The extraordinary move by the federal government to order a national recall of several million cars fitted with deadly airbags is long overdue, Australia's peak motoring body says.
Nearly four million cars fitted with the defective Takata airbags will need to be fixed in one of the largest recalls in Australian history.
The government's move follows a voluntary recall by carmakers in 2017.
The NRMA says the government's decision is long overdue.
"It has absolutely taken far too long to reach this stage," NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury told reporters in Sydney.
"When you have airbags killing people globally, that is something that needs to be addressed immediately."
Mr Khoury was also critical of the way car manufacturers handled the first recall.
"The sheer scale of this recall has had an impact on the manufacturers' ability to fix the cars - to find the cars - but that is no excuse," he said.
The devices have been linked to 23 deaths around the world including one in Australia.
The fault in the airbags lies within its propelling mechanism, which becomes defective when exposed to high levels of moisture and can scatter shards of metal upon activation.
Assistant Minister to the Treasurer Michael Sukkar says the first, non-compulsory, recall had "not been satisfactory".
"The compulsory recall will force manufacturers, dealers, importers and other suppliers to ensure that all dangerous Takata airbags are located and replaced as quickly as possible."
Some drivers voiced their frustration on social media upon news of the mandatory recall, saying they had been waiting months for their car manufacturer to replace the airbags.
"I have been waiting three months to get my death pillow replaced," Dan McMahon posted to Facebook.
"If I have a prang tomorrow and end up with a shard of shrapnel in my skull I will not be happy."
The government action comes after federal Labor called for a compulsory recall in August.
"The sad thing about this is that this has been waiting in the wings for months and months," opposition consumer affairs spokesman Tim Hammond told reporters in Canberra.
"It is an indictment of this government that they have taken so long to pull the trigger on a compulsory recall."
Consumer watchdog boss Rod Sims said last year's voluntary recall applied to 2.3 million vehicles but only about 1.3 million had airbags replaced.
The compulsory recall expands the scope to cover the millions of cars not dealt with in 2017 and another 1.3 million not previously recalled.
The scale of the recall is so big it will be done on a rolling basis with priority given to replacing airbags posing the most risk.
All affected airbags must be replaced by the end of 2020.
The order affects vehicles made by Ford, GM Holden, Mercedes Benz, Tesla, Jaguar, Land Rover, Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, BMW, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ferrari, GMC, Honda, Jeep, Lexus, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, Volvo and Hino Trucks.
The cost of the recall will be borne by the manufacturers.
Car owners can check their vehicle model online at productsafety.gov.au.
