Revised Business Rules and Standards to come into effect next week.
With some small sense of normality returning to the roads in most states, the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) revised Business Rules and Standards, which are situated under the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme (NHVAS), are set to come into effect on Monday.
NVHR chief regulatory standards and policy officer Don Hogben noted the November 2019 meeting of the Transport Infrastructure Council endorsed changes to the scheme’s Business Rules and Standards to further align with Safety Management System principles and provide clarity for common scheme misinterpretations.
“Through our review of the NHVAS and talking to industry we have been able to identify areas where we can make things better and simpler,” Mr Hogben says.
Mr Hogben goes onto outline beneficial outcomes for those involved in the scheme.
“NHVAS participants are regularly shown to be safer, with fewer compliance breaches, while also benefiting from the productivity benefits offered by the scheme.
“Through these changes, NHVAS will be more closely aligned to Safety Management Systems and help members meet their requirements under Chain of Responsibility laws.”
While the application of the regulations start next week, both those new to the scheme and current participants will need to be aware of their new responsibilities.
“New scheme participants will need to comply with the revised rules and standards when lodging their application, while existing participants will be allowed up to one accreditation cycle to implement the revised rules and standards,” Hogben says, adding, “The time allowed for existing participants to transition means that there is no need for any operator to feel panicked into making changes.
“By reviewing your system and completing any required updates, operators are adding an additional level of confidence in addressing some of their primary safety duties, helping make our roads safer for everyone.”
Among the changes, the duplication between the Advanced Fatigue Management and Basic Fatigue Management modules has been reduced to allow both to operate under a single set of seven standards.
Other safety-related improvements include:
- A requirement to notify the NHVR of any significant or major safety incident involving a NHVAS-nominated vehicle or driver operating under a fatigue module
- A requirement to keep a register for infringement and defective vehicle notices related to the scheme
- Revised requirements for loading and weighing.
Information on the revised Business Rules and Standards, including fact sheets and videos on the new regulations are now available on the NHVR website.