Eligibility requirements

The NHVAS Business Rules and Standards outline the requirements for entry to and participation in the NHVAS.

Eligibility

To be eligible for accreditation under NHVAS, you must agree to abide by the NHVAS Business Rules and Standards and, be the company director or the individual who will hold the accreditation.

History of transport compliance

Entry to the NHVAS is voluntary and open to operators who can show a record of compliance with heavy vehicle regulation and standards. As part of the application process in NHVR Go, you must provide a five-year compliance history declaration. This information is in addition to answering the question of ever having had an accreditation under the HVNL amended, suspended or cancelled.

Compliance history declaration

A compliance history declaration will need to be made when applying to establish, maintain, or add another module to your accreditation. Any known contraventions against the HVNL or any previous corresponding law, by the you or an associate in the 5 years prior to the application date. This includes disclosing any offences involving fraud or dishonesty that was punishable by a conviction or imprisonment of 6 months or more.

Any known breaches that are in relation to the module you are applying for must be declared. For example, fines against defective vehicles would need to be declared when applying for Maintenance Management and fines for overloading will need to be declared when applying for Mass Management.

If there are no offences to declare, the word ‘Nil’ must be entered.

Who is considered an associate?

An associate is any person exercising control or influence over any aspect of the business activities that are the subject of the accreditation application. This includes persons such as managers, schedulers, loaders and drivers.

Criminal history check

When assessing an application we look at whether you are a fit and proper person which means we consider whether you have been convicted of an offence and its seriousness, whether you have ever been bankrupt or insolvent, whether you have previously provided false and misleading information, and whether the public is likely to have confidence in your suitability to be involved in the operation of heavy vehicles. This assessment may involve us obtaining your prescribed criminal history.

Additional requirements for the Fatigue Management module

It is a requirement of both Basic Fatigue Management (BFM) and Advanced Fatigue Management (AFM) that:  

Note: Applicants choosing to operate at AFM approved hours should contact us on 13 NHVR (13 64 87) before undertaking an entry audit. We will help guide you through the process.

The purpose of the fatigue training is to provide drivers, schedulers, supervisors, administrators and managers with information critical to effectively managing the risk of fatigue in road transport operations. Once a driver or scheduler successfully completes these courses, they do not have to be re-trained when moving between accredited operators.

Additional requirements for the Maintenance Management module

To ensure that all vehicles have been inspected and are safe, it is a requirement of the maintenance management module that vehicle inspection requirements are met, and evidence provided. These requirements are:

For vehicles first registered within the past 12 months

  • any document that confirms purchase as a new vehicle within the last 12 months; OR
  • any document that confirms the vehicle is less than 12 months old; OR
  • any document that shows the vehicle was first registered within the last 12 months.

For vehicles that have been registered for more than 12 months

  • A Heavy Vehicle Inspection Report, issued by a Road Transport Authority within the last 12 months.