The Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) has welcomed the announcement by the NHVR that work diary rules for carriers of primary produce will be extended into Victoria.

The national regulator also announced that the scheme will be harmonised across all participating jurisdictions.

It means the revised National Primary Production Work Diary Exemption (Notice) 2015 (No.2) will come into effect in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria from 5 October 2015.

ALRTA President Grant Robins said that the decision demonstrates the capacity of the NHVR to work with industry and governments to deliver safe, productive and harmonised reforms.

“Over the past year, the ALRTA has been working with the NHVR and jurisdictional governments to nationalise what was a sensible state-based reform. The NHVR has shown great leadership to broker a harmonised outcome without having to resort to a lowest common denominator approach,” Mr Robins said.

“This outcome bodes well for the capacity of the NHVR to deliver nationally consistent reforms on other issues in future.”

LRTAV President John Beer said that the extension of the Notice into Victoria will benefit local operators and those travelling short distances over the borders with NSW and SA.

“The work diary exemption reduces the unnecessary red tape burden on low-risk rural carriers and allows them focus on the job at hand,” Mr Beer said.

“Victoria is not an island. There is no reason why our rules should be different from adjoining states and I am very pleased that a common sense outcome has prevailed,” he said.