Edition 71, October 2009

Ministers approve accreditation changes to improve transport safety

Changes to National Heavy Vehicle AccreditationAustralia's Transport Ministers have approved recommendations from a strategic review of the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation System.

The National Transport Commission (NTC) recommended that an improved National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation System (NHVAS) be administered by the COAG endorsed single national heavy vehicle regulator from 2011.

'Bringing together operational expertise in running NHVAS and sharing information across states and territories under a single national body will deliver better road safety outcomes,' said NTC Senior Manager, Safety and Environment, Dr Neil Wong.

NHVAS sets auditable national standards for maintaining trucks and buses, loading heavy vehicles to legal mass limits and preventing driver fatigue. Transport operators who comply with NHVAS standards benefit from increased business flexibility, reduced operating costs and fewer crashes.

Industry-developed accreditation schemes such as TruckSafe include additional safety management standards such as driver health, training, record keeping and speed management. Research shows that transport operators who manage their safety risks through TruckSafe and NHVAS have 50 to 75 per cent less crashes and those crashes are less severe.

Dr Wong said freight customers are increasingly contracting accredited transport operators to help demonstrate their compliance with chain of responsibility laws. Further recommended amendments to those laws would allow both industry and NHVAS standards to be recognised as prima facie evidence of taking 'reasonable steps'.

Consultation with industry, unions and governments also identified the need for tougher auditor standards and an update of mass and maintenance standards. Higher standards will further improve the integrity of NHVAS and support a level playing field for operators.

NTC found that the long-term role of accreditation schemes should be considered holistically as part of a broader national compliance strategy.  This will consider developing a market for safety in the transport industry including incentives and sanctions as well as the current telematics strategy.

NTC will progress the recommendations through the development of its future work plan.

The Accreditation Policy Review can be downloaded here.

More information on the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme visit http://ntc.gov.au/viewpage.aspx?AreaId=35&DocumentId=108

Related articles:
Heavy vehicle regulation review identifies inconsistencies (Edition 43, April 2007)

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