HVNL reform implementation

A review of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL), led by the National Transport Commission (NTC), commenced in 2019 and aimed to update the existing law to improve safety and productivity for Australia’s heavy vehicle sector. The review identified a series of reform options to enhance the effectiveness of the HVNL for governments, industry and the broader community.

This process resulted in the development of the Heavy Vehicle National Law Amendment Bill 2025 and the Heavy Vehicle National Amendment Regulations 2025 (together, the 2025 Amendment Package), which was passed without amendment by Queensland Parliament on 18 November 2025.

The amended HVNL will commence on 1 August 2026.

The NHVR is actively preparing for the implementation of the amended law, to ensure a smooth transition for industry and regulatory partners.

Supporting standards and guidelines

The NTC and NHVR have now released key statutory instruments supporting the amended HVNL, following Ministerial approval of the final legislative package in May 2026.

The instruments provide the detailed standards and guidance that underpin the amended law, covering accreditation, fatigue management and safety assurance.

Read the statutory instruments:

What’s changing?

HVNL Industry Information Sessions

The NHVR hosted a series of online industry information sessions throughout May to support operators, drivers, and transport businesses in understanding the upcoming amendments to the HVNL, and what these changes will mean in practice ahead of commencement mid-year. The recordings of each session, as well as the presentation slides, can be found below.

Mass, Dimension and Loading - Wed 6 May

Accreditation and Safety Management Systems (SMS) - Wed 13 May

Performance-Based Standards (PBS) - Wed 20 May

Fatigue and Fitness to Drive - Wed 27 May

New HVNL branding to support industry through transition

New branding for the HVNL is being rolled out across NHVR materials, helping industry prepare for upcoming regulatory changes. It will make it easier to distinguish between the current and amended HVNL, particularly for the transition from the current National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme (NHVAS) to the new Heavy Vehicle Accreditation (HVA) scheme.

The new branding will be progressively introduced across NHVR materials, including guidance resources, communication, and digital content.

Figure 1: Example of the branding identifiers for the HVNL reform implementation that will be displayed on NHVR materials

Work diary changes

Updates to the WWD reflect HVNL amendments

Includes Alternative Compliance Hours (ACH)
Marking the day of the week is now optional
Marking standard hours is now optional
Recording work and rest totals is now optional
Overall updates to align with amended HVNL

Other Written Work Diary Changes

Drivers are no longer required to return a lost or stolen WWD (if found/returned) to the NHVR

Updated Written Work Diary roll-out

Updated WWDs gradually available from August 2026 as existing stock depletes
Drivers can continue using current WWD until completed (including those transitioning to ACH from BFM or AFM)

Law & Policies