The NHVR was established to regulate all heavy vehicles on our island continent, however the first state transition took place only five years ago, with three states still not using the HVNL at all. So, why was the NHVR established and what are its plans for true national oversight? ATN sat down with Director of National Services Transition Paul Olendrowsky to find out.
The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) is, as its name implies, the heavy vehicle regulator for all of Australia. In theory anyway. In practise the regulator is still in the process of transitioning all Australian states over to the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) system.
Currently the HVNL applies to all state and territories except for Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
The NHVR was established in 2013 and the first state to fully transition over to the HVNL was South Australia in 2017. Tasmania, the ACT, Victoria and New South Wales all followed suite soon after.
The next state on track to transition is Queensland, with an expected completion date of 2024 and There are currently no plans for WA or the NT .
The regulator is headquartered in Brisbane and employs more than 770 people across the ACT, Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria.
The role of regulating the heavy vehicle industry is no small task. The NHVR’s website says in the six states and territories where the HVNL applies, there are more than:
- 112,600 registered prime movers
- 1 million registered heavy vehicles
- 269,000 registered operators
- 495 road managers.
The regulator’s long-term vision is to foster a safe, efficient and productive heavy vehicle industry serving the needs of Australia and it aims to achieve this by working collaboratively with industry, governments and partner agencies to:
- provide leadership and drive sustainable improvement to safety, productivity and efficiency outcomes across the heavy vehicle transport sector and the Australian economy
- minimise the compliance burden, while ensuring the objectives of the HVNL are achieved and duty holders meet their obligations
- reduce duplication of, and inconsistencies in, heavy vehicle regulation across state and territory borders.
The regulator’s director of National Services Transition Paul Olendrowsky says, the NHVR aims to improve the way Australia’s heavy vehicle industry functions.
“The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) was established in 2013 to be the single, national regulator of heavy vehicles in Australia,” Olendrosky says.
“We administer and enforce one set of laws, known as the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL), and deliver a comprehensive range of services to reduce duplication and inconsistencies in heavy vehicle laws across state and territory borders.”
For the states that have now transitioned to the HVNL the NHVR says it has enabled a more streamlined approach to service delivery, compliance and enforcement, and a greater degree of consistency in how heavy vehicles are regulated.
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Paul Olendrowsky is the Director of National Services Transition at the NHVR.
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“We are a modern and intelligence-led regulator focused on informing, educating, and enforcing regulatory action to those posing the greatest risk to road users.
“Through the National Services Transition (NST) program, the NHVR has been working closely with states and territories over the past few years to transition delivery of most of our frontline heavy vehicle regulatory services,” Olendrowsky says.
Heavy vehicle regulation, like regulating any industry, is an incredibly complicated matter.
The NHVR says that one of the most significant challenges faced during transition is with data and technology – interfacing NHVR systems with jurisdictional systems takes careful planning and considerable time.
“It is critical that the NHVR has access to information to deliver heavy vehicle regulatory services and a lot of this information comes from jurisdictional owned systems.
“It is important that NHVR Safety and Compliance Officers can access information from these jurisdictional systems, like registration and driver licence information, to make more informed compliance decisions when dealing with customers,” Olendrowsky says.
As for the timing of the rest of the roll out Olendrowsky says it is a work in progress.
“The NHVR seeks to create a true, modern, single national heavy vehicle regulator across the country and will continue to engage with government and industry in Western Australia and the Northern Territory to encourage alignment of heavy vehicle regulatory approaches wherever possible,” Olendrowsky says.
The NHVR says it works collaboratively with all states and territories, industry, partner agencies and local governments to drive sustainable improvements to safety, productivity, and efficiency across the Australian heavy vehicle road transport sector.
Some of the suggested benefits of transitioning over to the HVNL include:
- A consistent approach to compliance and enforcement from the roadside to interventions
- Borderless operations
- National data to inform more targeted compliance activity
- A single point of interaction for the industry
- Building the capability to deliver timely, national responses to critical compliance issues
- Applying best practice regulatory approaches across all jurisdictions
- Improvement delivered over time and in consultation with all stakeholders
The NHVR says it places a strong focus on educating heavy vehicle drivers and operators, whether it be on fatigue management, safety and compliance, performance-based standards, road access or laws and policies.
These matters, it argues, are critical to improving road safety and ensuring drivers return home safely to their families.
“We recognise the heavy vehicle industry plays a critical role in driving Australia’s economy and supporting the needs of everyday Australians.
“Through programs such as the Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative (HVSI), we fund industry-led projects that aim to improve road safety for all road users, with the support of the Australian Government,” Olendrowsky says.
WHERE IT’S AT
The NHVR’s transition timeline so far:
- South Australia: Phase 1 – July 2016, phase 2 – October 2017.
- Tasmania: Transitioned in July 2018.
- ACT: Transitioned in July 2019.
- Victoria: Transitioned December 2019.
- NSW: Transitioned August 2022.
- Queensland: Transition is expected to be complete early 2024.