State authorities at last week’s National Heavy Vehicle Regulator’s advisory group meeting say the regulator does not want to repeat its process permits failure.

State governments were forced to intervene in February to help the NHVR process applications, which fell a long way behind schedule as the new agency struggled with its workload.

This week, the South Australian Road Transport Association (SARTA) says it was evident in the meeting that the regulator is aware of the damage that the delay caused, pushing back operations nationwide.

“The NHVR genuinely said that it knew it had to listen more and engage more with industry rather than simply report on its view of progress,” SARTA Executive Director Steve Shearer says.

“The NHVR does not propose to take back any permit functions currently being performed by the states until it is sure that it is ready and this will not be until after more comprehensive engagement with the industry, more extensive realistic testing that is not limited to theoretical transactions.

“The first half of the meeting quickly became a strong discussion in which the industry made very, very clear that it does support the NHVR but that there must never be a repeat of the problems earlier this year.”