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Heavy vehicle operators and the broader road transport industry can expect improved targeting of compliance activities by law enforcement agencies as they operate across state borders.
NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto released the NHVR’s final National Compliance and Enforcement Policy which includes principles on how agencies should tackle high-risk behaviours and non-compliance in the heavy vehicle industry.
“The Heavy Vehicle National Law is enforced by several different agencies across Australia, including Police, transport agencies and the NHVR,” Mr Petroccitto said.
“Our transport enforcement agencies directly interact with heavy vehicle drivers and operators more than 320,000 times a year and today the NHVR has released a Policy which outlines how those interactions will be more targeted and risk-based.
“The NHVR already undertakes heavy vehicle compliance activities in South Australia and Tasmania and we work closely with other agencies, particularly on national operations which target key areas such as fatigue and vehicle maintenance.”
The Policy has been under development since February, and included several rounds of consultation with industry and partner agencies. It aligns with the NHVR’s Strategic Directions documents and will lead to more consistency around targeted compliance and high-risk activities.
South Australian Road Transport Association (SARTA) CEO Steve Shearer welcomed the NHVR's initiative and leadership in adopting a fairer and more pragmatic compliance and enforcement policy.
“Placing priority on the key safety issues by adopting a risk-based and intelligence-led approach to enforcement will deliver both a safer industry and fairer outcomes for drivers and operators,” Mr Shearer said.
“A major complaint of industry has long been that too much enforcement effort has unreasonably penalised drivers and operators with substantial fines over minor administrative and technical infringements that are of no safety consequence, driving good people out of the industry.
“SARTA looks forward to the enforcement effort increasingly being focussed on the safety risks and particularly on the recalcitrant minority of drivers, operators and customers who do not meet their obligations to operate safely.
“The National Compliance and Enforcement Policy should also lead to a more consistent and fairer approach to enforcement over time, particularly as police agencies progressively adopt this same risk-based and intelligence-lead approach, as we hope they will.
“We have already noticed a significant improvement since the NHVR began its on-road enforcement activity in South Australia, with a far more proportionate response commensurate with the level of safety risk involved in each case.”
The full policy is available at www.nhvr.gov.au/safety-accreditation-compliance/on-road-compliance-and-enforcement