Every one of us who’s been around long enough has had to work it out, where we could go, what roads we could use and how to make sure we stayed legal doing it. We didn’t have GPS or route-planning apps that did the thinking for us. We were taught to plan our routes properly, to check the gazetted heavy vehicle networks before we headed somewhere new, and to make sure we weren’t wandering off an approved route.
That was part of being a professional driver. You learned how to think, how to read a map and how to check the details before you hit the road. You knew that if you went somewhere you shouldn’t, it was on you, so you made sure you didn’t.
In those days, operators wouldn’t give you a go unless you could prove you’d done the hard yards. Experience wasn’t optional. You earned your place through skill and attitude, not just by showing up with a licence.
In a recent NRFA board discussion, this topic came up again. Every one of us on the board have had to work things out the hard way and we all remember how important that process was to becoming a capable, confident driver.
We all started the same way – by learning from the people around us. You asked questions, watched, listened and learned. That’s how knowledge was built. You didn’t get told where to go, you figured it out before you left.
Now we’re seeing too many drivers put straight into trucks with none of that grounding. They’re given an address and just told to follow an app. And when it goes wrong, everyone stands around wondering why. The answer is simple; we stopped teaching people how to plan for themselves.
Technology’s great, but it’s no substitute for experience. The problem is that when drivers are relying solely on apps, they lose the ability to question what they’re being told. There’s no context, no awareness, no professional judgement being developed.
Drivers need guidance, not just navigation. They need to be mentored by experienced operators who can show them how to read the job, plan ahead and make the right decisions. Mentoring isn’t just about driving technique; it’s about building professional thinking. It’s about teaching the next generation to take responsibility for their work and to understand the bigger picture.
When you don’t have that mentoring, you end up with drivers who are technically licensed but practically unprepared. That’s where we’re failing as an industry.
Under the Heavy Vehicle National Law, section 26C spells it out clearly – every party in the chain of responsibility has a primary duty to ensure safety. That means making sure drivers are competent to do the work they’re sent to do.
But somewhere along the way, too many people started treating a licence as proof of competence. It’s not. A licence only proves that you can operate a vehicle, it doesn’t prove you can plan a route, manage fatigue or handle the real-world demands of the transport industry.
Our industry is made up of dozens of different segments – oversize, livestock, tankers, tippers, DG, mail, interstate linehaul, construction and more. Each of them demands a different skillset. Assuming a licence makes someone competent across all of them is not just naïve, it’s dangerous.
When we as an industry ignore that, we set drivers up to fail. And when they do, we all look bad as an industry.
The update of the National Heavy Vehicle Driver Competency Framework (NHVDCF) is a step in the right direction, but it’s only the beginning. It gives us a baseline for licencing, but it can’t possibly cover every variation of work across all heavy vehicle drivers.
The framework might ensure a driver can operate a vehicle, but it won’t make them capable of handling real-world work. It won’t teach them how to know where to go. That knowledge still has to come from industry, from operators, trainers and experienced drivers who pass on the knowledge.
That’s where mentoring comes in. It’s not about adding more regulation, it’s about restoring the culture of professionalism that’s been lost.
Every one of us on the NRFA board had someone who showed us the ropes. We were lucky to come through an era where experience was respected, and where you didn’t get a start until you’d proven you could handle it.
The next generation deserves that same guidance. If we don’t pass it on, we can’t complain when new drivers make mistakes.
As a board, we’ve talked openly about how to fix this, how to rebuild the mentoring culture and make sure new entrants are given the tools to succeed, not just the responsibility to comply. We’ve got drivers with decades of experience who are ready to help guide others, and we want that to become the norm again, not the exception.
Because if we don’t get back to that, we’ll keep seeing the same headlines and the same mistakes. And every one of them chips away at the reputation of our industry.
We were taught to plan, to prepare and to take pride in knowing how to do things right. That mindset built a generation of capable, professional drivers. It’s time we passed that on again.
Drivers need to know how to plan their routes, check gazetted networks and understand the rules before they turn a wheel. They need to be shown how to think, not told to just follow an app.
And operators have their part to play too. It’s not enough to hand out a job by text with nothing more than an address. Operators need to make sure their drivers are competent and properly supported. That means ensuring they understand the route, the delivery site and the limitations of the vehicle they’re operating. If a driver is being sent somewhere new, they should be given the tools, information and backup to do it safely and legally.
Because if we want to call ourselves a professional industry, we need to act like one, from the driver’s seat to the scheduler’s desk.
We learned to plan our trips and check the networks before we left the yard. That knowledge is what kept us safe and compliant. The next generation deserves that same start, but it’s up to us, as experienced operators and mentors, to give it to them.
If we don’t, we’ll keep sending people out blind and then blaming them for not seeing.
Reform, renewal and the road ahead
As we move into 2026, reform is going to hit the road. After years of consultation and talk, 2026 will be the year when major reforms begin to take effect. The Heavy Vehicle National Law amendments, the rollout of the National Heavy Vehicle Driver Competency Framework and the next steps in establishing minimum standards will all start shaping how our industry operates.
That’s why the NRFA Annual Conference in Wollongong on Saturday February 21, 2026 will be such an important milestone. It’s where the industry will come together to set our direction for the next stage of reform, not government talking at us, but drivers and operators leading the conversation on how these changes should work in the real world.
The conference theme is simple: safe, sustainable and viable. Three words that sum up what the NRFA stands for and what we’ll be fighting for as reform moves from paper to practice.
So as 2025 comes to a close, I want to thank every driver, operator and supporter who continues to stand up for fairness and professionalism in our industry. Take time this Christmas to be with your family, recharge and get ready, because 2026 is shaping up to be a defining year for Australian road transport.
From all of us at the NRFA, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a safe, sustainable and viable 2026.
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