Impacts of heavy vehicle reform
Interim report
Released 13 / 04 / 2026
Heavy vehicle transport is vital to Australia’s economy, but road freight physical productivity has stalled for more than a decade.
This interim report sets out the PC’s draft findings, recommendations and areas in which additional information is sought. It finds that better road access for high productivity and heavy zero emissions vehicles – supported by reforms such as automated access approvals, clearer planning rules for charging infrastructure, and updated curfew and licensing settings – could help restart productivity growth while improving emissions outcomes.
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Overview (PDF 455.5 KB)
Overview (DOCX 812.9 KB)
Chart data (XLSX 52.6 KB)Preliminaries: Cover, Copyright and publication detail, Opportunity for comment, Request for advice, Acknowledgements, Disclosure of interests and Contents
Overview
Draft recommendations, findings and information requests
- Context for heavy vehicle reform
- 1.1 What have we been asked to do?
- 1.2 Conduct of the study and consultation
- 1.3 Heavy vehicles and the freight task
- 1.4 Expected distributional impacts of the proposed reforms
- Access for high productivity and heavy zero emissions vehicles
- 2.1 How do access arrangements currently work?
- 2.2 Opportunities to deliver productivity gains and improved environmental outcomes
- 2.3 Reforms to access for high productivity vehicles and HZEVs
- Accelerating a National Automated Access System
- 3.1 The existing heavy vehicle access system is not fit for purpose
- 3.2 About the NAAS
- 3.3 Getting the most out of the NAAS
- 3.4 Ensuring the NAAS is delivered in a timely way
- Administrative and regulatory barriers to charging infrastructure
- 4.1 HZEV charging infrastructure
- 4.2 Grid connections are challenging but largely not for administrative or regulatory reasons
- 4.3 Providing better information to guide investment
- 4.4 Updating land use regulation to meet the needs of HZEV charging
- 4.5 Heavy vehicle rest areas may warrant special attention
- Heavy vehicle curfews
- 5.1 Curfews apply unevenly across Australia
- 5.2 Some curfews may not be fit for purpose in light of new technology
- 5.3 Quantifying the benefits of reform
- Attachment 5.1
- The National Heavy Vehicle Driver Competency Framework
- 6.1 Current arrangements differ across jurisdictions
- 6.2 Reforms to the NHVDCF are progressing
- 6.3 Impact of the NHVDCF reforms
- 6.4 Future reform directions
Appendices
- A. Public engagement
- B. About the economy-wide modelling
- Approach to assessing the economy-wide effects
- What economy-wide modelling does and does not do
- Interim simulations and results
- Annex – Products and industries in PC National
Abbreviations
References
Printed copies of this report can be purchased from Canprint Communications.
