Request for engagement, feedback and comments
The Transport and Infrastructure Council has asked for public consultation on a proposed new system for setting and investing heavy vehicle charges. Governments have not yet agreed to implement these reforms. The Transport and Infrastructure Council and the Council on Federal Financial Relations will, in 2020-21, consider options for potential reforms. The Heavy Vehicle Road Reform (HVRR) process has been underway for some time now and NatRoad has provided a number of submissions to help shape the process.
Since the current heavy vehicle charging and investment system was put in place in the 1990s, some new issues have emerged and ideas on better ways to do things have been put forward. Under the current system, there is no national service level standards framework. Therefore, there is no nationally consistent understanding of what road users want and need from roads, nor is there a detailed understanding of what users are willing to pay for.
There are existing road categories and measures of service at the state and territory level which understand user needs, but these frameworks differ across jurisdictions, and so cannot be used as the basis for setting national charges.
Natroad is actively preparing feedback from our members to present to the Transport and Infrastructure Council on this matter. Members are invited to individually respond to the questions asked in the recently published consultation paper or to provide NatRoad with feedback on issues raised in the paper.
NatRoad is focused on advocating that HVRR :
- deliver independent and fair heavy vehicle charges.
- Not impose additional burdens on operators.
- Be revenue neutral
- Not be costly to administer.
- Deliver agile reform to heavy vehicle road access arrangements
- Deliver improved connectivity for urban, rural, regional and remote communities.
- Deliver road funding reform with improvements to the assessment of projects and independent decision making.
- Take into account community service obligations to provide road infrastructure
Providing us with your feedback gives you an opportunity to have your views inform their considerations for future changes.
To provide feedback please call our Member Services team on 1800 272 144 or email [email protected].
The Transport and Infrastructure Council are planning online workshops for July-August 2020, and we will let members know when further information becomes available. Noting wider consultation sessions are planned for September and supplementary material could be published.
