Conditions

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What is a condition?

Conditions are restrictions placed on heavy vehicles relating to the vehicle itself or times and places where it can travel.

The HVNL allows for the NHVR and road managers to impose conditions on access decisions to allow for the efficient road transport of goods or passengers whilst managing risks around safety, amenity and infrastructure protection.

Under the HVNL, vehicle conditions are primarily the responsibility of the NHVR, while road and travel conditions are the responsibility of road managers.

A road manager’s preference should be to grant approval without adding any conditions, assuming identified risks are being mitigated. However, if the road manager believes that a risk exists and the prescribed conditions do not mitigate the risk, a relevant condition should be applied. In the first instance, this condition should come from the Standard Road and Travel Conditions - NHVR Portal codes (PDF, 216KB).

When deciding what types of road or travel conditions may be appropriate to manage risk, the road manager should consider the type of conditions listed below (examples included).

As part of their policy development, notices will negotiate with relevant road managers the appropriate conditions set to be included in the access instrument (Notice). These conditions may be specific to the vehicle.

Vehicle conditions

Vehicle conditions are intended to ensure that the restricted access vehicle (RAV) can operate safely on a public road. For example, the RAV must:

  • be configured in a certain manner
  • have certain components or equipment installed
  • have noise mitigation equipment
  • have particular safety features.

Vehicle conditions are primarily the responsibility of the NHVR, however, road managers can still request vehicle conditions If a road manager requests a vehicle condition, reasoning must be provided to explain why the condition is necessary. The reasoning should include an explanation about what relevant risk will be addressed by the proposed vehicle condition and how that condition will manage that risk. For example:

  • Potential damage to road infrastructure.
  • Adverse effects on the community arising from noise, emissions, or traffic congestion.
  • Significant risks to public safety arising from the use of the RAV in a matter incompatible with road infrastructure or traffic conditions.

Road conditions

Road conditions are implemented to ensure that the use of the road does not endanger road infrastructure, impose adverse effects on the community or pose significant risks to public safety. For example:

  • The vehicle does not use particular bridges or sections of an approved network.
  • The vehicle is limited to a particular speed that may be under the sign-posted speed.
  • The vehicle position on the road, for example, travel in certain lanes may be restricted.
  • The requirement for certain components or equipment to be installed, for example, on board mass (OBM) measurement devices for the Intelligent Access Program (IAP).

Travel conditions

Travel conditions ensure that the movements of vehicles are undertaken at stated times or in a stated direction. For example:

  • The vehicle cannot travel at certain times of the day to avoid peak hour traffic conditions or during active school zone times.
  • The vehicle cannot turn left.

Restricting permit durations and trips

Road managers have the option to restrict permit durations and/or the number of approved trips on a permit as part of an effective risk mitigation strategy. For more information on this strategy, see Road manager - restricting permit durations and approved trips.

Standard Conditions

Standard conditions are listed in Section 156A , more information can be found in Standard Road and Travel Conditions - NHVR Portal codes (PDF, 216KB).

Prescribed conditions

Prescribed conditions are a set of standard operating conditions for vehicles under the HVNL.

When considering a permit access consent request, road managers do not need to replicate these prescribed conditions as they already apply. In considering a consent request, road managers do, however, need to be familiar with the prescribed conditions to ensure that any conditions applied do not replicate these.

Third party conditions

Permits and some state and territory Acts may require third parties and other entities to provide permission for a vehicle to travel if it exceeds certain mass or dimension limits, for example, an over height truck and overhead transmission lines. If you are aware of third party infrastructure on your networks, you have the option to either impose a condition requiring third party compliance, or request third party evidence prior to granting consent.

If the applicant has consulted with a third party, and they have granted consent, and the applicant has provided this evidence, that requirement can be considered met by the NHVR and the relevant road manager.

If the applicant has not consulted with a third party and the road manager has consented, the NHVR may issue a permit. A standard condition of the permit would be that the applicant complies with all third party requirements. If the applicant has not consulted with a third party and the road manager requires this to grant consent, the road manager may request to see evidence of approval from the third party before approving the application.

Examples of third party entities include police, rail infrastructure managers, roadwork controllers, tunnel operators and utilities. For more information, see Third party approvals.

In relation to notices, the HVNL is silent concerning third party approvals, however, this does not exempt operators from complying with other state or territory Acts’ requirements.

Applying conditions

See Access Conditions – Road Manager’s Best Practice Guideline for applying conditions (PDF, 388KB) for additional information on how to apply conditions. 

When a road manager is assessing an access request and imposing a condition, the following questions should be considered:

  • Does the condition meet the definitions in the HVNL? i.e. does the condition mitigate an infrastructure, public safety, traffic or amenity risk?
  • Is the condition feasible? i.e. will the operator be able to meet the requirement?
  • Is there consistency in the application of conditions? i.e. were the same conditions applied to previous applications of similar vehicle types?
  • Is the condition enforceable? i.e. can such a condition be enforced by an authorised officer?
  • Is the condition covered by notice or permit details – such as permit dates, routes, load type or metrics?
  • Is the condition covered in the HVNL or Regulations? For example, MDL Schedule 8 for Class 1 vehicles.
  • Is the condition already covered by other legislation or in the standard conditions?
  • Is the condition reasonable? i.e. is there some logical basis for its application, or is it a condition no reasonable road manager could impose?
  • Is it certain? i.e. does the condition indicate to the permit holder the standard of behaviour that evidences compliance?

Condition resources

For more information on conditions, see the below publications for assistance. If you still have questions, please contact us on 13 NHVR (13 64 87), or email info@nhvr.gov.au.