The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NVHR) and the Australian Defence Force (ADF) released a national notice seeking to support the access for Defence vehicles into communities during emergencies or disasters.
This new Defence Assistance to the Civil Community (DACC) Notice provides ‘as of right’ access to eligible ADF vehicles into communities, which removes the need for permits and delivers greater efficiencies.
According to NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto, the DACC Notice is a particularly crucial measure for aid rollout as Australia nears bushfire and cyclone seasons.
“The new Notice will help mobilise Defence vehicles to ensure essential supplies and assistance can reach those in need in a timely fashion, and without the need for a permit,” he said.
“The Notice release is at a critical time as we understand the National Emergency Management Agency and the Bureau of Meteorology are predicting a higher risk weather season over the coming months. Along with supporting Defence vehicles to access communities, the Notice will remove pressure from road managers when emergency access needs to be enacted.”
Reception of this Notice by road managers has been positive, with close to 100 per cent of road managers providing consent for its implementation.
The improved access and certainty will be supported by the ADF and road managers’ abilities to view and map out national access through the dedicated ADF and NHVR portal.
“For the first time, ADF personnel will be able to select networks for defence vehicles and map out the most efficient access route in the one national NHVR map, which is a huge safety boost,” Petroccitto said.
“I would like to thank participating states and councils across Australia and Defence for working in partnership with the NHVR to assist communities across the country.”
The NHVR urges all road managers to consider nominating their own networks for this notice to assist local communities.
To further support the ADF, the NHVR is also looking to publish the Australia Defence Force Class 1 and 3 Heavy Vehicle Mass and Dimension Exemption Notice by the end of the year.
As part of the new notice, certain vehicle types are approved to access nominated networks, subject to compliance with relevant conditions specified within the notice and network maps.
These vehicles include Hx77 vehicles with and without an attached trailer, 40M vehicles with and without an attached trailers, 42M vehicles without an attached trailer and PMV (Bushmaster) vehicles without an attached trailer.