Heavy Vehicle Regulatory Reform

In July 2009 the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed that a single national heavy vehicle regulator will be established at the end of 2012 to regulate all vehicles over 4.5 gross tonnes, ending the separate and at times conflicting regulatory imposts on the heavy vehicle industry. The COAG's agreement followed the Australian Transport Council's (ATC) endorsement of the reform proposal in May 2009.

COAG's decision followed a Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) process that investigated a framework for a single national system for heavy vehicle regulation consisting of:

• a single regulation entity to administer a body of national heavy vehicle laws;
• a national heavy vehicle registration scheme;
• a consistent approach to minimum standards for heavy vehicle driver competency and testing and to heavy vehicle driver training school recognition;
• a single physical national heavy vehicle driver license; and
• a body of national heavy vehicle laws that would be an aggregate of existing heavy vehicle laws.

The RIS process included public consultation from December 2008 to February 2009 and again in April 2009. You can use the following links to find out more about the issues raised in the public consultation sessions and written submissions.

• Public Consultation
• Written Submissions

The consultation informed the final RIS which was completed in May 2009. It includes a summary of the key issues raised and commentary provided through the public/industry consultation process.

A full copy of the final Consultation RIS can be downloaded below.

• Full Text [PDF: 1477 KB]
• Appendix A [PDF: 740 KB]
• Appendix B [PDF: 1222 KB]

The RIS COAG considered does not necessarily represent the final outcomes that will be developed and agreed as Governments progress the reform process.

In February 2010, Queensland was announced as the host jurisdiction for the national heavy vehicle laws and the national heavy vehicle regulator. A project office has been established in Queensland to implement the reform.

Information on progress with the heavy vehicle reform initiative, and how you may input to the process, can be found on the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator Project Office website at www.nhvr.gov.au. The Project Office may be contacted at info@nhvr.gov.au.

If you wish to contact the Department of Infrastructure and Transport about the reforms you can contact:

Geoff Johnston
Director, Heavy Vehicle Regulatory Reform
02 6274 6155
Geoff.Johnston@infrastructure.gov.au