Announcement date
3 October 2024
Link to announcement
Problem being addressed
The Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) applies to heavy vehicles over 4.5 tonnes of gross vehicle mass. The HVNL consists of the Heavy Vehicle National Law and five sets of regulations.
A first principles review of the HVNL identified a series of foundational changes to the HVNL as critical to accommodate in the current and future needs of Australia's heavy vehicle industry. The NTC published a Decision Regulation Impact Statement (Decision RIS) in 2023 outlining high level changes to the HVNL regulatory framework, principally primary law, to create a modern platform for future reforms to the HVNL. The 14 recommendations in the 2023 Decision RIS were endorsed by ministers at the 9 June 2023 Infrastructure and Transport Ministers Meeting.
This subsequent RIS builds upon the 2023 Decision RIS and has been prepared to assist the NTC and, ultimately, to inform Infrastructure and Transport Ministers in considering options for future improvements to the HVNL.
Proposal
The NTC published a Consultation Regulatory Impact Statement in 2023 with policy proposals to:
- improve arrangements for fatigue management
- increase mass and dimension limits for general access vehicles
- enable a National Audit Standard (NAS) to complement other changes to improve the benefits of the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme.
The Decision Regulation Impact Statement (Decision RIS) provides analysis of these proposed policy options considering feedback from stakeholders on the Consultation RIS (2023). The Decision RIS makes 12 recommendations for consideration by ministers.
Assessed Impact Analysis outcome
Compliant Decision RIS