Bulletins provide vital information on paperwork duties and compliance and enforcement processes under national regulations.
Australia’s truck drivers and operators now have access to new resources detailing their paperwork responsibilities and what they can expect when pulled over for roadside inspections.
The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has released a series of bulletins covering gazette notices, must-carry documents, vehicle defects, dimension requirements, mass requirements and restricted access vehicles.
The regulator says the documents are designed to clear up any confusion drivers and operators have about their obligations and compliance and enforcement processes.
The bulletin relating to gazette notices lists all the notices that must be carried when travelling in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia. Notices do not need to be carried in the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania and Victoria.
The bulletin on must-carry documents summarises the most common documents that need to be carried. It includes information on driver and operator responsibilities, what documents can be presented in electronic form and how documents should be presented.
“The cabin of a truck is not meant to be a filing cabinet,” NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto says.
“Under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL), some documents don’t need to be carried at all. For the documents that still need to be carried, most can be stored and presented as an electronic copy, if that’s more convenient.”
The document on defects provides advice on vehicle standards, defect notice requirements and how to clear a defect notice.
The mass and dimension bulletins include information on requirements relating to vehicle dimension and mass and the methods used to assess compliance.
Finally, the document on restricted access vehicles contains definition for the three classes of heavy vehicles, mass and dimension limits and breaches of notices and permits.
All compliance and enforcement bulletins detail how offences are categorised, the types of enforcement action that can be taken and the responsibility of drivers and operators before and during a trip.
“Removing any confusion and mystery about how the national law is applied on the road, means operators can spend more time ensuring their drivers, schedulers, loaders and others in the supply chain are focused on better road safety,” Petroccitto says.
Petroccitto says the NHVR is aiming to reduce the administrative burden on operators and drivers.
“As we harmonise notices across the country, we’ll continue to cut the number of notices that need to be carried,” he says.
“This means operators can spend less time worrying about the paperwork their drivers need and more time in making sure their drivers, schedulers, loaders and others in the supply chain are doing the right thing.”
The NHVR says electronic documents must be on a device with a visual display that allows enforcement officers to read and understand the entire document.
It says drivers cannot download the relevant document from another location at the time they are pulled over.