HVNL reform implementation

A review of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL), led by the National Transport Commission (NTC), started in 2019 and aimed to update the existing law to improve safety and productivity for Australia’s heavy vehicle sector. The review identified a series of reform options to enhance the effectiveness of the HVNL for governments, industry and the broader community.

This process resulted in the development of the Heavy Vehicle National Law Amendment Bill 2025 and the Heavy Vehicle National Amendment Regulations 2025 (together, the 2025 Amendment Package), which was passed without amendment by Queensland Parliament on 18 November 2025.

The amended HVNL commenced on 1 August 2026.

Supporting standards and guidelines

The NTC and NHVR released key statutory instruments supporting the amended HVNL, following Ministerial approval of the final legislative package in May 2026.

The instruments provide the detailed standards and guidance that underpin the amended law, covering accreditation, fatigue management and safety assurance.

What’s changed

HVNL brochure - Preparing for the amended HVNL (PDF, 3.50MB)

From 1 August 2026, the HVNL is changing, introducing a range of reforms for Australia’s heavy vehicle industry.

HVNL Industry Information Sessions

The NHVR hosted a series of online industry information sessions throughout May 2026 to support operators, drivers, and transport businesses in understanding the upcoming amendments to the HVNL, and what these changes will mean in practice ahead of commencement mid-year. The recordings of each session, as well as the presentation slides, can be found below.

Mass, Dimension and Loading

Accreditation and Safety Management Systems (SMS)

Performance-Based Standards (PBS)

Fatigue and Fitness to Drive

HVNL branding

New branding for the HVNL was rolled out across key NHVR materials, to help industry identify content that has been updated due to the regulatory changes. It makes it easier to distinguish between the current and amended HVNL, particularly for the transition from the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme (NHVAS) to the new Heavy Vehicle Accreditation (HVA) scheme.

Example of a branding identifiers for the HVNL reform implementation that will be displayed on NHVR artefacts
Figure 1: Example of the branding identifiers for the HVNL reform implementation that are displayed on NHVR materials.