The NHVR has opened consultation for its latest Heavy Vehicle Productivity Plan (HVPP), with the organisation’s chief safety and productivity officer David Hourigan saying the latest plan focusses on challenges affecting the trucking landscape into the next five years.
“We are open to feedback on what we see as contemporary challenges for Australia’s heavy vehicle industry,” Hourigan said.
“This includes issues like growth in the freight task, ongoing road fatalities, environmental and health impacts, the shift from asset management to optimisation, and finally, the increased frequency of unplanned supply chain disruptions,” he said.
“As the heavy vehicle sector evolves and the freight task changes, we too are evolving and changing by continually seeking new ways to refine our approach.
“Our goal is to be a modern regulator that has a deeper understanding of the issues, priorities and needs of our industry and government customers so we can create the most effective regulatory environment,” Hourigan added.
The NHVR said that since the release of the first HVPP in 2020, it has, in partnership with industry and government stakeholders, achieved many of its productivity targets, including easing the permit burden by delivering 49 national notices and 50 state and territory notices, launching the National Network Map, marking Australia’s first harmonised mapping system for heavy vehicles, improving route planning and operational efficiency for the industry, opened up network opportunities through assessment of more than 770 structures across 106 local councils through the Commonwealth-funded Strategic Local Government Asset Assessment Project, and established permanent electric vehicle networks in New South Wales and Victoria, with trial networks in Queensland and South Australia, supporting industry decarbonisation.
Hourigan said the new HVPP represented a fundamental shift in how heavy vehicle productivity would be defined moving forward.
“Productivity is not a trade-off with safety, sustainability and infrastructure and from our perspective, productivity also has the potential to save lives, reduce carbon emissions and prolong the life of our roads and structures,” he said.
“We are consulting on this new plan so that all those who play a part in the heavy vehicle industry, such as drivers, operators and road managers, can help shape our direction and achieve meaningful and tangible outcomes, and we want to know we are implementing the right initiatives to support industry and keep Australia moving,” he added.
The NHVR says that to provide feedback on the HVPP 2024 – 2029, you should refer to information on the NHVR website found here and advised that consultation closes on 31 October, adding that the final plan will be released to industry and government in December 2024.
