New Heavy Vehicle Laws to Commence Soon

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New Heavy Vehicle Laws to Commence Soon

The new heavy vehicle law has commenced as of 10 February 2014 following the delay of its implementation last year.

Ministers have agreed that the Heavy Vehicle National Law will commence in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia and replaces five differing sets of legislation with just one unified national rule book.

This makes it much easier for those travelling across the country, across borders into different states. Under the new Heavy Vehicle National Law, all heavy vehicles over 4.5 tonnes will operate under one rule book.

According to the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator CEO, Richard Hancock the reform was supposed to be implemented in September last year but the NHVR decided to postpone it until they could get their IT systems up to date. Hancock says they are now ready to commence with the new system as of 10 February, confidant that all the necessary work has been done to ensure the smooth rollout.

Under the new reform the NHVR will become the go-to organisation for the entire range of services that were previously delivered by separate state and territory road transport.

Richard Hancock was quoted on SafetyCulture.com.au as saying:

“We have also been working closely with our regulatory partners, state and territory road transport authorities, local government and police agencies to support them with their preparations for the new national law.”

According to NHVR, operators “will see streamlined and practical operations and regulation for heavy vehicle access, fatigue management and vehicle inspection standards, as well as more consistent on-road compliance and enforcement outcomes,” once the HVNL commences.

Now under the reform the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator will be responsible for regulating drivers and the safety practices within the industry, as well as for ensuring compliance with national vehicle standards. Members of the road supply chain should take note that the regulator will oversee vehicle loading and manage permit applications for roads access. The government hopes we will not only be able to achieve a better safety record but save billions of dollars with the new system.

According to the government, the reduction in red tape and a more uniformed approach to accreditation and fatigue management practices will be beneficial to the national economy by boosting it over the next 2 decades by about $12 billion.

Not all states have come under the banner as yet though, Western Australia and the Northern Territory have yet to join the fold however negotiations are underway to include these states in the national law.

For more information about the reform visit the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator website https://www.nhvr.gov.au/.

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