ATA calls for passage enforcement of HVNL amendments

ATA calls for passage enforcement of HVNL amendments

Calling the passage of the HVNL (Heavy Vehicle National Law) and other Legislation Amendment Bill 2018 “important to the safety of trucking businesses and road users” and something that should be “brought in as soon as possible,” the Australian Trucking Association is backing a recommendation from the Queensland Parliamentary Inquiry to pass the legislation. The ATA represents the Australian trucking industry, including state and sector-based trucking associations, transport companies, and technology-related transport and trucking businesses.

“Due diligence obligation”

The HVNL and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2018 is essentially described as extending the “due diligence obligation” of executive officers under new chain of responsibility laws that are set to begin this year. According to a document from the Queensland Parliament, the HVNL Act 2012 that took effect in February 2014 established one national law for “the consistent regulation of heavy vehicle operations” covering most of Australia. A NHVR (National Heavy Vehicle Regulator) was also established to administer the HVNL.

ATA Chair Geoff Crouch says that along with amendments approved in 2016, the new changes introduce a “primary safety duty, extend the chain of responsibility to cover vehicle maintenance and repairs, and impose explicit due diligence obligations on executives.” The ATA confirms that the Parliamentary Inquiry’s recommendations are in line with those it submitted.

“These new laws will require customers and trucking businesses to increase their focus on developing systems to maintain safety,” Crouch says.

Under review

The Queensland Parliamentary Inquiry has further recommended that the planned 2019 review of the HVNL be moved up to instead begin this year, and the ATA concurs. “This review needs to focus on road access approvals and prescriptive fatigue law hours, including work and rest hour tolerances for electronic work diaries,” Crouch says, adding that some trucking operators are looking at 80- to 100-day delays for route permit approvals. “The current legislation does not support a modern economy,” he says.

The ATA notes that in comments the NHVR made to the Queensland Parliamentary Inquiry, the current legislation is described as not being “fit for purpose and does not allow the NHVR to deliver the reforms they were set up to do.” Crouch notes that Australia has the fifth-largest freight task in the world, and that the trucking industry is essential to Australia’s economy. “It’s vital we have the appropriate legislation in place to reflect this,” he says.