The ATA (Australian Trucking Association) and the NTC (National Transport Commission) will work together to seek expert advice on the best way count work and rest time under the national fatigue laws.
This was announced after a meeting held between the ATA Safety Committee; the Deputy Chair of the NTC, Professor Ian Johnston AM; its Chief Executive, Nick Dimopoulos; and other NTC staff on June 8.
Currently, enforcement officers in Victoria and South Australia apply work and rest counting rules differently to those in Queensland and New South Wales even though all four states have adopted the national fatigue laws.
ATA Chairman David Simon led the meeting. He said, “Our discussions focused on the different interpretations of the time counting rules. It’s important to stress that we did not revisit the fundamental work and rest limits in the fatigue laws.
“The NTC acknowledged that the different interpretations are a problem. They will put the issues to fatigue experts for advice, after working with the industry to develop the brief. The NTC will then discuss the experts’ advice with the industry, regulators and other stakeholders.
“Our joint objective is to be able to put a simple, sensible outcome to governments that will resolve the differences in the time counting rules, and bring us another step closer to a uniform national operating environment.”
