A prohibition notice has been issued to Melbourne-based Sidhu Investments (QLD) Pty Ltd, trading as Auswide Linehaul Services, following an investigation by the NHVR into safety standards.
NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto said the notice would ground the company’s entire fleet, which is believed to be close to 100 vehicles.
“Our number one priority is safety – for drivers and for other road users – and getting these vehicles off the road is the only way to respond to this serious safety risk,” he said.
“The NHVR will not hesitate to ground fleets that put their employees and the broader community in danger.”
The notice, issued under s 576A of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL), orders the company to cease operating until it has implemented controls in fatigue management and training, fitness for duty, non-conformance management, incident management, vehicle safety and due diligence.
This follows several incidents involving the company in recent months. Among these was a rollover on 1 November 2020 and a near-miss head-on collision between two heavy vehicles on 17 September 2020.
NHVR officers entered the premises of Auswide in September 2020 as part of an ongoing safety standards investigation into a number of companies.
The NHVR is in the advanced stages of investigations of other companies with similar safety concerns.