Transport ministers should reduce the fines under the national truck law for minor fatigue breaches and paperwork mistakes, the ATA submission to the National Transport Commission on the exposure drafts of the planned Heavy Vehicle National Law Amendment Bill and Heavy Vehicle National Amendment Regulations says.

The HVNL regulates trucks in every state except Western Australia and the Northern Territory and has been under review since 2019.

The submission also recommends that—

• the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) should not be restricted in its ability to set the work and rest hours for drivers working for trucking businesses with advanced fatigue management systems
• 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.