ALC urges nationally coordinated heavy-vehicle reform to boost productivity

Australia’s freight system is at a critical juncture the Australian Logistics Council (ALC) has warned in a submission to the Productivity Commission.

Heavy vehicles, which underpin Australia’s domestic supply chains, moving most of the national freight task and enabling the delivery of essential goods to households, businesses and industry, were at the mercy of fragmented access frameworks, incomplete infrastructure data, and misaligned energy.

On top of this, regulatory settings are constraining productivity, increasing costs, and slowing the uptake of zero-emission freight technologies the submission noted.

ALC’s submission finds that long-standing regulatory fragmentation, inconsistent planning and access arrangements, and gaps in infrastructure and workforce capability are limiting the full deployment of highproductivity and zero-emission vehicles.

“These challenges are constraining outcomes across productivity, safety and decarbonisation,” said ALC Chief Executive Dr Hermione Parsons.

“Without coordinated reform, Australia will continue to forgo benefits that are already technically achievable.”

Many local roads, bridges and culverts remain unassessed or digitally unmapped for Higher Mass Limits and High Productivity Freight Vehicles.

This forces operators to rely on smaller vehicles for first- and last mile tasks, increasing costs, vehicle kilometres travelled and emissions, while undermining the productivity intent of national access frameworks.

Constraints on delivery of the National Automated Access System or NAAS for short.

NAAS has the potential to streamline access decisions and reduce administrative burden, but its effectiveness is currently limited by inconsistent infrastructure data and incomplete integration with existing state and local permit systems.

Without sustained investment and coordinated implementation, NAAS, according to the ALC, cannot deliver its intended productivity and safety benefits.

Workforce and skills pressures were another key issue.

“Persistent driver shortages, uneven training capability across regions, and the need for updated competency frameworks for emerging vehicle technologies pose growing risks to supply chain resilience,” the ALC said.

“Around 28,000 truck driver roles remained unfilled in 2024, with a significant share of the workforce approaching retirement.”

The ALC said there remained too many barriers preventing take-up of zero-emission heavy-vehicle deployment.

“The business case for zero-emission trucks is being undermined by electricity tariff structures that are poorly aligned with high-capacity depot charging profiles, limited corridor-aligned charging and refuelling infrastructure, and regulatory frameworks that have not kept pace with quieter, cleaner vehicle
technologies,” the ALC said.

Despite significant private investment and efficiency gains within intermodal terminals, safety, and continue to create avoidable delays and risks resulting in critical bottlenecks at road–rail interfaces.

These constraints sit largely outside the control of terminal operators and undermine broader network efficiency.

The ALC called for a nationally coordinated reform agenda for heavy vehicles to align access frameworks, digital systems, infrastructure investment, energy pricing and workforce policy.

Key priorities include:

• Accelerating assessment of council-owned bridges and local roads to unlock high-productivity vehicle access.
• Delivering NAAS with reliable infrastructure data, integrated systems, and a clear national timetable.
• Reforming electricity tariff structures to support economically viable zero-emission fleet operations.
• Modernising curfew and access frameworks to reflect the lower noise and emissions profile of new vehicle technologies while maintaining community amenity.
• Strengthening driver training, licensing, and emergency-response capability for emerging vehicle technologies; and
• Prioritising safety and congestion management at critical road–rail interfaces.

“Industry is already investing in modern fleets, digital systems and low-emission technologies,” Dr Parsons said.

“But those investments will not be fully realised without nationally consistent rules, enabling infrastructure and coordinated delivery.

“Getting this right is fundamental to Australia’s economic competitiveness and supply chain resilience. Heavy-vehicle reform must be treated as a core productivity and nation-building priority.”