The words ‘HVNL review’ are enough to raise eyebrows in any room, usually followed by some sort of groan or chuckle.
It has now been seven years since the National Transport Commission (NTC) was first directed to review the Heavy Vehicle National Law in Australia.
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In December 2018, the terms of reference for the review dictated the NTC create a “modern, outcome-focused law regulating the use of heavy vehicles”.
The original plan was to see significant review by the end of 2019, where a deadline was set, with the NTC to provide recommendations to the Transport and Infrastructure Council.
However delays due to COVID continued to draw out, taking until August 2022 for transport ministers to endorse a package of legislative and non-legislative recommendations for the HVNL.
It was then in October of last year that the NTC unveiled its 71 proposed rate changes to HVNL penalties – part of what the NTC says will deliver a revised HVNL that is “risk-based and proportionate to harm”.
Since then, key industry figures from the likes of the Australian Trucking Association and NatRoad have kept pushing for the reforms to either become reality, or change.
NatRoad CEO Warren Clark labelled the proposed changes as ‘underwhelming’ in February, while ATA Chair Mark Parry called in March for the HVNL changes to be pushed through to Queensland parliament in March.
“We urged Minister Mickelberg to support the legislation and press its passage through the Queensland parliament,” Mark said.
“It’s true the HVNL review has not delivered the broad scale reform needed to support a world leading road freight sector in the fast-moving decades ahead, but the amendments it does include would be substantial and worthwhile.
“In arguing for the law, the ATA is putting forward two final amendments for ministers to consider.”
Now, the NTC has revealed a new timeline of proceedings, but is maybe more optimistic than they have ever been about the reality of genuine change to heavy vehicle law.
Reform National Transport Commission,
Aaron de Rozario. (Image: NTC)
Aaron de Rozario, Executive Leader of Regulatory Reform at the National Transport Commission is responsible for NTC’s regulatory reform initiatives, including the automated vehicle, heavy vehicle and legislative reform programs.
He has been one of the main driving forces behind the current group of amendments, having acted in the role since July 2021.
“There’s a lot of detail in the changes we’ve made to the HVNL,” Aaron says.
“There are two pieces of work we’re still working to finalise in mass and dimension and some of the technical statutory instruments that laws need in order to be able to operate.
“We’re expecting this act and changes to take effect on July 1, 2026.”
At the time of publication, these changes will likely have just received approval from the Infrastructure and Transport Ministers’ Meeting, which is the first piece of the puzzle to the HVNL changes taking effect.
After this, the NTC will release the public exposure draft MDL regulations, which is currently slated for mid-August, with consultation closing in mid-September.
These regulations focus primarily on boosting productivity through the increasing of height, length and mass limits on heavy vehicles.
Under the new regulations, General Mass Limits will be increased to match the level of current Concession Mass Limits. General access height limit will also be increased from 4.3m to 4.6m, pending confirmation of further technical analysis and appropriate controls.
Vehicle length meanwhile is set to be increased from 19m to 20m, also pending confirmation of further technical analysis and appropriate controls.
There will be further changes to accommodate Euro 6 vehicles, especially road trains, as well as changes to the tag trailer tow mass ratio to reduce unsafe loading practices.
The NTC recognises there will be some complexity in implementing the rules surrounding CML and GML regulations, and is aiming to keep the regulations as simple as possible.
In the interest of this, some current CML rules are being assessed to determine whether they need to be retained, such as the five per cent on GVM constraint.
Technical analysis on the increase of general access height limits have already passed a feasibility check, but controls to reduce vehicle rollover risk may need to be considered, especially for low density payloads and inherently less stable vehicle set-ups.
This includes suspension requirements, trailer deck height controls and assistive technologies, such as rollover stability control.
From August to December, these regulatory changes are expected to go through the Queensland parliamentary process, with the aim of approval by infrastructure and transport ministers before the end of the year.
Until the regulations then become an official part of the HVNL, the NTC has outlined an education and information process to be undertaken throughout states and territories to ensure understanding of the new laws.
Executive Chairman of Simon National Carriers, David Simon, says that cooperation will be needed across all states and territories for this process to be successful.
“The National Heavy Vehicle Law we’ve got is the combination of all the different state laws,” he says.
“We need all the states to agree to the changes and be involved in the process.”
