Following its review of 349 offences, the National Transport Commission (NTC) has unveiled its proposed new penalties under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL).
- Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to receive the latest news and classifieds from Australia’s transport industry.
- Don’t miss a second and subscribe to our monthly Deals on Wheels magazine.
- Sell your truck with Australia’s #1 truck classifieds
The NTC proposes to increase 50 penalties and decrease 21 penalties, including fatigue and record-keeping penalties faced by drivers.
The proposal includes the reduction in fines for a minor fatigue breach operating under standard hours, decreasing from $5,300 to $3,980, with the infringement notice amount to decrease from $530 to $398.
The penalty for failing to record immediately after starting work would fall from $8,000 to $5,300 and the infringement notice amount would fall from $800 to $530.
The ATA and its members argue 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,” ATA CEO Mathew Munro says.
“Instead, they are unfair and discourage good drivers from participating our industry.”
“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 released the proposed penalties as part of the exposure draft of the law and regulation amendments needed to implement the results of the HVNL review.
The NTC is consulting on the drafts to check that they reflect the policy intent of ministers and to ensure the law operates as intended.
Consultations on the proposed penalties and the draft legislation close on 21 November 2024. The ATA will be making a submission.
Read more:
- Why the Mack Super-Liner has one of the biggest names in trucking
- Unique 2023 Scania R620 XT makes waves at Aplus Towing
- Trucking Disaster almost ripped JKD Racing out of SuperUtes Series races
- A woman in a man’s world: The story of Toots Holzheimer
- Rigs roll into Ivanhoe for the Dry Times Truck, Tractor, Car and Bike Show
Check out the Deals on Wheels Facebook here.
