The NHVR Board recently advised Australia’s Transport Ministers that the start date for the Heavy Vehicle National Law needs to move from 1 September 2013, due to the need for more testing of the NHVR’s critical IT system for access permits that has to do up to 100,000 transactions a year.
A new target date of October 1, 2013 was proposed at the time subject to test results. While the testing phase has gone very well, the start date for the Heavy Vehicle National Law will not be 1 October 2013. The NHVR Board wants to have more preparatory work done in areas such as user acceptance, training and support for local government. A start date for later in 2013 will be confirmed shortly.
Once the new NHVR systems are ready to roll, the new rule book will apply in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.
Until the new start date, though, it’s business as usual for heavy vehicle operators and drivers. The NHVR will continue to manage NHVAS accreditation and PBS design and vehicle approvals. State and territory road transport authorities will continue to administer all other road transport business with government, including access, vehicle standards and fatigue management.
What’s changing?
When the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) commences, the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) will be looking after one rule book for heavy vehicles over 4.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass.
For the first time, heavy vehicle drivers, operators and o
thers in the supply chain in those states and territories where the law has commenced will be working to the same rules, regardless of where they operate.
You’ll see streamlined and practical operations for heavy vehicle access, accreditation, vehicle standards and fatigue management, as we continue to evolve into your one-stop-shop for heavy vehicle road transport business with government.
What services will the Regulator offer?
The NHVR will be delivering the following services in those states and territories where the law has commenced:
- issuing permits for heavy vehicle access, together with new forms for access applications
- NHVAS approvals
- PBS vehicle design and vehicle access approvals
- consistent compliance and enforcement
- a new risk classification system for advanced fatigue management
- vehicle inspection standards
- administration of an updated national driver work diary.
One point of contact for access permits
- We’ll be your single point of contact for new heavy vehicle access permit applications, liaising directly with road managers (state and territory road authorities and local government) to manage your application from start to finish and issue your permit.
- For new permits, use our step-by-step guide to choose the right form and submit your application online via our website, by mail or by fax. You only need to submit one application and pay a $70 fee for your entire journey, no matter how far you’re travelling. If you have an existing permit, there’s no need to re-apply after the national law commences.
- Our new online mapping tool, the NHVR Journey Planner, can help you find approved access routes on the road network (initially for higher mass limits, PBS, B-double, triples, road trains and a selection of commodity routes) and help you to identify the need to submit an access application.
- Local governments will have a new statutory role in approving your access to their road network including setting certain conditions for access.
- If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your application, you can ask for an internal review of the access decision.
- State and territory road authorities will continue to process access permit applications under current jurisdictional law until the national law commences. Any applications not finalised before the national law commences will transfer to the NHVR for assessment under the new national law. The NHVR will then coordinate any outstanding approvals from road managers and, if appropriate, issue a permit.