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Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) High-Level Regulatory Framework

Announcement date
4 August 2023 

Link to announcement 
https://www.ntc.gov.au/transport-reform/ntc-projects/hvnl-safety-productivity-program

Problem being addressed
The limitations of the current Heavy Vehicle National Law present a barrier to an effective, flexible regulatory regime and an impediment to improved safety and productivity. In this Decision RIS, the National Transport Commission identifies 6 key issues in the heavy vehicle regulatory environment stating it:

  • Does not adequately facilitate a risk-based approach to regulation.
  • Fails to keep pace with rapidly changing external environments and dynamic contexts to manage changes to risks for safe operations in the industry
  • Does not reflect and support the diversity of the heavy vehicle industry.
  • Could more actively encourage parties to improve safety management and invest in more advanced safety technologies by recognising new technologies and systems within the compliance framework.
  • Does not adequately support changing technologies, data systems and business practices
  • Does not adequately support the NHVR in its role as a modern regulator.

Proposal

The proposal includes a suite of complementary policy recommendations that are designed to enable improvements to safety and productivity by delivering:

  • a modern regulatory framework
  • an improved National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme (NHVAS) as part of a tiered assurance environment  
  • a technology and data framework, and
  • an expanded driver duty. 

Assessed Impact Analysis outcome
Compliant decision RIS

Attachment File type Size
Decision Regulation Impact Statement docx 10.78 MB
Decision Regulation Impact Statement pdf 6.35 MB