NHVR freezes fee increases

The NHVR has today announced it will freeze fee increases on all NHVR-provided services until January 2021.

NHVR Chair Duncan Gay said helping the industry through this difficult period had been a priority for the regulator, with the fee freeze the latest in a series of initiatives aimed at assisting operators through the pandemic.

“We recognise this has been a tough period for many operators and now more than ever we want to encourage heavy vehicle businesses to focus on their safety and that of other road users,” Mr Gay said.

“This fee freeze is a small way the NHVR can help in providing financial relief to more than 20,000 heavy vehicle businesses using NHVR’s services.”

The freeze will apply to all National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme (NHVAS) module and nominated vehicle fees. The NHVAS provides flexibility in managing fatigue and concessions for mass and maintenance for operators that have robust and compliant management systems.

There are currently around 7500 heavy vehicle operators accredited across 12,300 modules. The Maintenance module applies to more than 115,000 heavy vehicle units, while the Mass module applies to more than 43,000 heavy vehicles.

The fee freeze will also apply to permit applications where the NHVR coordinates more than 70,000 heavy vehicle access permits a year, liaising with state, territory and local governments.

Fees for Victorian escort services will also be frozen until January 2021, while the cost of a new Written Work Diary will remain at $25 for 2020-21.

Australian Trucking Association CEO Ben Maguire congratulated the NHVR on the decision and said it would provide financial relief for trucking operators.

“The decision demonstrates the NHVR’s support for industry and understanding of the hardship many businesses are facing,” Mr Maguire said.

“This year has been very challenging, but our great industry will bounce back,” he said.

For the list of NHVR fees click here.