Transport Women Australia believes five-star rating scheme for trucking will benefit larger firms at the expense of smaller operators
By Ruza Zivkusic-Aftasi | July 11, 2013
Transport Women Australia (TWA) is the latest organisation to voice its concerns about a proposed safety rating system for the trucking industry.
TWA Chair Pam McMillan says there is no need for the scheme and believes it will put further pressure on smaller operators if implemented.
The NHVR has been tasked with looking at a program that rates operators to a safety level and rewards those who receive a higher rating. NHVR CEO Richard Hancock has previously stated that any scheme will not be another form of accreditation or mandatory.
“I think it will be detrimental for smaller operators because obviously bigger companies will be in a position to put more stars against their name whereas smaller operators may not be in a position to pay for extra audits and programs to be set up,” McMillan says.
“If certain companies only want to use five-star rated companies then they’re always going to pick bigger companies who can afford to put that rating in place.”
The system will not imply that rated companies are safe, McMillan adds.
“Having five stars on your vehicle doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re a safe company,” she says.
“I don’t know whether it will happen or not. The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator has got such a huge task to get everything else happening that I think it’s something that’ll be looked at in future but I don’t know how soon or where it will actually go.”
