Transport ministers should reduce the fines under the national truck law for minor fatigue breaches and paperwork mistakes, the Chair of the Australian Trucking Association, Mark Parry, said today.
Mr Parry was releasing the ATA's submission to the National Transport Commission (NTC) on the exposure drafts of the planned Heavy Vehicle National Law Amendment Bill and regulations. The HVNL regulates trucks in every state except Western Australia and the Northern Territory and has been under review since 2019.
"The ATA and its members have argued throughout the review that the fines for minor fatigue breaches and paperwork mistakes are too high," Mr Parry said.
"These can include a $200 fine for failing to draw a vertical line in a work diary or a $530 fine for taking a 12 minute rest break instead of 15 minutes.
"There is no connection between minor offences like these and improving safety. In fact, it's the opposite. Imposing high penalties for minor offences means that people focus on getting their paperwork right, instead of looking after what's important: getting everyone home safely.
"The NTC reviewed the 349 offences in the law and recommended reducing 21 penalties, including the penalties for minor fatigue offences. The reduced penalties would still be too high, but they would be fairer than the ones we have now.
"Our submission urges transport ministers to agree to the results of the penalties review. In addition, infringement notices for work diary paperwork offences should be reduced from $200 to $150.
"A $150 fine would still be a large penalty for failing to draw a vertical line, but it's a lot more reasonable than $200," he said.
Mr Parry said transport ministers should reconsider draft amendments that would limit the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator's ability to set the work and rest hours for drivers working for trucking businesses with advanced fatigue management systems.
"The hard outer limits in the draft would require 24 operators to restrict their operations. The change would affect more than 480 drivers, who would have to spend more time away from home to do the same work," Mr Parry said.
"The regulator should be able to set the work and rest hours and split rest rules for the small number of businesses and drivers who work under these advanced systems, often with the use of fatigue detection technology.
"If our recommendation is not adopted, ministers should specify a fatigue risk management standard for the regulator to follow, rather than setting arbitrary limits in the regulations," he said.
The submission also recommends that-
- the definition of 'unfit to drive' in the exposure draft be rewritten in objective terms
- the fatigue rules for drivers who make trips to and from Western Australia and the Northern Territory be simplified
- ministers approve codes of practice issued under the law, in line with the approach in the Work Health and Safety Act
- the conflict of interest provisions for new appointments to the NHVR board be strengthened.
