Austroads is implementing a national automated access system (NAAS) for heavy vehicles in Australia and New Zealand.
The association claims the NAAS will support road managers, including road authorities, local government and third parties, to provide access decisions more efficiently, driving productivity and safety across state borders.
Geoff Allan, chief executive of Austroads, said: “Introducing a contemporary access decision-making system, like a NAAS, will reduce the current need for permits and help industry through faster responses to access requests for specific vehicle configurations and loads.”
A spokesperson for Austroads told Big Rigs that infrastructure and transport ministers asked Austroads to lead the implementation of a national automated access system (NAAS) for road managers in Australia and New Zealand, including Australian jurisdictions not regulated by the NHVR, like Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
“Based on Tasmania’s Heavy Vehicle Access Management System (HVAMS), the NAAS will be a single seamless system that operators will be able to use,” she said.
“This includes integration with the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator’s NHVR Portal and other relevant systems.”
The new system will allow operators to enter their vehicle details online and receive a map that shows where they can travel.
Austroads says it will improve overall understanding of where access is available.
The project is complex and requires a lot of preliminary work to be suitable for all road managers and regulators across Australia and New Zealand.
The Austroads Board has approved a staged project implementation to support progressive adoption over the coming years.
Stage 1 of the project is currently underway, to identify the key requirements for the NAAS and to undertake a legal assessment of how it will work across Australia and New Zealand.
“Capturing all the needs and aspirations of stakeholders the NAAS will impact operationally is critical. Gathered insights will inform the architecture and necessary operational environment to support stakeholder needs,” Austroads added.