Queensland transport minister says passage of amendments to National Heavy Vehicle Regulator will reduce regulatory burden and confusion
February 18, 2013
Last week’s passage of amendments to the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) will lead to a reduction in regulatory burden on the trucking industry, the Queensland Government says.
The state’s parliament passed the Heavy Vehicle National Law Amendment Bill on February 14 to consolidate a number of existing laws and to address matters that were not finalised when legislation to create the NHVR passed last year.
Queensland Transport Minister Scott Emerson says the Bill turned 12 pieces of legislation of over 8,000 pages into one piece of legislation just over 700 pages in length.
“That is an incredible reduction in the regulatory burden on industry and serves to reduce confusion for heavy vehicle operators, heavy vehicle enforcers and transport agencies,” Emerson says.
Queensland has now passed the necessary legislation governing the regulator, meaning the other states and territories now have responsibility for doing the same to ensure national consistency. Except for Western Australia, jurisdictions are expected to pass legislation by July 1
“The regulator will be a single contact point – a ‘one-stop-shop’ providing centralised business services and information to heavy vehicle owners, operators and drivers across the nation,” Emerson says.
“We’re looking at being able to improve productivity and safety, removing inefficient policies and streamlining arrangements to see reductions in costs and regulatory burdens Australia-wide.”
Emerson says the reform will lead to productivity benefits of $162 million per year over the next 22 years.
The NHVR is currently responsible for Performance Based Standards (PBS) and the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme (NHVAS). Its scope will broaden to cover other regulatory matters such as chain of responsibility and permit applications from July 1.