Road managers
Accessibility tools
The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has slashed nearly 25,000 permits while still maintaining a high standard of safety for Australian heavy haulage vehicles.
NHVR CEO, Sal Petroccitto said this is great news for Oversize and Over Mass (OSOM) operators within the freight and transport industry who will no longer have to wait for their permits to be approved to get on the road.
“This time off the road is costly for freight businesses, especially small transport operators who work within smaller margins, and whatever we can do to make their lives easier while still ensuring a high-level of safety is paramount.
“The release of the Notices followed two weeks of consultation to ensure they meet the needs of the OSOM industry,” Mr Petroccitto said.
The OSOM Notices, with effect July 11, remove the requirement for annual permits for Class 1 Load Carrying Oversize and Over Mass vehicles in Victoria, NSW and South Australia.
“The Notices are a crucial step forward towards national harmonisation. They will cover almost one-third of the number of permits issued in 2015.
“It is a deliberate move to improve transparency and certainty of access, reduce red tape and allow the NHVR and road managers to better understand the existing differences across borders.
“The Notices will replace existing permit-based schemes in Victoria, NSW and South Australia to allow industry to operate more effectively and efficiently.”
Mr Petroccitto said while most conditions remain the same within each state, there has been some excellent productivity wins with South Australia increasing allowable length to 30m, and NSW increased allowable mass to 100 tonnes.
The NHVR will be reducing red tape in Queensland by removing the requirement for a Letter of No Objection (LONO) for oversize loads. Discussions will continue with the Queensland Government with respect to their participation in the Overmass Notice to replace existing period permits.
Tasmania and the NHVR have developed a separate OSOM Notice which was published in November 2015. This Notice embodies an innovative approach with access management that the NHVR will be evaluating for a national rollout through the next phase of OSOM harmonisation.