The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) was established in 2013, as a single statutory body to administer the Heavy Vehicle National Law (NHVL), and over the past decade has grown considerably.
Today, the Regulator employs more than 1,000 people across Australia and the HVNL covers around 119,000 registered prime movers, 1.05 million heavy vehicle units, 273,000 registered operators and 36,900 buses.
At the helm is outgoing NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto OAM who, since joining in 2014, has established a respected, future-proofed national body for the trucking industry.
Fleet HV News caught up with Mr Petroccitto to talk about his time at the Regulator, as he prepares to step down from the role later this month.
Fleet HV: Thanks for sitting down with us for a chat – we know you’re a busy man. What were some of the challenges you faced early on, entering a role that didn’t exactly make you popular in the transport industry?
Sal Petroccito: Prior to the NHVR’s inception in 2013, we had no national regulator for heavy vehicles and industry had no one to work collaboratively with. Some of our challenges as a regulator were to be accepted and that we had a role to play in minimising the compliance burden and to reduce duplication and inconsistencies in heavy vehicle regulation across state and territory borders.
Another challenge we faced early on was network access and the NHVR’s role in helping to improve productivity. For the first 10 years, a big portion of the NHVRs access policy resources were focused on pulling together over 300 access policies set by the states – often with consistency or alignment – and consolidating them.
While there is still work to be done, we have now consolidated this down to 120 access policies and we are now turning some of our effort towards using a wealth of permit data to grow the national networks for these vehicles which will hopefully see a genuine reduction in permits.
FHV: You did a tremendous job of the industry engagement side of things, so was that a focus of yours from the beginning?
SP: Rebuilding confidence with an industry that had been seeking a national approach across the country was critical in the early years. Getting out there and listening, understanding and building trust with the sector was a key focus.
Speaking to industry and learning the pain points was a pivotal component to enable the NHVR to begin to address them. A huge priority for us at the NHVR is engaging and communicating with industry to make sure they understand what our role is and how to comply with the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL).
Our Safety and Compliance Officers (SCOs) do a great job in carrying this out on the roadside, and we also have our Stakeholder Engagement team. The NHVR’s on-road approach of educate, inform, enforce has been well received by industry, but we also recognise that the information our SCOs can provide can sometimes be limited.
To support industry to develop a better understanding of what the HVNL requires of them, we put a clear focus on guidance and information. It’s about using the vast amount of knowledge our NHVR experts have, producing easy-to-understand information and making that information readily available.
Our dedicated team of Stakeholder and Engagement Officers work strategically with industry, associations, state authorities and local governments to obtain insights into the current needs and concerns of our industry.
I’m extremely proud of this team, now with five team members scattered across New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia. They conduct numerous road manager online meetings, innovation field days and toolbox talks.
FHV: What achievements are you most proud of?
SP: After nearly 11 years with the NHVR, it’s safe to say we have reached many significant milestones over the years.
An absolute highlight for me was finally – after years of hard work from so many people – seeing the completion of the National Services Transition program in April 2024, as the NHVR assumed responsibility for heavy vehicle regulatory services in Queensland. This means that the NHVR is now present in South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, ACT, New South Wales and Queensland, with the entire Eastern seaboard now having heavy vehicle regulatory services. As the final participating jurisdiction, the Queensland transition was a huge achievement and a step forward for industry, who now have a single reference for consistent application of the HVNL.
Another achievement I’m very proud of is our organisation being awarded (for the third year in a row) the Service Champion award for Customer Service Organisation of the Year – Government / Not for Profit. This was an amazing achievement, a recognition of our service excellence and commitment to our customers as an organisation.
FHV: How has the transport industry changed across your tenure at the Regulator and where do you see it heading?
SP: Yes, from what I saw and what I see now there have been significant changes, and while there are several challenges the heavy vehicle industry will face into the future, I strongly believe it is in a better place. These include balancing a growing freight task while ensuring fatigue is effectively managed, working to reduce Australia’s road toll, addressing environmental and health impacts, shifting from asset preservation to optimisation, navigating unplanned disruptions to the supply chain, and driver shortages.
Our upcoming Heavy Vehicle Productivity Plan addresses these challenges, outlining responses to these issues. This includes actions such as easing the burden of permits and supporting road managers to grow their networks and offering the technology, tools, data and information customers need to make faster and better-informed decisions.
The NHVR’s focus is always to support industry in facing these challenges, and to ensure their movements are safe and efficient. I would always encourage industry to work with the NHVR in the face of these issues. Our industry has shown they want to be safe, compliant and productive, and our role as the NHVR is to support them in doing that while balancing the community expectations.
FHV: Your replacement will have big boots to fill, that’s for sure. Are you happy with where you are leaving things, and do you think the regulator will continue its current path of digitisation/streamlining?
SP: My priority has always been about getting better outcomes for the safety and the lives of the people that perform the vital task of servicing our communities every day.
We are now a single national regulator following our significant transformation program of bringing in all the participating states under the one umbrella. The success of our transformational journey has started to deliver significant benefits to both industry and government, but there is still work to be done on the harmonisation of the states.
A key performance target in the establishment of the regulator was to reduce regulatory burden, our digital platforms together with our single national approach is starting to deliver on this. Moving forward, it will be critical for the regulator to complete this work and continue to streamline and harmonise how we operate across the country.
The best part of my job was getting to meet and learn about the many remarkable and passionate people across our country who work so hard in one of the toughest industries. I am genuinely happy and proud of where the regulator is currently, and I encourage whoever steps into this role to continue to work openly with industry and government to achieve the common goal of keeping our roadsides safe and trucks moving.
FHV: Where to next for you, after you step away from the NHVR?
SP: First and foremost, I’m looking forward to spending some quality time with my family. While my journey as CEO has been extremely rewarding, it has also meant I have been kept very busy for the past 11 years. Following this, I look forward to whatever the future holds for me in my career. I am excited for a new challenge.
I take great pride in the leadership team I have led at the NHVR, their commitment and trust over the years has made my job so much easier. I’m looking forward to watching the NHVR continue to grow and make an impact on heavy vehicle road safety.
On behalf of the transport industry, we would like to thank Mr Petroccitto for his ongoing commitment to service, safety and productivity.
