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The Board of the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has today announced the appointment of Mr Sal Petroccitto as Chief Executive, following a nationwide recruitment search.

Mr Petroccitto joins the NHVR from the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, bringing extensive knowledge of heavy vehicle regulation to this challenging role.

An ineffective legal requirement to fit spray suppression devices on B-doubles has been removed under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL).  

Spray suppression devices on B-Doubles were a requirement under previous individual state laws, except Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

However, the National Transport Commission (NTC) concluded on the basis of empirical evidence that the devices were not effective in real-world conditions at reducing the spray from B-doubles on wet roads. As a result, their requirement is not included in the HVNL.

From Thursday 20 March 2014, heavy haulage operators in the ACT can temporarily apply directly to Roads ACT for certain heavy haulage and special purpose vehicle permits applications when travelling within ACT borders.

In line with similar arrangements with other states, Roads ACT has agreed to process all new applications for oversize, overmass (OSOM), agricultural and special purpose vehicles (SPV) taking trips wholly within territory borders.

The Board of the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has accepted the resignation of Chief Executive, Richard Hancock, with immediate effect.

Mr Hancock has resigned for personal and family health reasons.

Chief Financial Officer and General Manager, Corporate Services, Melinda Bailey, will take on the responsibility of Acting Chief Executive of the NHVR until a permanent replacement is announced.

The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator is undertaking the review of the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme (NHVAS) as part of the Heavy Vehicle Roadworthiness Program, a joint initiative with the National Transport Commission (NTC).

The Roadworthiness Program is the first major initiative undertaken by the Regulator and the NTC under the recently agreed memorandum of understanding between the two organisations. The Program aims to develop policy and implementable measures for an improved national heavy vehicle roadworthiness system.

The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) is in Tamworth this weekend to discuss initiatives under the new national law at the Livestock and Bulk Carrier Association's (LBCA) annual conference.

The LBCA is the New South Wales state body of the Australian Livestock and Rural Transport Association (ALRTA).

This will be the first time since the commencement of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) on 10 February 2014 that the NHVR has had the chance to meet face-to-face with frontline operators from this important sector.

Australia's transport ministers agreed last week to reduce the paperwork burden affecting drivers and operators of accredited heavy vehicles.

The Transport and Infrastructure Council has asked the National Transport Commission (NTC) to prepare an amendment to the Heavy Vehicle National Law, to remove clauses that require heavy vehicle drivers to carry documents that arise from their employers enrolment in the 'mass' or 'maintenance' management accreditation schemes.

From tomorrow, heavy haulage operators in South Australia can now temporarily apply directly to their state road transit authority for certain heavy haulage permit applications travelling within South Australian borders.

In line with similar arrangements in Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales, to ease processing delays, the South Australian Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure will temporarily process applications for over-size and over-mass vehicles (OSOM) and special purpose vehicles (SPV) for journeys wholly within the state.

Heavy haulage operators in three states can now temporarily apply directly to their state road transit authority for certain permit applications for travel within state borders.

In keeping with similar arrangements in Queensland and Victoria to ease processing delays, New South Wales Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) will temporarily process applications for over-size and over-mass vehicles (OSOM) and special purpose vehicles (SPV).

The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) today welcomed the announcement by the Victorian Government for assistance with processing certain types of permit applications to ease delays for the heavy haulage sector.

Currently, there are some delays in processing, and the NHVR is working with all levels of government and industry to streamline the process, particularly for those permits that require an urgent response.

The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) continues to work closely with state road transport authorities to support local governments and streamline processing of local road access permits, particularly for urgent applications in the heavy haulage sector.

Chief Executive, Richard Hancock, said additional measures in place this week are particularly targeted at applications with urgent turn-around times, such as heavy haulage operators seeking over-size or over-mass permits (OSOM) or mobile construction vehicles that need special purpose vehicle (SPV) permits.

The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) is responding quickly to challenges and concerns from the heavy haulage industry regarding new national laws that govern access to Australia’s road network – a key component of which is the requirement of local government consent for any travel on the local road network before the NHVR can issue a permit.

Chief Executive, Richard Hancock, said that the NHVR had listened to the concerns of the industry and had already introduced interim measures to accelerate the permit approval process.

Five days in and the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) is administering the new national law as directed by Australia’s transport ministers.

NHVR CEO, Mr Richard Hancock, said the commencement of the national law on Monday, 10 February, saw new roles and responsibilities come into play for the NHVR, state road authorities and local government.

“One of the key features of the national law is that local governments have taken on a new statutory role where they are now formally part of the permit approval process.

The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) is aware of industry concerns about the length of time it is currently taking to issue permits for heavy haulage operators.

The NHVR is working closely with industry to address these concerns and has introduced temporary changes to its standard process for issuing access permits.

The new national laws for heavy vehicles came into effect this week on Monday, 10 February, requiring the NHVR to secure council approval for heavy vehicle travel on local government roads, before the permit can be issued for an entire journey.

Heavy vehicle drivers will be freed from unnecessary paperwork with the release of the new National Driver Work Diary, scheduled to roll out today with the new Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL).

Today’s commencement of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) means Australia’s heavy vehicle industry now has a one-stop shop for fast-tracked access applications, as the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) launches its national online Access Management System (AMS).
 
NHVR CEO Richard Hancock said applying for heavy vehicle access to the nation’s road network had never been so easy.
 
“Today’s commencement of the national rule book (the HVNL) makes the NHVR the single point of contact for access permits,” said Mr Hancock.
 

Today marks an historic milestone for the road transport sector in Australia, with the commencement of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australia Capital Territory (ACT).

The new rule book will be overseen by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR), which opened for business just over one year ago, initially managing the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme (NHVAS) and Performance-Based Standards (PBS) design and vehicle approvals.

From 10 February, the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) requires drivers of any vehicle that is accredited under any module of the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme (NHVAS) to carry certain documents with them.
 
Drivers of heavy vehicles accredited under the mass or maintenance module of the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme (NHVAS), must now carry:

With Australia’s first heavy vehicle rule book to commence on 10 February 2014, the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) will hit the road next week to explain the new national law to industry’s frontline.

NHVR CEO, Richard Hancock says the NHVR already had a proven track record of engagement with the heavy vehicle industry and was grateful for the continued support from all industry sectors for the new national law.

Australia’s transport ministers have set 10 February 2014 as the start date for the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) to administer one heavy vehicle rule book, representing a historic milestone for the road transport sector in Australia.

Ministers agreed that the new Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) will commence in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. In total, this will effectively replace up to five different sets of legislation with one national rule book.

Australia’s first Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) will commence on 10 February 2014. Join the NHVR at our local government and industry forums in metro and regional locations around Australia, to hear what One Regulator, one rule book will mean for you.

For local government, NHVR staff will outline in practical detail: