Inspections
What an eSafety check covers in a NSW workshop
A workshop guide to the NSW eSafety check (pink slip): the AIS rules that apply, how the inspection is structured, and how to run it without retyping the result.
17 August 2026 · 8 minute read
The pink slip is an inspection with a paper trail
In New South Wales a registered light vehicle over five years old needs an eSafety check before its registration can be renewed. Workshops know it as the pink slip. The inspection is carried out by an Authorised Examiner at a station authorised under the Authorised Inspection Scheme, and the result is submitted electronically to Transport for NSW. The customer walks out with a report; the registry gets the outcome directly.
The standard is organised by rule number, and the numbers matter
Examiners work to the Light Vehicle Safety Check Standards, which form Section 2 of the AIS Rules. For light vehicles the relevant rules run from 101 to 109: 101 brakes, 102 towing attachment, 103 steering and suspension, 104 wheels and tyres, 105 body condition, 106 lighting, 107 engine compartment and driveline, and 109 fuel systems. Motorcycles and trailers have their own rule sets in the 140s and 180s. Within each rule the individual checks are numbered again — 101.01 for brake control operation, 101.02 for visible brake components, and so on. Those numbers are the shared language between whatever the technician writes down and what goes on the form.
Check that the copy you are working from is current
The published standard is a compiled document, and its pages carry different revision dates — some are recent, others date back to the 1990s. A couple of legacy passages have survived the compilations. None of that changes your obligation, but it is a good reason to work from a copy you have downloaded recently rather than a printout that has been on the bench for years, and to confirm anything that looks inconsistent with Transport for NSW.
Where workshops actually lose time
The inspection itself is rarely the bottleneck. Time disappears afterwards. A technician marks up a sheet, the advisor works out which failures the customer needs quoted, someone retypes the descriptions into a quote, the customer approves part of it by phone, and then somebody has to reconstruct what was approved when the job is written up. By the time the vehicle is finished, the original findings and the work performed live in three different places.
Run the check once and let it carry
A better sequence is to complete the checklist against the vehicle with photos attached to the findings, turn the failures into quote lines without retyping them, send the customer a link where they can approve or defer each line individually, and convert what they approve into job tasks. The vehicle history then shows what was inspected, what was recommended, what was approved and what was declined — which matters when the same car comes back next year.
How MechAxis fits
MechAxis ships a NSW eSafety check template built from rules 101 to 109, keeping the official item numbering so results transcribe straight onto the form. Technicians complete it on a tablet beside the vehicle with photos and severity ratings, advisors quote the findings, and customers approve line by line. MechAxis records the inspection and the work — the certificate is still issued by the Authorised Examiner and submitted to Transport for NSW through the AIS system.
Questions
Common questions
01Does MechAxis submit the eSafety check result to Transport for NSW?+
No. Submission happens through the AIS online system by the Authorised Examiner. MechAxis records the inspection, the photos, the quote and the approved work so the result is ready to enter and the workshop has its own record of what was found.
02Which rules apply to a car?+
Rules 101 to 109 cover light vehicles. Motorcycles use rules 141 to 147 and trailers use 181 to 186. The MechAxis template currently covers cars.
03Can the customer approve only some of the failed items?+
Yes. Approval applies to individual quote lines, so a customer can authorise the work needed to pass and defer the rest. Deferred items stay on the vehicle record for the next conversation.
04Is the MechAxis checklist the official standard?+
No. It mirrors the sections and item numbering so the two line up, but it does not reproduce the reasons for rejection, and it is not a substitute for the published standard. Examiners work from the standard; the checklist is the worksheet beside it.
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