NatRoad says the NSW dangerous goods rules changes impact truck drivers and operators around the state
The National Road Transport Association (NatRoad) says New South Wales has made changes to its dangerous goods rules for trucks.
NatRoad says there are important changes to dangerous goods regulations in New South Wales with the NSW Dangerous Goods (Road and Rail Transport) Regulation 2022 having come into effect from August 19.
The new regulation includes changes to strengthen requirements relating to safety, maintenance, inspection, packaging approval and incident notification. They include:
- Heavy tank trailers must have an electronic roll stability system fitted, maintained and operational, legislating a determination previously made by the EPA
- Prohibited routes specified in NSW Road Rule 300-2 are mirrored, enabling the EPA to regulate vehicles transporting dangerous goods on prohibited routes, including tunnels
- Prime contractors must notify the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) within one hour of becoming aware of an incident resulting in a dangerous situation – drivers must still notify incidents to emergency services and the prime contractor ‘as soon as practicable’ but do not need to notify the EPA
- The EPA or SafeWork, as competent authorities, may authorise a qualified engineer, NATA accredited laboratory, NSW government agency or statutory body to approve packaging designs on their behalf
- A person undertaking the maintenance, testing or inspection of a licensed dangerous goods vehicle must maintain the vehicle in accordance with the requirements of the Australian Dangerous Goods Code.
NatRoad says language and layout changes have been made to better align the regulation with the national Transport of Dangerous Goods Model Laws, and licence and other fees will be adjusted for inflation from 2023-24.