The investigative powers in the national truck law should be simplified and streamlined, the ATA submission to the NTC review of the investigative and enforcement powers in the Heavy Vehicle National Law says.

In the ATA’s view, the inconsistent investigative powers in the law will inevitably lead to confusion and challenges to the admissibility of evidence

The problems created by these inconsistencies will only come to light fully when an injustice is done to someone in the industry or a prosecution fails because of technical legal issues. Neither outcome is acceptable to the ATA.

The submission recommends that the information gathering powers in the HVNL should be simplified and streamlined.

In addition, it recommends that all of the investigative powers in the law should be subject to a codified warning provision.

From the ATA’s perspective, a key part of the case for establishing the NHVR was to enable chain of responsibility investigations to be carried out seamlessly across state borders.

The discussion paper on the review reports that investigations still tend to be confined to only one state or territory.

As a result, the submission recommends that the NTC should look at amending the law to fix this, as well as supporting better administrative protocols between the states and territories.