A resounding yes to more rest areas for truckies – from the Sydney metro area to the regions – but no to making RTOs part of the chain of responsibility.
They were two of the main takeaways from the recently released NSW Government response to the parliamentary inquiry into the pressures on heavy vehicle drivers and their impact in NSW.
A parliamentary committee was hastily convened in August last year after a spike in overheight incidents in the Sydney tunnel network.
The committee received just 24 submissions from associations, drivers and other stakeholders which informed nine recommendations it tabled in January this year.
Below is an edited summary of the recommendations, the state government’s response (either ‘noted’ or ‘supported’) and Big Rigs reaction. For the full government responses, click here.
Recommendation 1
That the NSW Government fund and construct more heavy vehicle rest areas, whether they be formal or informal rest areas, in metropolitan and regional areas in NSW in consultation with the transport and freight industry, to ensure heavy vehicle drivers can effectively manage their fatigue and comply with relevant regulations.
NSW Government response – supported:
Transport for NSW has several projects underway which includes investigation, planning, design and delivery phases to deliver new formal and informal rest areas. Industry feedback is guiding this work to ensure it meets the current and future needs of heavy vehicle drivers and the growing freight task. Some of this work includes:
- A $30 million commitment to investigate and plan for a Western Sydney Rest Area.
- A Heavy Vehicle Rest Stop Improvement Program to prepare a Strategic Business Case to propose funding for, research, audit, plan and prioritise new heavy vehicle rest area opportunities across the regional and outer metropolitan network.
- A Heavy Vehicle Rest Stop Implementation Plan, which brings together the broad range of work underway across the agency for visibility, including funding and constructing more heavy vehicle rest areas, whether they be formal or informal rest areas.
- Commercial partnerships with industry to develop Highway Service Centres on land owned by TfNSW.
- Submission of rest stop improvement projects to the Australian Government’s Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program for up to 80 per cent funding.
Big Rigs reaction: More reviews, plans and studies. Same old tired tune and still no action for truckies.
Recommendation 2
That the NSW Government consider the rules and regulations for industrial development in metropolitan Sydney to determine if there should be requirements for particular developments or types of business to include a dedicated percentage of land to allow trucks to be parked overnight.
Response – noted
The government said the regulatory “burden” of requiring requiring preservation of land for the purpose of rest areas may not meet the Better Regulation Principles given the shortage of industrial land in Sydney, with reportedly the lowest vacancy rate in the world. “This may have unintended consequences in terms of the impact on availability and use of industrial land.”
Big Rigs reaction: Another cop-out tangled in red tape. Truckies would have been happy just to have an area in a quiet industrial space where they could park without the threat of a fine.
Recommendation 3
That the NSW Government fund and construct more adequate heavy vehicle parking bays and sites in metropolitan and regional areas in NSW, in consultation with the transport and freight industry, to ensure heavy vehicle drivers can effectively manage their fatigue and regulation compliance.
Response – supported
See recommendation one.
Big Rigs reaction: They must have been short on recommendations. They basically repeated the response to number one but added in the words ‘parking bays’ instead of ‘rest areas’.
Recommendation 4
That the NSW Government require Transport for NSW to take all necessary steps to:
- Find alternative heavy vehicle rest areas, and parking bays when roadworks or closures are undertaken that result in existing rest stops being accessible.
- Notify the heavy vehicle industry as early as possible prior to the changes occurring.
Response – supported
To support this recommendation, Transport for NSW will undertake a two-stage approach:
- Transport will issue internal communications to project and maintenance teams to ensure that impacts to heavy vehicle rest areas and parking bays are considered as part of the Road Occupancy Licence1 process. The communication will also require teams to notify industry as soon as possible, after the impact is identified and where no alternative is available.
- Transport will develop and introduce mandatory requirements to ensure planning for all road works assess and identify the impacts to heavy vehicle rest stops. This includes indirect impacts where the existence of any road works has the potential to impact fatigue management plans as part of a heavy vehicle journey.
Big Rigs reaction: They should have been better at communication from the outset. But we’ll take this as a win.
Recommendation 5
That the NSW Government fund and run a targeted community education campaign for light vehicle drivers on the importance of rest areas for heavy vehicle drivers to discourage their use by cars and caravans.
Response – noted
A campaign discouraging use is inconsistent with existing fatigue management campaigns, the government said. However, it will provide active education directly to caravan and motorhome associations on best practice use of rest stops.
As part of the heavy vehicle rest stop program, Transport for NSW will also investigate signage at appropriate rest stop locations to focus on the inappropriate use of rest stops by caravans for long stays. All rest stops in NSW are designated for use by both heavy and light vehicles, it added.
Big Rigs reaction: It reads like they intend to provide more facilities for truckies, but only ones they still have to share with caravanners.
Recommendation 6
That the NSW Government consult with relevant national bodies regarding the possibility of requiring RTOs to be included as part of the chain of responsibility framework to ensure the provision of quality training.
Response – noted
The NSW Government said it supports the need to raise safety standards by addressing poor-quality RTO practices that may arise. But requiring them to be part of the RTO is a bridge too far.
TfNSW is concerned that expanding the CoR to capture RTOs may dilute responsibility from those with day-to-day oversight of the transport task.
“It could be foreseen that adding CoR status could dissuade some providers from delivering training in this field and could impact the number of training providers in the market,” the government added.
Big Rigs reaction: So, they want to improve training standards just as long as they don’t discourage newcomers from entering the sector? We don’t follow the logic.
Recommendation 7
That the NSW Government consider whether the current heavy vehicle licencing regime, based on a knowledge test and a competency assessment is adequate in the absence of a compulsory education/training component.
Response – supported
The current Heavy Vehicle Competency Based Assessment (HVCBA) system for new licensees isn’t about to change anytime soon, based on the government’s response.
Any changes to the current system would result in “access and equity issues” for regional and remote drivers.
Big Rigs reaction: Based on your feedback, the government needs to start auditing more RTOs if they think the training system that we have is adequate.
Recommendation 8
That the NSW Government endorse the introduction of competency-based driver training programs for new heavy vehicle drivers and ensure drivers issued with a heavy vehicle licence have the various skill sets and experience to drive, and manage, a heavy vehicle.
Response – supported
See recommendation 7. State government feels that the HVCBA “aligns with Australian best practice” and already contains up to 14 compulsory competency-based criteria.
Big Rigs reaction: See number 7.
Recommendation 9
That the NSW Government work with transport and freight industry stakeholders to design, develop and implement a cadetship or apprenticeship pathway program that allows or encourages people to access the workforce as a heavy vehicle driver to help alleviate some of the pressure stemming from workforce shortages in the industry.
Response – supported
The government said a cadetship or apprenticeship pathway program will be considered as part of a suite of options to address workforce shortages, but it is not the only solution that will be considered.
“Consultation with industry and other stakeholders will inform development of options and the final recommended policy approach.”
The government said a current traineeship pathway is already in place to support heavy vehicle drivers (Certificate III in Driving Operations), and that the Department of Education can work with industry partners to investigate ways to increase participation and completion rates under the Apprenticeship and Traineeship Roadmap 2024-2026.
The government said it is also considering a “range of options” focusing on improving workforce diversity, but didn’t elaborate on what they were.
Big Rigs reaction: All sounds grand but how does it help the industry today?
Add transport for NSW and the NHVR to the CoR with regard to allowing council and roads to use rest areas as Stock piles for works. Their activities in saving transport costs are positively endangering lives through fatigue. Finding out after you past the last two rest areas that yo have nowhere safe to pull off the road is far to late. Like the days of OHS reform placing managers and directors under please explain rules rapidly alters their complancy in the matter .