The National Road Transport Commissions' Compliance and Enforcement: Mass, Dimension and Load Restraint policy proposal was approved in-principle by Australian Transport Ministers in November 2000. The proposal lays down the policy basis for future legislative provisions and administrative guidelines that are intended to provide a nationally consistent, best practice, conventional compliance and enforcement regime for heavy vehicle mass, dimension and load restraint. A fundamental rationale for the enforcement measures contained in the proposal is the risk posed to safety and infrastructure by breaches of the heavy vehicle mass, dimension and load restraint requirements. Offences have been categorised as either minor, substantial or severe risk, based on the nature, seriousness and likelihood of their risk. This risk-based rationale has influenced the enforcement actions that can be taken when a breach is detected, and, to a large extent, the sanctions that can be applied. Thus, different enforcement powers and sanctions have been linked to each of the breach categories, increasing in intrusiveness and harshness from minor risk breaches through to severe risk breaches. The anticipated benefits of this risk-based rationale include the enforcement capacity to better identify and target those breaches and breach patterns of most concern for safety and infrastructure, and the likelihood that the enforcement and sanctions response will be more fitting to the severity of the offence, and hence, will have a greater deterrent effect. (a)
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