The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has responded to complaints about the different inspection requirements in the various states around Australia.
A member of the audience at the recent Technology and Maintenance Conference (TMC) in Melbourne pointed out that in Victoria you could be made to undergo a full roadworthy inspection taking up to four hours, while in NSW the inspection might only take 30 minutes.
In his reponse during the TMC’s signature session, the Technical Q&A, Brett Patterson, the director of the Central Region at the NHVR, admitted the different requirements across the states are “challenging”.
“Different inspection requirements will work under the Heavy Vehicle Inspection Manual, that obviously has a list of reasons for rejection,” Patterson said.
“In Queensland, we have a PVI, Programmed Vehicle Inspection. In NSW, we have a heavy vehicle inspection scheme mandated by the registration authority.
“Is that different nationally? Absolutely. Is it challenging for us? Yes, it is.
“We’re relying on what each state jurisdiction has in place in relation to clearing a defect notice to take it off the register.
“We certainly know that’s a challenge and it’s something we are mindful of.”
Fellow session panelist Peter Austin, director of policy implementation at the NHVR, said that this particular issue has already been raised with the government.
“It’s still at the early stages of development, but a project called the National Risk-based Inspection Framework is asking that exact question – could we actually introduce a single national inspection system that would apply in all the states and territories?” he said.
“That program has been endorsed nationally by all six shareholding ministers, and they’re now at the stage of starting to flesh that out a little bit to see what it could actually look like.
“Now it’s a matter of establishing, in some jurisdictions, a brand-new inspection capability. If you look at Victoria as the prime example, there’s no annual inspection regime there.”
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