Three of Australia’s leading trucking bodies have issued their strongest warning yet on the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) Amendment Bill, arguing the reform package risks deterring participation, undermining safety and stripping operators of basic legal protections.
The Queensland Trucking Association (QTA), the Victorian Transport Association (VTA), and the National Road Transport Association (NatRoad) have lodged a joint submission calling for the Bill to be revoked and rewritten.
Their position escalates concerns NatRoad has raised in recent weeks about a lack of clarity, unfinished regulations, and an implementation timeline that operators cannot reasonably prepare for.
Industry warns accreditation could be used as evidence against operators
The associations say the proposed two-tiered accreditation framework creates structural conflicts that make the system unworkable.
Their submission argues that operators who engage independent auditors could have their audit records used as evidence in prosecutions, reversing the burden of proof and weakening rights to natural justice.
QTA CEO Gary Mahon says the framework threatens both fairness and safety.
“The proposed HVNL reform introduces a systemic conflict that we cannot accept,” Mahon says. “It effectively reverses the burden of proof, denies standard legal defences and will deter operators from engaging with a system designed to improve safety.”
The associations say accreditation must reward safety, not expose participants to legal jeopardy.
Significant new costs and operational risks
The joint statement highlights multiple pressures for transport businesses, including:
- Higher audit and consultancy fees, potentially doubling or tripling current costs
- Mandatory 28-day audit submission timelines that increase risk for operators and auditors
- Reduced payloads and restricted operating hours for operators who withdraw from accreditation
- Higher liability exposure for auditors under the new model
Mahon says the framework imposes an “unsustainable level of risk” on operators and auditors and could destabilise the scheme’s foundation.
Industry concern now extends across the sector
The joint submission follows NatRoad’s earlier response to the HVNL Amendment Bill, in which the organisation welcomed the Bill in principle but warned that regulations, standards, and guidelines remain unfinished.
NatRoad said operators lack the practical detail required to prepare for changes from July 2026.
By contrast, this latest submission takes a firmer stance, arguing the Bill risks creating a punitive, legally uncertain environment that could push operators out of accreditation entirely.
The associations say the reforms must be rebuilt through genuine engagement with operators, auditors and safety specialists to avoid unintended consequences.
Call for the Bill to be withdrawn and rewritten
“This policy proposal must be revoked and reconstructed with full and meaningful participation from industry,” Mahon says. “Anything less risks creating a system that fails in its primary goal of improving road safety.”
The groups say they remain committed to reform but warn that the current framework could undermine productivity, legal fairness and voluntary safety improvements across the heavy vehicle sector.