lights, click here:
VSI64 – Aftermarket Forward Facing Lamps – Fitting and Use (nsw.gov.au)