The National Transport Commission is encouraging members of the heavy vehicle industry to register to attend upcoming public consultation forums on draft options for new heavy vehicle charges to apply from 1 July 2014.
“Following agreement from the Standing Council on Transport and Infrastructure (SCOTI) on 15 November, the NTC will soon release a draft Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) outlining several options for heavy vehicle registration and fuel charges, for public comment,” said NTC chief executive and commissioner, Paul Retter.
“These forums will be an opportunity for industry to learn about the options that NTC is putting forward within the draft RIS, ask questions and have their say.”
The draft RIS builds upon the recommendations of the Heavy Vehicle Charges Review and the associated public consultation process held earlier this year, as well as incorporating further research.
Following the SCOTI meeting, final refinements are being made to the draft RIS and stakeholders will be notified once it is made available on the NTC website later this month.
“The NTC has adopted a co-design process to the determination to ensure that the charges system remains transparent and responds to stakeholder’s needs. The public consultation forums are an important element of the determination process and I encourage all interested stakeholders to come along,” said Mr Retter.
The public forums will be held in regional and urban locations around Australia from 26 November until 18 December 2013. Once the draft RIS is released, members of the heavy vehicle industry and other stakeholders will also have an opportunity to respond to the draft RIS by providing written submissions to the NTC.
Following the public consultation process, the NTC is required to finalise recommendations in order to present to SCOTI for approval in early February 2014.
Detailed information about the heavy vehicle charges determination will also be made available on the Heavy Vehicle Charges section of the NTC website.
