i just called the EPA regarding this and in Victoria this is how its stands:
A pod filter is legal if it is of a dry element, not oil based.
-If its a dry element, it can be exposed.
-If the car has a factory intercooler, you can have a pod filter, but you cannot have changes to the cooler. eg change location, size. or aftermaket.
-If the cooler is changed, you cannot have a pod filter in any case.
Ill be getting this in hard copy during the week, so i shouldnt have any dramas