Pre-Approvals

Owned by Sean Tansley
Last updated: May 14, 2024

Pre-Approvals - Context

A pre-approval is a digital record containing a Road Manager's consent for heavy vehicle road access. These records may include specific requirements for access, such as vehicle class or type, along with access conditions and restrictions. While most pre-approvals contain references to road access, such as a road or route list, they are rarely geospatially linked or visually represented. In most instances, the pre-approval represents an individual road manager's extension of access for a specific gazetted network for what is commonly called first or last-mile access.

Here's what they mean in plain English:

A pre-approval (consent record) is like a documented acknowledgment from the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) that prior approval (consent) has been obtained and can used from a Road Manager.

The record in its historical phase would support an expedited permit process performed by the NHVR without getting a thumbs-up for every permit application (consent request).

Pre-approvals list the types of vehicles covered, where they can go, travel conditions or restrictions, how long the approval lasts, and how long the permit is suitable. Suppose a permit application fits the pre-approval criteria. In that case, the NHVR can issue a permit using the road manager's pre-approval as consent.

How do Pre-Approvals work? 

Pre-approvals help road managers deal with low-risk heavy vehicle road access applications (permits) more efficiently by avoiding needing separate consents for each heavy vehicle movement application request.

Pre-approvals can be used in many consent scenarios, from smaller style access requests for “first/last mile” as opposed to an entire network for a specific vehicle such as the Victoria PBS Level 2B Mass - Quad-Tri & Quad-Quad B-Double.

Types - PARs vs. PANs

A review of the 1100 plus Pre-Approval records and their associated conditions and restrictions has indicated a misalignment with the NHVR Portal functionality and Access Policy. The misalignment has been evolutionary, with the NHVR Portal not having the required functional dependencies to support these pre-approvals until recently.

The existing pre-approval records fall into two distinct categories.

  1. Pre-Approved Networks (PANs): Pre-approval records that comply as an extension of a gazetted network

  2. Pre-Approved Routes (PARs): Pre-approval records that can not comply as an extension of a gazetted network. In most instances, these are "standalone" pre-approvals, most commonly used for specific transport scenarios such as pre-, during or post-seasonal activities.  

Legalities

It is important to remember that pre-approvals are not explicitly addressed in the Heavy Vehicle National Law, but consent is. While "Pre-Approvals" are not specifically referenced, the NHVR has adopted the same legislative directive for their use in access requests (permit applications). A pre-approval is still considered consent, given that the identified and advised requirements as instilled in the Pre-Approval are met.

Altering or removing a pre-approval has the exact impactful requirements for alerting, amending or removing consent as defined in s156A of the HVNL. Should a road manager wish to amend or remove access, the affected permit holders must be issued a notice of amendment, a notice of suspension or cancellation, and a reissued version of their current permit with the changes made, or the permit is cancelled. In short, any changes to the pre-approvals must be reflected on a corresponding issued permit, be it an amendment for the betterment of access or a reduction; either way, it is defined under the law.

Why PARs or PANs? Why not add to the Gazette?

While one of the NHVR's goals is to support and promote productivity in the heavy vehicle industry, the NHVR must adhere to the legislative consent process. This consent process indicates that it is at the road manager's discretion to include their road network in a gazette. There are no means within the HVNL to coerce or force a road manager to participate in a gazette.

While most road managers may be averse to gazettes, this does not absolve or remove the access request requirement for heavy vehicles, and this is where the pre-approval process arises.

A road manager may be happy to provide access to their roads, believing that a permit is the overarching risk mitigation implement. For the NHVR, access permits should be a "one-time" requirement for short to medium-spanned freight or transportation requirements (<3 years). In most instances, most access requests are for a lifetime of movements whereby multiple operators will seek to access the same patch of road managers' road network, which can cause a consent bombardment. A consent-bombarded road manager will instead utilise a prior evaluation and consent process, pre-approval. This pre-approval process removes the road manager's requirement to review each access request, with the NHVR utilising the pre-approval in place of the road manager's role.

A Gazetted Notice is an official exemption or authorisation that lets heavy vehicles access specifically identified road networks without needing access permits. Road managers may request additions, amendments or removal of their road network from these gazetted networks, with the NHVR managing the whole updating process upon a valid request.

Timeframes

The consent process for road managers, as defined under section s156A of the HVNL, requires the road manager to consider the terms of access, including timeframes. Timeframes for Access Permits are applied based on the road manager-issued consent timeframe. Under the law for authorisations, declarations and exemptions (permits), a road manager may provide consent for up to three years from the date of issued consent.

Historically, pre-approvals have needed more oversight and management for their application and use, particularly with consent timeframes being applied liberally by the NHVR. It may seem unimportant due to the pre-approvals being an individual record per the road manager. But, these timeframes are already causing cascading effects on the current permit process and their respective holders.

While timeframe impacts may appear within the realms of reasonability for permit holders, it does not capture every impactful scenario, particularly when the NHVR wishes to transition to a PAN and, therefore, a pre-approved network for permit application. Multiple road managers updating and amending the same pre-approved network at different times will affect existing permit processes where the permit is being renewed or amended.

Mapping Symbology

The National Network Map (NNM) utilises a traffic light system to display road access. Road managers apply this traffic light system, based on heavy vehicle access, against all or portions of their nominated road network. The applied traffic light system ensures a consistent understanding aligned against traffic law, with Green as Approved (Go), Yellow/Amber as Conditionally Approved (Hazard or Cautions), and Red as Restricted (Stop). This method of displaying the various authorised networks is relatively simple and easy to utilise; however, this symbology is sufficient for pre-approvals. The traffic light colours on the map are for 'as of right" access under the gazette, whereas the pre-approvals (PANs and PARs) require a permit. A decisive way to produce and display this information in the simplest form is needed. Using a single colour for the pre-approved road access with a function to expose the pre-approved road access status with clear visual indicators that this is not a gazetted network.

Dependencies

There are a few known dependencies based on observations to date:

  1. TfNSW Heavy Vehicle Network Transition:
    Pre-approvals such as PANs and PARs for heavy vehicle access in NSW will be available once the network transition is complete. Pushing this process forward before the transition significantly impacts the industry in terms of costs and potential delays in processing times.

  2. Road Management & Dual Ownership:
    An uplift to the Road Management feature and refactoring for multiple infrastructure owners is required. The system needs to define an exact legislative process that meets all party's responsibilities and requirements under the HVNL.

  3. Access Policy:
    There is no defined policy relating to legacy pre-approvals, let alone the adaptation for PANs and PARs. Further policy investigation is required to limit the available conditions and restrictions and harmonise consent timeframes for heavy vehicle access.

  4. Access Operations:
    Processing impacts will occur due to pre-approval changes such as inclusions, amendments or removals. For example, an Access Permit Renewal occurs simultaneously with a road manager update to a PAN or PAR. Who goes first? An ideal process with a defined ruling is required to ensure that impactful processes, particularly for permit amendments or renewals, are deployed in a manner that is not impactful to any party while still meeting legislative requirements. 

    Additionally, as a follow-up, there will be an automation requirement to issue notices of the amendment, suspension, cancellation, and access permit version to the permit holder as defined under the HVNL. 

  5. Intersection Assessment
    Similar to road management and dual ownership, there are underlying factors whereby inconsistent jurisdictional policies advise for specific consultation with an impacted party. An example is a State road intersecting with an LGA road, whereby legacy policy and process requires the state to determine whether the intersection is suitable for use instead of the LGA adding their road to the heavy vehicle network.

  6. Third Parties:
    Again, like the intersection assessments, the jurisdictional consent process for impacted third parties for entities such as Rail, Water, Communication, and Electrical suppliers. In NSW, TfNSW can only officially decide on an access request once the rail authority has provided its advice. In this instance, the affected road manager may not meet the 28-day consent requirement under the law, with the operator access impacted. The legislative consent and permit process is on hold until the affected road manager provides the third party's response.

More Information

One can check out the NHVR's document on pre-approvals and gazette for detailed info on their website.