Businesses certified under an approved accreditation scheme – such as TruckSafe – should be deemed to comply with their safety duties under the national truck laws.

In addition, customers and other chain parties, including prime contractors, should be able to rely on a trucking business’s certification as evidence that the business was compliant with its safety duties and obligations. The chain party would be able to focus on meeting its own obligations rather than demanding unnecessary, repetitive audits of the trucking business’s systems.

The ATA made the recommendations in its submission on assurance models to the national truck law review.

Certified trucking businesses validated for alternative compliance would also be:

• able to access the alternative fatigue management regime proposed in the ATA’s fatigue management submission
• exempt from yearly vehicle inspections where relevant
• subject to a lower level of roadside enforcement
• pre-credentialled for the current NHVAS access arrangements and mass concessions.

The submission argues that the NHVR should be responsible for regulating accreditation scheme providers and auditors.