NSW Government sends staff to help NHVR process applications.
New South Wales has become the latest jurisdiction to lend its support to the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) in a further sign of the agency’s inability to service the trucking industry.
The Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) today announced two permit experts were on their way to the NHVR’s head office in Brisbane because of the delays trucking operators were experiencing trying to have permit applications approved.
Queensland has already taken back control of processing some permit applications, VicRoads has sent staff to help the regulator and councils are also assessing permits because the NHVR cannot cope with its workload.
“Unfortunately applications are not being finalised as quickly as we would hope and we are therefore going to support the process and send two Roads and Maritime permit experts to Queensland to help review NSW applications,” RMS Director of Safety and Compliance Peter Wells says.
“We need to ensure freight movements can continue to efficiently deliver goods and commodities to distribution centres, depots, intermodal facilities, supermarkets, farms, saleyards, abattoirs and feedlots.”
In comments that suggest staff within the NHVR do not fully understand what they are doing, Wells says he hopes sending the two experts will “help the NHVR better understand heavy vehicle transport needs and associated freight paths and routes in NSW”.
“Roads and Maritime is taking all steps to ensure permit applications received from the NHVR are fast-tracked for assessment and access to the state road network,” he says.
The RMS has also introduced new permit application measures to try and accelerate the process – a move the NSW branch of the Australian Trucking Association (ATA NSW) has welcomed.
“Under the NSW Government’s plan, operators will submit their permit applications to NSW RMS at the same time as they submit them to the NHVR. NSW RMS will pre-assess the sections relating to NSW state roads, so they can respond with a yes or no immediately when the NHVR finally gets round to sending them the permit applications for approval,” ATA NSW Manager Jodie Broadbent says.
While saying the plan has the potential to shorten the approval process, Broadbent believes the RMS needs to go further and take back control of processing some permits.
“Until it gets its systems in order, the NHVR should hand back responsibility for processing oversize and over-mass permits, and special vehicle permits, in NSW to the State Government,” Broadbent says.
“The NHVR was supposed to centralise and streamline the process of getting road access permits, but instead we’re just getting long delays and excuses.”
Broadbent says delays in permit approvals are costing trucking operators tens of thousands of dollars a day because they can’t move their freight.
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