NTC Seeks Further Consultation On Review Of DG Code

The National Transport Commission has launched a new round of consultation on the comprehensive review of the Australian Code for the transport of dangerous goods by road and rail.

The draft tank and vehicle provisions for dangerous goods transport – working group paper #11 is the eleventh paper in a series of topic-specific papers.

This paper builds on feedback from earlier papers on the provisions that apply to tanks and vehicles in ADR and the current ADG code, including Australian Standard 2809. It includes a compilation of draft provisions that apply to tanks and vehicles used for dangerous goods transport.

While extensive changes are proposed in the paper, the aim is not to significantly change transport operations, but to ensure that the transport requirements more clearly reflect Australian practices.

The new code will, however, include detailed tank design requirements based on the requirements in AS 2809, including for gas vehicles as well as the construction of fibre-reinforced plastic tanks, vacuum tanks and bulk containers for solid dangerous goods.

It will also include specific controls around the use of portable tanks and IBCs as tanks on a tank vehicle which are not properly addressed in the current code.

In preparing the draft provisions, the NTC says some additional questions have emerged that it is seeking the views of stakeholders on. Responses will enable the NTC to further refine the draft provisions and ensure they are appropriately tailored to the task of safely transporting dangerous goods in Australia.

Consultation is open on the NTC project page until April 27, 2024. You can access all open NTC consultation papers here.

Feel free to contact Debra Kirk at the NTC if you have any questions about this paper or the review at dkirk@ntc.gov.au.