Operators blindsided by the closure of the Campbelltown heavy vehicle inspection station say the move will add costs, increase congestion and place further pressure on already stretched facilities.
The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) is set to close the busy south-west Sydney site on August 9, directing operators to alternative inspection locations including Penrith, Wetherill Park, Botany and Mount Boyce.
But operators who regularly use the facility say they received little to no warning of the closure and have been left scrambling to work out how they will manage future inspection requirements.
Robert Tebb, owner of Minto-based Precision Logistics, said the shutdown would have a significant impact on transport businesses throughout Sydney’s rapidly growing south-west.
“There’s quite a number of us out in this area that have used that motor registry for a lot of years to have our vehicles inspected,” Tebb said.
“To take them anywhere else is going to obviously overload other places in Sydney.
“And they haven’t had any consultation with any of the transport companies in this area. As you can appreciate, this is a fairly large area now for trucks.”
Precision Logistics operates around 16 prime movers and 30 trailers, with vehicles typically inspected at the Campbelltown site just 15 minutes from its depot.
Tebb said operators had long been led to believe a replacement facility would eventually be built in the area after the former Roads and Traffic Authority office moved to Gregory Hills.
“That hasn’t happened. And now we heard that it’s just closing down altogether.”
According to Tebb, suggestions that nearby facilities have sufficient spare capacity do not align with the experiences of operators trying to secure bookings.
“Wetherill Park is just a disaster to try and get a booking.
“Penrith, we can get bookings, but we’re an hour and 15 minutes away and obviously you’ve got to be early, so we’re going to waste four hours just to go to Penrith and back.”
Tebb said the closure would affect far more than just his business.
“You’ve got quite a number of companies out here, and I think they said there’s in excess of 5000 inspections a year there.
“This area’s going ahead leaps and bounds. The airport’s going to be open shortly. That’s going to put more vehicles on the road.”
He also questioned how forcing trucks to travel longer distances for inspections aligned with broader government objectives.
“They’re all the time telling us that they want to get heavy vehicles off the road where possible.
“We’re going to start driving to Botany or some of these other areas to get inspections. You’re going to put more heavy vehicles back on the road and create more congestion trying to get vehicles inspected.”
Andrew Davies, a truck driver with a trailer rental business in the Campbelltown area, said his company alone processes between five and seven trailer inspections a week and expects the closure to add substantial operating costs.
“We’ve got around 300 trailers,” Davies said.
“We have to constantly book in five to seven inspections a week to keep up with them.
“At the moment it’s about a 15-minute drive for me to get down there. Now it’s going to go up to about a 45-minute drive plus tolls.”
Davies estimates the additional travel time, tolls, fuel and labour could add around $150,000 a year to the company’s operating costs.
“It’s not just us. There are other big operators out here as well.”
One of the biggest frustrations for Davies is what he describes as a lack of formal communication from the regulator.
“We’ve got to book three months in advance because we’ve got so many trailers, and you’re telling us you’re going to give us under a month worth of notice to change all this?”
Both operators say they understand facilities may eventually need to be modernised but argue there should be a replacement inspection station established in south-west Sydney before the existing site is shut down.
“We realise that progress is progress,” Tebb said.
“But the situation at the moment is that we haven’t been given an option.”
In a message to industry in August, 2022, highlighting changes after the NHVR took over compliance duties in NSW that same month, the regulator said it would provide HVIS inspections “in the same way, at the same locations”.
“There will be no change to the current booking and payment arrangements,” the note added.
But the NHVR told Big Rigs the Campbelltown site’s lease is expiring and the facility is now no longer considered fit for purpose.
“The facility presents a range of operational and safety challenges, including limited vehicle access, structural constraints and an inability to efficiently accommodate larger heavy vehicles, including Performance Based Standards combinations,” a spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the regulator has undertaken significant work to identify an alternative site in Campbelltown, including market investigations and previous discussions with local councils regarding potential partnership opportunities.
But no suitable alternative premises have been identified at this time, they added.
The NHVR confirmed there is existing capacity available at nearby inspection sites, including Penrith and Wetherill Park, with contingency capacity also available at Unanderra, Mount Boyce and Botany.
To support industry during the transition, the regulator said it will closely monitor demand at surrounding locations and implement additional capacity measures where required, including extended afternoon and weekend hours.
Operators are also able to book inspections up to 12 months in advance to support forward planning and minimise disruption.