In four short years heavy vehicle access permits could largely become a thing of the past.
NatRoad has proposed slashing 90 per cent of heavy vehicle access permits by 2028 in a submission to the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) Productivity Plan 2024–2029 and our response to the review of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL).
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It seems obvious to us that the current access system needs a major shake up. It’s clearly not working and just puts even more roadblocks in front of trucking operators. These operators are already struggling with the rising cost of living, escalating fuel costs and the driver shortage. The last thing they need is more red tape.
If we can improve access for heavy vehicles, we can move more freight in fewer trips, leading to lower costs, improved safety, and reduced emissions.
In my view, NatRoad’s recommendations to fix access are just common sense.
If we can make heavy vehicle access easier, it would reduce the number of individual trips and of course this would lower costs, improve safety and reduce emissions.
Central to our recommendations is replacing the current unworkable permit process with network-based access, the National Automated Access System, or NAAS. Tasmania has shown this approach works through its Heavy Vehicle Access Management System. The proposed NAAS builds on the success of HVAMS and would see a transition from permits to network-based access.
The benefits of such a system are clear. For heavy vehicle operators, automated access reduces red tape, saving time and money. For governments, it lightens administrative burdens, enabling resources to be better allocated elsewhere. For consumers, the knock-on effect of improved freight efficiency is ultimately savings.
Of course, automation isn’t the answer to everything. There’s a danger it could just be a Band-Aid if we layer it over the top of an already dysfunctional system.
What we really need is a new approach to network-based access that slashes red tape for industry and removes administrative burdens for governments.
The government must avoid reform just for reform’s sake without any real results.
We’ve seen the government take initial steps towards automated access but to be frank, those steps aren’t enough. We need more commitment from government to make automated access a reality.
We can’t risk this issue just becoming another talk fest. Governments must step up and show leadership and commitment. Either they embrace meaningful reform and unlock the productivity gains of a modern freight system or risk dragging their feet while costs and inefficiencies pile up.
We’ve said far too often that nearly everything in Australia is delivered on the back of a truck, and it’s true. Heavy vehicles underpin our supply chains. This means the issues generated by the inefficient access permit system ripple through nearly every sector of the economy.
The public may not understand the intricacies of the outdated permit system, but they certainly understand when there’s no bread on the supermarket shelves.
A government that ignores this issue does so at its peril. This is not an industry issue, it’s an Australian issue. Voters expect their leaders to make bold choices and it’s time for action.
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