Heavy vehicle regulatory services, including compliance and enforcement duties, will transition from Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) to the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator on April 20, 2024.
The state is the last of the jurisdictions using the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) to make the switch.
NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto said the transition of services in Queensland will be a significant achievement for the organisation and will result in safer and more consistent regulation of heavy vehicle movements across Australia.
“I am thrilled we are a step closer to achieving our aim, of having a consistent approach to compliance and enforcement from the roadside to interventions, borderless operations and delivering timely, national responses to critical compliance issues,” Petroccitto said.
“The transition will result in a more streamlined approach to how heavy vehicles are regulated across Australia, a journey that will have taken the NHVR almost 10 years to achieve.”
On-road compliance, investigations, prosecutions and programmed heavy vehicle inspections will be some of the services currently provided by TMR to transfer across to the NHVR from April 20, Petroccitto said.
On transition, the northern region will be created within the NHVR’s operations division and will join central and southern regions in leading on-road operational service delivery.
“This exciting milestone will see 165 roles added to the NHVR as part of our northern region, many of which will transfer across from TMR,” Petroccitto said.
From April, truckies can expect to see the NHVR’s safety and compliance officers working roadside across Queensland, including in the far north and western areas of the state.
TMR spokesperson Joanna Robinson said the transition will end a 10-year journey for the NHVR and will finally deliver a nationally consistent approach to regulating the heavy vehicle industry.
“TMR has been working closely with the NHVR, to ensure a seamless transition for all staff and customers,” Robinson said.
“We are currently advising our team that heavy vehicle regulatory services and those staff who have chosen to transfer, will officially transition to the NHVR on April 20.
“TMR will continue to be directly responsible for delivering regulatory and compliance programs for several important services, including road manager functions.”
The NHVR was established in 2013 as a statutory authority to administer the HVNL, which applies in all Australia’s states and territories except the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
Queensland is the sixth Australian jurisdiction – after South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT, Victoria, and New South Wales – where the NHVR will be directly delivering heavy vehicle regulatory services.
WA and NT – jurisdictions that have snubbed the HVNL since its inception – told Big Rigs earlier this year that they haven’t been impressed enough with the proposed law changes to join the eastern states.
“The changes in the HVNL are still focussed on the freight task on the east coast and not significant enough for WA to change its position,” a Main Roads WA spokesperson said in a statement.
“Significant changes to the HVNL would need to occur that would provide the same level of productivity and flexibility in WA legislation that is currently experienced by the WA road transport industry.”
Added Louise Bilato, executive officer of the NT Road Transport Association: “What we’ve got works, so what’s the incentive for the NT to join the HVNL? What is the benefit for us? There is none.”
So much for national system, look at WA/NT, and what about the cross border laws, 90kms for road trains in SA, but same unit in Vic, 100kms, go into NSW, have to run IAP to get same tonnage as Vic… so much for national system….. Just fix the system instead of patting each other on the back.