The National Transport Commission (NTC) has released its plans to propose new penalty changes for numerous offences under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL).
The proposed changes follows a review of 349 HVNL offences, with the NTC suggesting 50 penalties are increased and 21 are decreased.
The NTC has called for the maximum penalty for a minor fatigue breach for a solo driver operating under standard hours should drop from $5,300 to $3,980, meaning the infringement notice amount would decrease from $530 to $398.
The penalty for failing to record information immediately after starting work would then decrease from $8,000 to $5,300, with the infringement notice amount falling from $800 to $530.
Other suggested decreases include to replacing defaced HML permits, fatigue breaches and record-keeping penalties such as losing an Electronic Work Diary (EWD).
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Penalties that have been suggested to increase include compliance with dimension requirements, false or misleading transport documentation of goods and contravening conditions of HML permits.
The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) says its members have argued throughout the review that driver fatigue and record-keeping penalties should be reduced.
“The very high penalties for minor breaches of the fatigue rules do not make roads safer. Instead, they are unfair and discourage good drivers from participating our industry,” ATA CEO Mathew Munro says.
“The NTC is proposing a sensible rebalancing of penalties across the law. Penalties for minor, often inadvertent, offences would be reduced, while penalties for deliberate offences, such as deception, would be increased.
“In an operating environment where we’ve come to expect that penalties will only go up, it is refreshing to see proposals for relief.
“In combination with greater use of formal warnings and fatigue education, fairer penalties would be an important step in the right direction.”
The NTC is now consulting on the drafts to check they reflect the policy intent of ministers, with consultations set to close on November 21.
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