Australia may be world leading in Regulatory Telematics for Heavy Vehicles, but our systems and processes have fast fallen behind world standards. Members are calling on Transport Certification Australia (TCA) and the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) to come together with industry to reimagine the current scheme by updating the relevant digital systems, technical specifications, and enforcement approach to develop best practice. This will require utilisation of more technology and automated tooling in preference to randomised intercepts, or fines based on self-declared non-conformances, which have minimal impact on compliance and only result in good operators being disproportionately targeted.
In HVIAs most recent submission, we review the current Telematics Monitoring Application (TMA) scheme which has been in place since 2020 and provide recommendations for improvements and necessary updates to ensure the ongoing integrity and fairness of the scheme. We appreciate many of our members who took the time to attend working group meetings, send emails, or contact us in person to report their experiences and concerns.
We can see significant benefit in the data managed by TCA and provided to road managers to assess impact on infrastructure and allow critical road access to High Productivity Freight Vehicles (HPFVs). This scheme is unique and if expanded in the future, will no doubt hold the key to tackling road safety and improving workplace safety for the over 500,000 professional heavy vehicle drivers in Australia. However, without forward thinking and action now, the scheme as it is will be difficult to scale. There are still many data discrepancies and anomalies, concerns around installation and calibration records, manual processes for logging non conformances and a system of enforcement which relies almost purely on self-declaration of non-conformances rather than externally evaluation of data and real time system checks.
The solutions can no longer be band aids. They are ineffective. Enough time has passed that it is sensible to review the scheme as a whole and determine not what the next year looks like, but the next decade. To support an ambitious road map, the underlying systems, processes, and technical specifications must be fixed. This will take resources and funding, if these are not in place, then we encourage the relevant parties to resolve this. The future of regulatory telematics in Australia will require further automation, capable data management systems, digitisation, and an increased use of technology when it comes to roadside enforcement. We look forward to working discussions with the TCA and NHVR in the coming weeks and will keep members up to date on our progress and any planned actions for reform or improvement to the current scheme.
For any members wishing to provide feedback on the submission and/or join the Telematics and Data HVIA Working Group, please contact r.michaud@hvia.asn.au.