Australia’s truck driver shortage is fast becoming a national economic crisis.
On the one hand, road freight is projected to increase by 77 per cent from 2020 to 2050.
On the other hand, there’s a driver shortage of over 26,000 unfilled positions.
This situation is bad enough, but all the signs are saying it will get worse.
A survey by the International Road Transport Union has revealed almost half of Australian freight businesses (49 per cent) are facing severe or very severe difficulties filling driver positions.
Seventy per cent of the largest businesses are experiencing severe shortages. The survey also showed 38 per cent of Australian freight businesses expect the shortage to worsen in the next 12 months.
Many trucking businesses are just holding on.
Without immediate action, the flow of essential goods—everything from groceries to construction materials—will be disrupted, affecting industries and households alike.
It’s quite simple, the stability of our economy is at risk. This makes it more urgent than ever to address the challenges facing Australia’s truck driver workforce.
NatRoad has called for a coordinated national response. We propose a National Road Freight Workforce action plan to address the situation.
The plan would be led by National Cabinet and include eight key elements.
1. Create a national truck driver standard: We need a clear, nationally consistent, and competency-based standard for truck driver training.
2. Implement the national truck driver apprenticeship: Expand and promote the Truck Driver Apprenticeship scheme across all states and territories with clear resourcing and national consistency.
3. Develop a National Heavy Vehicle Skills Hub: This would be a centralised platform to address the information gap about career pathways and training opportunities in the road freight industry. This hub would also support the apprenticeship and provide information on incentives and training options.
4. Introduce training incentives: Bring in incentives to help businesses, especially smaller ones, access better training and support for new drivers. Larger businesses are already seeing success with workforce diversity, but smaller businesses lack the resources to implement similar programs.
5. Reform licensing and training: Move from time-based to competency-based licensing, ensuring drivers are tested on their ability to operate large trucks safely in various conditions. National consistency in licensing and training is essential for both local and overseas drivers.
6. Deliver key actions in the ISA Workforce Plan: Address urgent issues in the ISA 2024 Workforce Plan, particularly around improving career information, supporting overseas drivers, upskilling high-productivity vehicle drivers, and integrating key projects to reduce the driver shortage.
7. Recognise skill levels: Adopt the Australian Bureau of Statistics proposal to classify articulated truck drivers at skill level 3 and tanker drivers at the same level, ensuring a more accurate reflection of their expertise.
8. Address other road freight industry skills shortages: Acknowledge and address skill shortages in other areas of the road freight industry, such as mechanics, under the broader National Cabinet Action Plan. The bottom line is that we need more drivers but there’s no point just trying to plug the gaps. We must ensure those drivers are properly trained.
We also can’t forget this goes beyond economics. This is also about safety for our truck drivers and all other road users.
Our National Road Freight Workforce Action Plan provides a roadmap to ensure the industry has the skilled, diverse, and competent workforce it needs to keep goods moving safely and efficiently across Australia.
The time for action is now. National Cabinet must show leadership and deliver the reforms required to secure the future of the road freight industry and ensure Australia’s supply chains remain strong and resilient.