Reviewing heavy vehicle law – is it fit for purpose?

Earlier this year, the National Transport Commission (NTC) released an Issues Paper which dissects and analyses the regulatory style and structure of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL).

The Issues Paper is the first step for the NTC's review of the HVNL and discusses the regulatory foundation of the HVNL. The Issues Paper looks at the assumptions underpinning the existing law before and sets the framework for further issues papers to be released which are specific to particulars areas of the Chain of Responsibility (CoR).

The NTC's Issues Paper

There are different principles which underpin government regulation.

Firstly, under prescriptive or "rules based" regulation the government is responsible for identifying risks and prescribing specific risk treatments. It leaves the roles of risk identification, analysis and controls with the government, with regulated parties required to apply the controls i.e. the government says what parties to the CoR can or