Petroccitto says heavy vehicle permit turnaround time has fallen in three states
Heavy vehicle permit processing times by local councils have improved in three out of the five participating states during the March quarter, the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) states.
The data also includes heat maps showing the volume of permits being processed by state and local road managers, while highlighting areas where permit turnaround is taking longer than the required 28 days.
“The work of local councils, coupled with the NHVR’s expanding non-permit networks, is reducing the burden on industry and road managers,” NHVR Sal Petroccitto says.
“The NHVR recently established a national Performance Based Scheme Truck and Dog network which will further reduce the requirement for permits.
“We have also signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Local Government Association of Queensland to support their councils to improve their service delivery standards as road managers. “We are now pursuing similar agreements with other states and local governments.
“There has also been an increase in the number of pre-approvals by local councils as part of our efforts to focus on grassroots engagement, particularly in regional NSW and South Australia.”
Petroccitto highlights the improvement in local council processing times in Queensland (an average of 10.2 days down to 8.1), South Australia (10.6 days down to 10.3) and Tasmania (6.1 days down to 5.4), as shown in the figures.
NSW local councils remain steady with 15.4 days, while Victorian councils saw an increase from 6.6 days to 7.4 days.
“There were 5,950 permits processed by state and local government in the January to March quarter, up by 50 per cent on the same period in 2015,” Petroccitto says.
“These maps are just one tool to assist industry and road managers improve efficiency and productivity.
“We will continue to work with state governments to identify opportunities to further reduce the number of permits and improve processing turn-around times.”