A breakthrough PBS scheme for Victorian livestock transporters is proving to be a lifesaver for the sector in the state, reports the peak body, the Livestock and Rural Transport Association of Victoria (LRTAV).
At the LRTAV conference at the MOVE Museum in Shepparton last month, association president Russell Borchard spoke of the success the association has finally had in achieving a higher Productivity Livestock Vehicle Scheme for Victoria after many years of lobbying.
“The current PBS scheme just didn’t work for the livestock industry,” Borchard said.
“Under that system we couldn’t get 4.6 metre vehicles across the line without huge cost. One operator, Anthony Boyle spent $300,000 to meet the scheme – and it is working for him – but it’s totally out of the equation for the small operator to spend this type of money.
“We don’t have set work and set runs like others in the transport industry; our job changes constantly.”
Working with the Department of Transport (DoT) Victoria and the NHVR over the past three years, LRTAV has come up with a viable option for the industry, and now have an accreditation scheme that the association will administer.
“We have proved our safety; we’ve been through all the tests and this will make it so good for our members for long distance cartage.
“It’s not something that we’re going to use locally, doing short runs around Victoria. But Victoria has most of the abattoirs and there is so much stock that comes in from New South Wales, the Northern Territory, and out of South Australia.
“Now the trucks are going to be able to get to their destination without splitting up which makes for cost-effective, safe transport. Victoria has been 10 years behind the rest of the country until now, so this is huge. I guess the relief of it finally eventuating got to me.
“We’ve had to jump through all the hoops to make sure it’s safe, get it all signed off and get everybody on board with it – the DoT, the NHVR and Road Safe Victoria – but they have worked with us to make it viable for the industry.”
To illustrate the difference the new scheme will make, operator Anthony Boyle described his personal story under the current PBS scheme.
“If I’d known the costs and how long it would take, I’d probably not have started the journey.
But I got to the point where I couldn’t go back. It cost me about $300,000 to get vehicles approved, which basically gave me access from Mount Gambier in South Australia to Warrnambool on the Princes Highway, and then back through Melbourne and up through Shepparton into New South Wales. So I had all of two roads that I could use and just six trucks approved for that money.
“The process of gaining network access, getting over bridges and getting approval for existing equipment, instead of going down the path of new designs, etcetera was tedious and very long.
“Then, just when I thought I had all the boxes ticked, there would be another pop up and I was up for another $15,000 bridge assessment. Even though there were other trucks using them every day, I had to keep paying and paying.”
Boyle also had to pay for rollover and stability reports, and build a program around how to load the cattle to keep the weight down on the trucks.
Originally, every trailer was also assessed individually.
“I had to go through an assessment to verify that as a combination, the B-triple was actually more stable than a Road Train, or an A-double. I had to keep putting money in to prove those sort of things.
“Fortunately now, none of you are going to have to do that – you’re not going to have to get a bridge assessment on networks. It is so much easier now, and as long as you tick off your equipment you are basically right to go.
“You have no idea how much easier and more quickly you will be able to get your equipment on the network now. Is it frustrating to see how easy it is and what we had to go through to get that point? Yes it is, but I’m glad that you guys have an opportunity now to utilise the network as it should be.”
For Graham Harsant’s full report from the LRTAV conference in Shepparton, pick up your September 13 issue of Big Rigs from the usual outlet, or read the free digital version that’s uploaded at bigrigs.com.au on the same day.
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