Australia’s road freight productivity has stalled for more than a decade, and the Productivity Commission says regulatory reform is needed if the industry is to capture the benefits of safer, more productive and lower-emission heavy vehicles.
The Commission’s Impacts of heavy vehicle reform study examines five areas where changes to road access, permits, zero-emission vehicle rules, charging infrastructure and driver licensing could improve freight productivity.
Its central conclusion is that the largest gains are likely to come from allowing high-productivity vehicles to use more of the road network, supported by faster and more automated access decisions.
Freight productivity has stopped improving
Heavy vehicle transport is deeply embedded in the Australian economy. The Productivity Commission notes that almost all goods are moved by heavy vehicles at least once, while road transport and in-house road transport activity account for around 5% of Australian GDP. The road transport sector alone employs about 273,000 people.
For decades, freight productivity improved as fleets shifted towards articulated vehicles and truck payloads increased. But the Commission says physical truck productivity has largely flatlined since the mid-2000s.
Future gains, it argues, are likely to depend less on simply making trucks bigger and more on smarter vehicle design, newer technology, improved road access and more efficient logistics systems.
Australia’s relatively old truck fleet is another issue. The report says the median age of the Australian truck fleet is about 15 years and argues that current access and design rules can make it harder to introduce newer vehicles.
“Right now, the safest, most productive and lowest emission heavy vehicles face more barriers to get on the road than a standard ‘prescriptive’ heavy vehicle,” the report states.
Five reform areas examined
The Productivity Commission was asked to examine five areas:
- increasing heavy vehicle road access to improve productivity and reduce emissions
- accelerating the National Automated Access System
- removing barriers to heavy zero-emission vehicle charging infrastructure
- reducing or removing curfews applying to heavy zero-emission vehicles
- accelerating implementation of the National Heavy Vehicle Driver Competency Framework.
The Commission found the scale of the potential benefits varies significantly, with road access reforms offering the biggest economic opportunity.
More road access could deliver the biggest gains
Increasing the parts of the road network available to productive heavy vehicles is the centrepiece of the report.
Modelling cited by the Commission suggests increases to General Mass Limits, used as an indicator of broader increases in network access, could improve road freight productivity by between 1.0% and 3.2%.
After considering the wider economic effects, the Commission estimates increased General Mass Limits could lift long-run GDP by around $900 million to $2.7 billion, based on 2024–25 GDP.
The report acknowledges that heavier vehicles can increase road wear, but says modelling indicates the productivity benefits would outweigh the additional infrastructure costs.
PBS vehicles should receive easier access
The Commission also focuses heavily on Performance-Based Standards vehicles.
PBS vehicles represented 21% of the road freight task in 2022, according to the report, but can face greater access barriers than conventional vehicles despite meeting or exceeding comparable safety requirements.
The Commission recommends greater as-of-right access, where eligible PBS vehicles that have already met safety and infrastructure requirements can access appropriate networks without requiring repeated permit processes.
It also recommends allowing eligible PBS vehicles onto existing gazetted access notices for comparable non-PBS vehicles without requiring a new notice.
The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator would also be given a stronger role in coordinating reforms to give PBS vehicles access equivalent to their prescriptive counterparts.
Automated access could add up to $1.3 billion to GDP
Another major recommendation is accelerating the National Automated Access System.
The existing permit system creates costs and uncertainty for operators while adding administrative work for road managers and the NHVR.
The Commission wants automated access systems to move towards network-based access instead of merely automating individual route permits.
BITRE modelling estimates NAAS could lift road freight productivity by 0.8% to 1.6%. Productivity Commission modelling puts the resulting long-run GDP increase at approximately $600 million to $1.3 billion.
However, the rollout is behind the original targets.
One of the main challenges is the quality and availability of road, bridge and culvert data, particularly at local government level. The Commission therefore recommends continued Commonwealth funding for the Strategic Local Government Asset Assessment Project.
The intention is to give road managers better information while making access decisions faster and more consistent.
Electric trucks need nationally consistent mass concessions
Battery-electric heavy vehicles receive considerable attention in the report.
Electric trucks can be heavier than comparable diesel vehicles because of the batteries required to provide sufficient operating range. Under conventional mass limits, that additional weight can translate directly into reduced freight payload.
The Commission argues this payload penalty can undermine the commercial case for adopting an electric truck.
Its recommendation is for the Australian, state and territory governments to establish a nationally consistent additional mass limit for electric heavy zero-emission vehicles.
The concession would be monitored for five years and reassessed as battery technology improves and the payload difference between diesel and electric vehicles changes.
The Electric Vehicle Council’s accompanying May 2026 ELECTruck material illustrates the small scale of the market today. It cites Truck Industry Council data indicating approximately 630 electric trucks had been sold in Australia, with EVs accounting for just 0.7% of heavy vehicle sales in 2025.
Charging needs its own heavy vehicle strategy
The Commission says the infrastructure requirements for heavy trucks are different from those for passenger EVs.
Heavy vehicles are likely to require charging at depots, major freight centres, ports, airports, intermodal terminals and highway rest areas, using more powerful chargers and sites designed around the physical dimensions of trucks.
Electricity network connections are identified as a major challenge, but the report also highlights planning and administrative barriers.
The Commission recommends creation of a dedicated HZEV charging infrastructure mapping tool combining information on electricity network capacity, freight movements, freight locations and land-use planning.
It also wants planning schemes changed so charging is explicitly permitted at bus depots, freight centres, freight nodes and heavy vehicle rest stops.
Where charging installation is consistent with existing land use, the Commission recommends removing the requirement for planning permission. It estimates this could save around $5,000 to $15,000 per site.
Rest areas need to accommodate future charging
The report also looks further ahead to public heavy vehicle rest areas.
It recommends Austroads update its guidance so future rest areas consider electric truck charging requirements, including charging bay design and proximity to electricity networks.
State and territory governments should also develop policies allowing commercial charging providers to install and operate infrastructure at suitable rest areas.
The Commission does not suggest every rest area will need truck charging. Instead, its concern is that facilities being designed today should not inadvertently prevent charging infrastructure being added later.
Electric trucks could be exempt from delivery curfews
Many truck curfews were created to manage the noise associated with diesel vehicles.
The Commission argues these rules do not necessarily make sense when applied unchanged to significantly quieter zero-emission trucks.
It recommends state, territory and local governments exempt HZEVs from time-related delivery restrictions while continuing to manage noise through environmental and noise regulations.
The EVC media pack provides an example of the potential operational impact, citing an ANC case study that estimated existing noise restrictions could cost $100 to $150 per truck per day, with a potential 15% to 25% productivity improvement from curfew reform. These are case study estimates rather than Productivity Commission modelling.
Driver licensing reform remains part of the productivity equation
The Commission also examined the National Heavy Vehicle Driver Competency Framework.
It says existing training, assessment and licensing arrangements are poorly aligned with industry risks and workforce needs, with time-based licence progression potentially delaying competent drivers from progressing to larger vehicles.
Reforms already endorsed nationally would introduce higher minimum competency requirements while creating new pathways based on experience and supervision.
BITRE modelling estimates these reforms could increase road freight productivity by 0.1% to 0.3%, with Productivity Commission modelling suggesting a long-run GDP benefit of around $100 million to $400 million.
Most jurisdictions are expected to implement the reforms between 2026 and 2028, although progress will vary.
The Commission also suggests governments examine licence mass concessions for electric vehicles, similar to approaches adopted in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, while considering the associated safety implications.
The report puts road access at the centre of reform
While zero-emission trucks, charging and driver licensing feature prominently, the report’s strongest message is about productivity.
Australia already has access to increasingly capable heavy vehicles, but the Commission argues that regulation and infrastructure information have not kept pace.
Better access for PBS vehicles, nationally consistent treatment of electric trucks, automated network access and improved road asset data are presented as complementary pieces of the same reform program.
The potential economic gains are significant, but many of the recommendations depend on cooperation between the Commonwealth, states, territories and local governments.
For heavy vehicle operators, that implementation will ultimately determine whether the Productivity Commission’s recommendations translate into fewer permits, broader network access, higher payload productivity and a more practical pathway to adopting new vehicle technologies.
