Key points from HVIA’s mid-year State Committee meetings

The HVIA team has reported an excellent and productive mid-year round of State Committee meetings held in WA, QLD, NSW, and VIC this month.

HVIA Chief Technical Officer Adam Ritzinger said he was incredibly pleased that so many members are continually engaging with the HVIA team and each other on important technical and policy issues, and taking the time to network with their colleagues in each state.

“The HVIA committee meeting series are amongst the most impactful state-based events in our industry. Attendees get up to speed on the big issues impacting the sector, and can also have their say on guiding the direction of their industry association”.

Adam was joined by Harrison Hunkin (HVIA’s Manager of Member Engagement) for the Victorian meeting, and also travelled to Perth to join Greg Forbes for the Western Australia meeting. Harry and Todd Hacking (HVIA CEO) jointly held both the New South Wales and Queensland meetings.

The key items discussed were progress on changes to truck width regulations, the implementation of VSB6 v3.2, recent negative changes to the PBS portal, and administrative issues with the ROVER system.

Members were pleased to hear that a decision has been made at the ministerial level regarding width, and are eagerly awaiting notification of what that decision is. HIVA understands that an announcement will be made in August, and is hopeful that it aligns with its long-standing policy position, which is for 2.55-metre wide trucks, but no change to trailer width. Members were appreciative of the continued lobbying efforts of HVIA.

On-going administrative issues around the Federal Government’s ROVER system were also topical, with many members feeling as though the application timelines were not being followed by the Department. In that sense, it was valuable to have Melissa Cashman, head of the Vehicle Safety Policy and Partnerships Branch of the Department attend every meeting. She heard members’ concerns directly and committed to reviewing and acting on each of them.

Detailed meeting notes that combine feedback and discussion points from each individual meeting are available to download at the link below.

The final round of State Committee meetings for 2023 will be held in WA, QLD, NSW and VIC in October. Registration will open shortly.