SA Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis has reassured industry that he’s keeping the pressure squarely on his colleagues to adopt his state’s landmark reforms around heavy vehicle licensing of drivers from overseas.
Speaking at the Australian Trucking Association’s national conference in Adelaide late last month, Koutsantonis said he won’t let up until all jurisdictions have followed suit and made it tougher for foreign drivers to jump behind the wheel of a multi-combination here without the commensurate experience.
Under the changes, which took effect from February, the SA state government has established an ongoing Multi-Combination (MC) Licence Program for drivers to obtain a licence allowing them to drive all heavy vehicles.
Drivers will need to apply for the program with support of their employer, and complete a competency-based training course before logging a minimum number of hours and learning components with a qualified supervisor.
Heavy rigid licence holders will be required to complete a minimum of 60 hours of logged supervised driving and additional learning while those with an existing licence will need to complete at least 50 hours.
Overseas heavy vehicle driving experience will no longer be recognised for those pursuing an MC licence, with the exception of New Zealand.
Drivers from overseas countries will be required to hold a South Australian HR or Heavy Combination licence for a minimum of 12 months, or complete the MC Licence Program before obtaining a MC licence.
The changes came about due to lobbying by the South Australian Road Transport Association and a petition started by Delphine Mugridge, the widow of popular veteran driver Slim Mugridge, who was tragically killed along with two other drivers in a crash at Yalata on April 4, 2024.
In response to a question from the ATA conference floor regarding the response from other ministers so far, Koutsantonis said they were “terrified” of the ramifications around breaking the 1939 Geneva Convention on Land Transport, under the control of the Department for Foreign Affairs, which allows overseas drivers to use their overseas licences here.
But Koutsantonis said that doesn’t hold any weight with him.
“I will be pushing this very hard with my interstate colleagues because as we all know, anyone can get this licence in other jurisdictions and drive in SA,” he said.
“But it has to start somewhere and what politicians hate is difficult questions so the moment there is a crash in Victoria, NSW, or any other jurisdiction that recognises this neutral treaty obligation on licensing, I will be putting out a press release and pointing to SA and asking if we’ve made the change, why haven’t you?
“We’ve got to fix this, and we’ve got to fix it quickly.”
Koutsantonis said he appreciates that for some in the industry who are looking to progress migrant drivers a lot faster onto the larger vehicles, this could be an impediment.
“But I stand by these reforms because I think they’re the right thing to do.”
Koutsantonis said we owe to all families like the Mugridges to make our roads as safe as possible.
“When you go back to your home jurisdictions, you need to speak to your local MPs,” Koutsantonis told conference attendees.
“You need to speak to your local ministers and make sure that these changes made in SA are replicated nationally.”
Koutsantonis said he’d driven a lot through Europe but never seen anything there that remotely resembles a B-double, or any other heavy vehicle combination in Australia.
“At best I’ve seen semi-trailers. So, I just don’t think people can come over and jump into a multi-combination vehicle and know Australian conditions.
“No one has driven the distances that we have in our conditions. We’ve just got to man up here and say, ‘I’m sorry, the treaty you’ve signed is not applicable here. The state government is sovereign and we’re making our own decisions’.”
On the same discussion panel, ATA Chair Mark Parry said the ATA recognises it needs to do more for workforce and driver training.
Parry said the ATA is proposing several changes to the Austroads model, including two new pathways for advancement.
“We think the tenure pathway should be removed entirely,” Parry said. “It’s easy to confirm the driver meets the tenure requirements but there is no connection between the passage of time and driver skill.”
Most importantly, Parry said the ATA proposes splitting the MC into a new MC2 licensing class with breakpoint set at 37 metres.
“The new class would require additional training, assessment and experience to reflect the skill required to drive these extra-large combinations.”
Parry said existing MC licence holders with more than six months of experience would be automatically designated as MC2 licence holders under the plan.
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