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NHVR announces three-year plan for the industry

Focus on delivering promised national reforms and pushing industry improvements

Bruce Baird is seeking to deliver on expectations.

 

The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has released its three-year ‘corporate plan’, which outlines an “ambitious reform agenda for the heavy vehicle industry”.

The NHVR chairman Bruce Baird says the document, Working together for a safer and stronger industry tomorrow, highlights the regulator’s reform priorities for a “safe, efficient and productive heavy vehicle industry”.

“We can only achieve these outcomes in partnership with state and territory transport agencies and the heavy vehicle industry,” Baird says.

“The state and federal ministers who are responsible for the NHVR have a clear expectation that the NHVR will deliver some of the most significant national heavy vehicle reform initiatives this country has seen.”

The reforms include the digital transformation of the permit system, electronic work diaries, a national scheme for heavy vehicle registration, a roadmap to boost the roadworthiness of Australia’s heavy vehicle fleet, and a national plan to streamline compliance information and link compliance systems across jurisdictions.

The NHVR will also focus on its role of providing regulatory leadership to drive sustainable improvements across the heavy vehicle industry.

“The heavy vehicle industry wants the NHVR to reduce the compliance burden, reduce duplication and reduce inconsistencies across state and territory borders,” Baird says.

“This plan will allow the NHVR to do that while also ensuring improvements in heavy vehicle safety for operators, the supply chain, passengers and all road users.

“The NHVR is now well equipped to provide leadership and training to industry and service partners.”

The corporate plan is to be supported by detailed strategies and an action plan to be released in the coming months.

High on the ‘trends, challenges and risks’ agenda is progressing Performance Based Standards (PBS).

While Australia is, according to the document, the world’s leading nation in certification, the focus on giving road managers, particularly local councils, the confidence to rely on the system in providing access will be central to its efforts.

It is part of a wider ‘one regulator – one rulebook’ push to make compliance and enforcement, access and regulatory frameworks nationally uniform.

This includes information technology issues covering developing uniform data collection and management, including for compliance and enforcement, and researching emerging technologies, such as electronic work diaries and advanced telematics systems.

The document acknowledges Chain of Responsibility approaches are fragmented amongst the state agencies that it cannot function without.

“A challenge facing the NHVR is the broadly differing capabilities, principles and interests of our partner agencies when pursuing Chain of Responsibility (CoR) investigations.

“Delivery of consistent and effective operations, with national collaboration and cross-border capability, requires leadership, direction and structure to investigations and prosecutions that prompt changes toward a positive compliance culture in the transport industry.”

The NHVR has set itself four strategic goals and objectives focused on: safety and productivity; autonomy as a truly national regulator; strengthening state and territory relationships; improving its own performance.

The full corporate plan can be found here.

 

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