HVIA represented the heavy vehicle manufacturing and supply chain before the Senate Select Committee hearing on Australia’s Productivity on April 23, 2026, delivering a clear message: road freight productivity is no longer being held back by technology, but by regulation.
CEO Todd Hacking appeared at the public hearing as part of the Senate Inquiry into Productivity in Australia, describing the Inquiry as both timely and critical given Australia’s economic pressures, fuel security risks and the rapidly growing national freight task.
“This inquiry comes at a critical moment and presents a tremendous opportunity to advance productivity in one of the nation’s most important economic arteries,” he told the Committee.
HVIA highlighted findings from the Productivity Commission’s Impacts of Heavy Vehicle Reform – Interim Report, which confirms a sobering reality: road freight productivity has remained largely flat for more than a decade, despite major advances in vehicle safety, emissions performance and design.
According to HVIA, this disconnect makes it clear the issue is not vehicle capability, but a regulatory framework that has failed to keep pace with innovation.
With road freight projected to grow by 77 per cent by 2050, HVIA warned that incremental reform will not be enough. A step-change in policy settings is now essential if Australia is to move more freight safely, efficiently and affordably.
HVIA acknowledged recent positive signals, including temporary regulatory relief under Level 2 of the National Fuel Security Plan, which improved access for higher productivity vehicles.
But one-off or temporary measures are not enough.
A national freight task needs a national, holistic policy response,” Hacking said. “We need consistency and certainty to unlock long-term investment.”
HVIA cautioned that current access frameworks too often prioritise asset preservation and localised opposition over national productivity outcomes, creating inconsistency and uncertainty for operators and manufacturers alike.
HVIA outlined a suite of practical reforms that could immediately lift productivity without compromising safety or infrastructure:
> Modernising Australian Design Rules (ADRs) so they keep pace with current vehicle technologies and global innovation.
> Fast-tracking the National Automated Access System (NAAS) to replace fragmented, manual permit processes.
> Publishing PBS Access Decisions, giving operators the confidence to invest in higher productivity vehicles.
> Requiring road managers to consider national productivity benefits when assessing local access permits.
> Improving data sharing across a vehicle’s life, from manufacture to registration and in-service operation, to support smarter regulation and reform.
HVIA emphasised that lifting road freight productivity delivers broad benefits: lower supply chain costs, reduced congestion, improved fuel efficiency and cleaner air – while accelerating the uptake of newer, safer vehicles.
“A world‑leading regulatory system incentivises productivity. The current system penalises innovation and rewards the bureaucratic status quo. The policy solutions are known – now is the time to act,” Hacking said.