HEAVY VEHICLE NATIONAL LAW

South Australia Class 3 Baled Commodity Exemption Notice 2024 (No.1)

1. Purpose

This notice grants exemptions from dimension requirements for class 3 heavy vehicles that are transporting baled commodities.

2.       Authorising provision

1)      This notice is made under the following provision of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL):

a)      section 117 – Regulator’s power to exempt category of class 1 or 3 heavy vehicles from compliance with mass or dimension requirement.

3.       Title

This exemption notice may be cited as the South Australia Class 3 Baled Commodity Exemption Notice 2024 (No.1).

4.       Commencement date

This notice commences on 10 February 2024.

5.       Expiry date

This notice expires on 9 February 2029.

6.       Definitions

1)      Unless otherwise stated, words and expressions used in this notice have the same meanings as those in the HVNL and its regulations.

2)      In this notice, definitions from the following notices apply:

a)      National Class 2 B-Double Authorisation Notice, as amended from time to time; and

b)      National Class 2 Road Train Authorisation Notice, as amended from time to time.

3)      In this Notice:

Specified baled commodity means baled hay or baled wool.

Guide means the South Australia Class 3 Baled Commodity Exemption Operator’s Guide, as amended from time to time.

Round bale means a hay bale, rolled by machine, that forms a cylindrical shape.

7.       Application

1)      This notice applies to a class 3 heavy vehicle that meets all the requirements in this section.

2)      This notice applies to a heavy vehicle that is:

a)      a rigid truck fitted with a dual-drive tandem axle group and operated without a trailer; or

b)      a prime mover and a semitrailer on which the prime mover is fitted with a dual-drive tandem axle group and the semi-trailer is fitted with either a tandem or tri-axle group; or

c)       a B-double; or.

d)      a Modular B-Triple; or

e)      a Type 1 or Type 2 Road Train.

3)      This notice only applies to an eligible vehicle that is being used to transport a specified baled commodity.

4)      This notice applies in South Australia.

5)      A heavy vehicle to which this section applies and that complies with the conditions of this notice is an eligible vehicle.

8.       Exemption – Prescribed dimension requirements

1)      An eligible vehicle is exempt from the following dimension requirements under Schedule 6 of the Heavy Vehicle (Mass Dimension and Loading) National Regulation (MDL Regulation):

a)      section 7 – Width

b)      section 8 – Height

2)      An exemption in 1) only applies to the extent that specific conditional dimension limits are provided in sections 9 and 10.

3)      In relation to a particular vehicle or component, if this notice provides for more than one dimension limit to apply in the same circumstances, the more restrictive dimension limit applies.

9.       Condition – Width

1)      An eligible vehicle operating under this notice must not exceed the following width requirements:

a)      For an eligible vehicle not exceeding 19m in length and transporting round bales – 3.5m

b)      For any other eligible vehicle – 2.75m.

2)      For this section, the width of a heavy vehicle must be measured in the same manner as in section 8 of the Heavy Vehicle (Vehicle Standards) National Regulation.

10.   Conditions – Height

1)      An eligible vehicle that is one of the following combinations may exceed 4.3m in height but must not exceed 4.6m in height:

a)      Prime mover and semi-trailer combinations; or

b)      B-doubles; or

c)       Modular B-Triples; or

d)      Type 1 or Type 2 Road Trains.

2)      An eligible vehicle that is not a combination listed in 1) must not exceed 4.3m in height.

11.   Conditions –Ground contact width

1)      If an eligible vehicle is more than 4.3m in height, the ground contact width of that vehicle must be greater than 2.1m.

2)      In this section, ground contact width means the distance between the outermost points of ground contact of the outside tyres on each end of an axle.

12.   Conditions: Application of Schedule 8 of the MDL Regulation

1)      An eligible vehicle operating under this Notice must comply with the following conditions from Schedule 8 of the MDL Regulation as though a reference to a Class1 vehicle were a reference to the eligible vehicle:

a)      Section 2 - Warning Signs and Flags

b)      Section 3 - Warning lights and delineators if load projecting from vehicle

c)       Section 6 - Headlights

d)      Section 8 - No travelling in low visibility

e)      Section 9 - Minimum following distance

f)        Section 11 - Assessing routes

13.   Condition – stated areas or routes

1)      An eligible vehicle complying with the conditions of this notice is authorised to operate on the areas and routes specified in this section.

2)      An eligible vehicle described in column 1 of Table 1 is authorized to operate on stated areas and routes specified by the network listed in column 2.

Table 1: Networks for categories of eligible vehicles

3)      For the purposes of section 119(1)(a) of the HVNL, an area or route specified in this section is a stated area or route to which this notice applies.

4)      Regardless of any access granted under this section, an eligible vehicle must comply with any conditions or restrictions applied to a stated area or route in the Specified Road Manager Network Requirements in the Guide.

5)      In this section general access means access to all roads in South Australia except as restricted by the Specified Road Manager Network Requirements in the Guide.

6)      An eligible vehicle operating on an area or route specified in this section must comply with the following conditions as specified for that route or area:

a)      Road conditions pursuant to section 160 of the HVNL; and

b)      Travel conditions pursuant to section 161 of the HVNL; and

c)       Vehicle conditions pursuant to section 162 of the HVNL.

Peter Austin

Director, Policy Implementation

National Heavy Vehicle Regulator