The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) has called on transport ministers to reduce fines for minor fatigue breaches and paperwork mistakes while focusing on safety in its Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) submission.
ATA chair Mark Parry says the changes should be made in response to the National Transport Commission’s (NTC) planned HVNL amendment bill and regulations.
“The ATA and its members have argued throughout the review that the fines for minor fatigue breaches and paperwork mistakes are too high,” Parry says.
“These can include a $200 fine for failing to draw a vertical line in a work diary or a $530 fine for taking a 12 minute rest break instead of 15 minutes.
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“There is no connection between minor offences like these and improving safety. In fact, it’s the opposite. Imposing high penalties for minor offences means that people focus on getting their paperwork right, instead of looking after what’s important: getting everyone home safely.
“The NTC reviewed the 349 offences in the law and recommended reducing 21 penalties, including the penalties for minor fatigue offences. The reduced penalties would still be too high, but they would be fairer than the ones we have now.
“Our submission urges transport ministers to agree to the results of the penalties review. In addition, infringement notices for work diary paperwork offences should be reduced from $200 to $150.
“A $150 fine would still be a large penalty for failing to draw a vertical line, but it’s a lot more reasonable than $200.”
Parry says transport ministers should reconsider draft amendments that would limit the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator’s ability to set the work and rest hours for drivers working for trucking businesses with advanced fatigue management systems.
“The hard outer limits in the draft would require 24 operators to restrict their operations. The change would affect more than 480 drivers, who would have to spend more time away from home to do the same work,” he says.
“The regulator should be able to set the work and rest hours and split rest rules for the small number of businesses and drivers who work under these advanced systems, often with the use of fatigue detection technology.
“If our recommendation is not adopted, ministers should specify a fatigue risk management standard for the regulator to follow, rather than setting arbitrary limits in the regulations.”
The submission also recommends that the definition of ‘unfit to drive’ in the exposure draft be rewritten in objective terms, fatigue rules for drivers who make trips to and from Western Australia and the Northern Territory should be simplified, ministers should approve codes of practice issued under the law, in line with the approach in the Work Health and Safety Act, and strengthen the conflict of interest provisions for new appointments to the NHVR board.
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