The Australian Government is working with state, territory and local governments, as well as industry and community stakeholders, to progress Heavy Vehicle Road Reform. This work is being overseen by Transport and Infrastructure Ministers.
Possible reform measures being contemplated under Heavy Vehicle Road Reform can be categorised as either “demand side” reforms (changes aimed at influencing consumption of road services) or “supply side” reforms (changes to the way in which road services are provided).
The current focus of Transport and Infrastructure Ministers is consideration of supply side reforms. At the request of Transport and Infrastructure Ministers, public consultation was conducted in 2020 on proposed changes to the way heavy vehicle charges are set and invested. More information about the consultation is available at the consultation page.
In May 2021, Infrastructure and Transport Ministers agreed on a ‘HVRR Pathway’ – a schedule of gateway decisions that will need to be considered if the reform is to commence in 2024. The HVRR Pathway is published here.
One of the first decisions that has since been taken by Ministers is to approve the framework for national service level standards for roads. The framework establishes nationally-consistent road categories, and also describes the things that will be measured in reporting on the level of service of different roads. In 2022, initial data will be collected and tested in preparation for reporting against this framework.
For more information on Heavy Vehicle Road Reform, visit Background on Heavy Vehicle Road Reform
or see the November 2019 summary paper Current Direction of Heavy Vehicle Road Reform PDF: 376 KB