Ministerial Statement

Heavy Vehicle Inspection Scheme

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL (Schubert—Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government, Minister for Planning) (14:02): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: Following an inquest into a fatal accident in January 2014, the Coroner recommended that all heavy vehicles should be subject to a periodic and frequent inspection regime. The government initiated a pilot heavy vehicle inspection program in January 2017 to identify, monitor and mitigate unroadworthiness as a causative factor in crashes on South Australian roads, which required an inspection on change of ownership of a heavy vehicle, otherwise known as stage 1. Stage 1 of the HVIS has improved the roadworthiness of heavy vehicles and is providing valuable information to inform targeted, on-road compliance activities aimed at vehicles more likely to be noncompliant.

In 2017, work commenced on a process to implement an annual heavy vehicle inspection program (stage 2) and a tender was released seeking proposals for a vendor-led delivery model. The procurement set out requirements for regional service delivery to ensure regional operators were not disproportionately impacted by the imposition of fees or accessibility when compared to those in the metropolitan area.

The viability of the stage 2 scheme was dependent on volumes, which have reduced over the course of the procurement due to some vehicles being exempted and the increasing number that have moved to the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme. Following an exhaustive process to identify a provider for stage 2 of the scheme, the procurement has been concluded without a recommendation to award a contract.

Given the greater number of vehicles captured by stage 2, in comparison to stage 1, it was estimated that an additional cost of over $10½ million per annum would fall on South Australian heavy vehicle owners for annual vehicle inspections alone. In addition to the cost of inspections, the nonproductive time and cost of travel to and from inspections for heavy vehicle owners—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for West Torrens is called to order.

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: —were considered excessive and could result in a loss of productivity, competitiveness and hurt local jobs in the South Australian industry The requirements for an inspection for change of ownership are still in place, with further details available at the Heavy Vehicle Inspection website. Change of ownership inspection services will now be provided at existing Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure metropolitan and regional locations.

To continue to improve road safety and heavy vehicle roadworthiness compliance, the state government will investigate additional options in consultation with the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator and SAPOL and in response to the review of the roadworthiness regulations nationally by the National Transport Commission.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for West Torrens, be quiet.