Tuesday, 12 December 2023
Austroads is taking the lead in implementing a national automated access system (NAAS) for heavy vehicles in Australia and New Zealand. The NAAS will support road managers, including road authorities, local government and third parties, to provide access decisions more efficiently, driving productivity and safety across state borders.
“Introducing a contemporary access decision-making system, like a NAAS, will reduce the current need for permits and help industry through faster responses to access requests for specific vehicle configurations and loads,” said Geoff Allan, Chief Executive of Austroads.
Aimed at providing a seamless experience for industry, the NAAS will include interfaces with the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator’s NHVR Portal and other applications. As a single system, it will allow operators to enter their vehicle details online and receive a map that shows where they can travel.
The NAAS will be based on and informed by the successful Tasmanian Heavy Vehicle Access Management System (HVAMS) acknowledging the differences in infrastructure and processes across jurisdictions.
The project is complex and requires a lot of preliminary work to be suitable for all road managers and regulators across Australia and New Zealand. The Austroads Board approved a staged project implementation to provide prudent, practical project gateways and deliver functional outcomes that support progressive adoption over the coming years.
Stage 1 of the project is currently underway to identify the key requirements for the NAAS and to undertake a legal assessment of how it will work across Australia and New Zealand.
“Capturing all the needs and aspirations of stakeholders the NAAS will impact operationally is critical. Gathered insights will inform the architecture and necessary operational environment to support stakeholder needs.”
Find out more about the project here.