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Red tape reduction coming for accredited operators

Changes to national regulations will benefit companies enrolled in accreditation schemes.

 

Changes to the law governing national heavy vehicle regulations are on the cards to ease the paperwork burden on drivers and operators of accredited trucks.

 The National Transport Commission (NTC) has been given the task of preparing amendments to the Heavy Vehicle National Law to remove clauses requiring drivers to carry documents relating to their employers enrolment in the ‘mass’ or ‘maintenance’ management accreditation schemes. 

Trucking operators are currently liable if a driver fails to keep the documents on hand or return the documents if they change jobs.

The country’s transport ministers agreed to remove the requirement as part of efforts to cut the amount of paperwork the industry needs to deal with on a regular basis.

The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has already issued instructions to state and territory transport authorities to not enforce the requirement for drivers to carry documents for mass management or maintenance management. 

Specifically, authorities have been told not to request or require drivers to produce the documents at the roadside and to not issue any sanctions if a driver is not carrying the documents.

The NHVR previously instructed officers to issue warnings about a failure to carry the relevant documents until March 10.

“The new instructions replace that approach,” it says in a statement.

“The rules for basic fatigue management (BFM) and advanced fatigue management (AFM) remain the same. Drivers must still carry and produce on demand all the relevant documents which show that they have been trained and inducted in these two safety-related management schemes.”

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