Towards an updated Heavy Vehicle National Law

Australian transport ministers have approved further policy changes to the Heavy Vehicle National Law.

These changes include updates to fatigue record-keeping and enforcement, an increase to general mass limits, and the introduction of a new National Auditing Standard, as outlined in the Reforms to Heavy Vehicle National Law Decision Regulation Impact Statement (D-RIS).

The D-RIS was prepared by the NTC to inform decision making by transport ministers, and reflects the outcomes of consultation undertaken in late 2023.

This follows the 14 earlier legislative recommendations agreed to by ministers in June 2023.

The NTC extends its thanks to the heavy vehicle industry, Australian governments and the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator for their collaborative efforts in improving the Heavy Vehicle National Law. Their insights have been crucial in shaping the policy options considered by Australia’s transport ministers.
 

Following policy changes agreed by ministers to the HVNL, the NTC is now in the final stages of delivering an updated law for heavy vehicles in Australia.

As part of this process, we undertook public consultation on exposure drafts of the Heavy Vehicle National Law Amendment Bill and Heavy Vehicle National Amendment Regulations between 10 October and 21 November 2024.

Throughout this consultation, we engaged with stakeholders through many industry and government-organised meetings, webinars, and in-person presentations.

Feedback received during this time will inform the finalisation of the draft law and regulations, which will be presented to ministers for their consideration in early 2025.

Watch back our information session

As part of our consultation on the exposure drafts of the Heavy Vehicle National Law Amendment Bill and Heavy Vehicle National Amendment Regulations, we hosted a public information webinar on Friday 8 November. 

This webinar outlined the policy changes approved by ministers and how we are ensuring the draft legislation aligns with these policies.

A recording of the webinar can be watched back here.
 

Enhanced flexibility and safety

• The updated HVNL will have a tiered safety assurance system with a baseline tier of simplified requirements and an alternative compliance tier for accredited operators. This will offer more flexibility for the industry and improve safety for road users.
• The Regulator will now be able to develop a range of Alternative Compliance Options instead of these being fixed in the law. This supports risk-based regulation and enables the Regulator to be more responsive to industry needs.
• The opt-in National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme (NHVAS) will be enhanced to allow accredited operators more flexibility and choice in managing their compliance obligations, within set limits.
• As an enhancement to the current scheme, the updated law will establish a scalable Safety Management System, as a core accreditation requirement.
• The updated law will expand the driver duty to include not driving if unfit for any reason, not just fatigue, enhancing public safety.

Boosting productivity for industry

• General Mass Limits (GML) allowed for heavy vehicles will be increased to match the current Concession Mass Limits (CML). This will deliver productivity benefits.
• Ministers have agreed to increase the general access height limit from 4.3m to 4.6m and vehicle length from 19m to 20m, pending confirmation of further technical analysis and appropriate controls. This change will help boost industry productivity and reduce the need for some permits.

Although further work is required to finalise policy for higher and longer vehicles, these changes are expected to be implemented  as part of the updated HVNL.

More effective regulation and streamlining governance

• A new National Audit Standard will be created by the Regulator and approved by ministers. This should reduce the need for multiple audits, benefiting productivity and saving costs.
• Codes of Practice will now be developed and approved by the Regulator. This will support guidance to drivers and other chain of responsibility parties, leading to better compliance and safer operations.
• Ministerial powers will be adjusted so that they can direct the Regulator to take action where there is a serious public risk.

Simpler record keeping

• Changes in the law will help to simplify certain work diary requirements, keeping only essential record keeping requirements.

Fairer enforcement

• Enforcement changes will align the HVNL with other laws, allowing improvement notices and prosecution processes to occur concurrently.
• Authorised Officers will be able to issue formal warnings for a broader range of breaches, including fatigue record-keeping. This change aims to make the law fairer on drivers for minor work diary errors.

Following further work to confirm a cost-effective implementation pathway, the HVNL will also include formal education as an enforcement option for work diary administrative offenses. This work will be continued separately from this law reform package.

Supporting the adoption of technologies to improve safety and productivity

Some other policy items will be advanced separately from this law reform package, including the development of a technology and data framework.

• The intent is to establish a comprehensive framework for recognising technologies, including data protection and access, with a Framework Administrator appointed by ministers. This will provide more flexibility for the industry and regulator, improving safety and productivity.

Industry and governments worked together to achieve broad support for a package of reforms that tackle the issues that are getting in the way of heavy vehicle safety and productivity. The package was approved by ministers in August 2022.

The package of reforms approved by ministers in August 2022 has two parts:

• Part 1 - Reforms to be covered by the updated law (NTC-led).
• Part 2 - Reforms that will sit outside the updated law.
   

More information on this package of reforms can be viewed here.

Since then, the NTC has engaged with over 50 organisations and working groups, through over 200 consultations, to develop and test policy options and positions.

In June 2023, transport ministers endorsed 14 key recommendations outlined in the Heavy Vehicle National Law High-Level Regulatory Framework Decision Regulation Impact Statement (2023 D-RIS). 

These recommendations form the foundation of the future law that will deliver more effective, flexible regulation, support improvements to safety and productivity, as well as streamline governance and administration. 

To support this, many details are being shifted to regulations, making them easier to change when change is needed.

Following this work, the NTC undertook additional consultation in late 2023, focusing on policy areas not covered by the 2023 D-RIS, such as fatigue management updates, slightly increases in mass and dimension limits for general access vehicles, and regulatory amendments to support the new National Audit Standard.

Non-legislative reforms are being progressed by nominated state and territory governments and other lead transport agencies.
 

If you’d like to express interest in the program, or ask us a question about our work, we’d like to hear from you. You can contact us at hvnlteam@ntc.gov.au.