The Australian Trucking Association has welcomed the appointment of Richard Hancock as the first chief executive of the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator.

Mr Hancock was previously the director of the NHVR Project Office, the body responsible for getting the regulator and the Heavy Vehicle National Laws established.

The Chairman of the ATA, David Simon, said Mr Hancock had worked closely with the trucking industry on the development of the regulator and the national laws, and was an excellent choice.

“Since his appointment, Richard has worked closely with the trucking industry. He hasn’t always agreed with our views, but he has always listened to them,” Mr Simon said.

“Richard’s first challenge as the CEO of the NHVR will be to get the organisation ready to open its doors on Monday, 21 January 2013, when it will become responsible for the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme and Performance Based Standards.

“The NHVR should then gain its regulatory responsibilities on 1 July 2013, after the states joining the national scheme pass their enabling legislation.

“Under Richard’s leadership, the staff of the NHVR will need to meet challenging deadlines to get everything working in time, and will also need to push forward on its legislative forward work program.

“The forward work program covers issues that are of great importance to the industry, including increasing productivity, recasting the chain of responsibility provisions to make them fairer and more effective, and recognising robust industry safety schemes like TruckSafe,” David said.

Before he joined the NHVR Project Office, Mr Hancock was the Chief Executive of the Department of Construction and Infrastructure and Chief Executive of the Department of Planning and Infrastructure in the Northern Territory, where he was responsible for transport and roads strategy, policy and regulation.