The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator was meant to come into operation this month, but has been delayed again with reports saying it is uncertain when the new body will get underway.

NHVR CEO Richard Hancock says he does not know when the newly-formed national regulator will officially take over from previous boards. Last month the NHVR board said it needed more time to work out some kinks in its IT systems before it could start regulating the country’s big rigs and haulers. A new date was set for October 1, but now insiders say it has been pushed back again.

“Although the testing of our systems has gone very well, the start date for the Heavy Vehicle National Law will not be 1 October. The NHVR Board wants more preparatory work done in areas such as user acceptance, training and support for local government,” Mr Hancock says,

“I'm grateful for the continued strong support from industry and participating states and territories for a revised start date that ensures our IT systems and processes excel when they go live... I intend to advise soon of a confirmed date for commencement of the new national law.”

A new rule book will apply in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia when NHVR systems do eventually hit the road. The new regulator will handle up to 100,000 access permit applications per annum in combination with duties of enforcing vehicle standard laws, fatigue management and chain of responsibility management.

Until such time as the overhaul is fully-formed and ready for action, the NHVR will continue to manage the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme (NHVAS) and Performance-Based Standards (PBS) for design and vehicle approvals.

The latest information is available at the NHVR website.