HEAVY VEHICLE NATIONAL LAW
Queensland Class 3 Timber Transportation Mass Exemption Notice 2024 (No.1)
This notice grants mass exemptions for heavy vehicles transporting timber from the place where it is felled to sawmills and other processing facilities.
2. Authorising Provision
1) This notice is made under the following provision of the HVNL
a) Section 117 – Regulator’s power to exempt a category of class 1 or 3 heavy vehicles from compliance with a mass or dimension requirement
3. Title
This notice may be cited as the Queensland Class 3 Timber Transportation Mass Exemption Notice 2024 (No.1).
4. Commencement date
This notice commences on 1 July 2024.
5. Expiry date
This notice expires on 30 May 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:
Timber means log timber that is loaded at the place where the logs are felled and transported from that place directly to a timber receiver.
Timber receiver means a sawmill or other facility for the processing of timber.
Road Train has the same meaning as in the National Class 2 Road Train Authorisation Notice.
7. Application
1) This notice applies to a class 3 heavy vehicle that is a:
a) rigid truck;
b) combination consisting of a rigid truck towing a dog trailer;
c) combination consisting of a prime mover towing a semi-trailer;
d) B-double; or
e) Road Train.
2) This notice only applies to a vehicle specified in 1) that is transporting timber from the place where it was felled to a timber receiver.
3) This notice applies in Queensland.
4) A heavy vehicle to which this section applies and that complies with the conditions of this notice is an eligible vehicle.
8. Exemption – Prescribed mass requirements
1) An eligible vehicle is exempt from the following mass requirements under Schedule 1 of the Heavy Vehicle (Mass Dimension and Loading) National Regulation (MDL Regulation):
a) section 2 – Mass limits for a single vehicle or combination
b) section 4 – Mass limits for a single axle or axle group
c) section 5 – Mass limits relating to axle spacing generally
2) An exemption in 1) applies to an eligible vehicle only to the extent that mass limits are provided in sections 9 and 10 of this notice.
3) If, in relation to a particular vehicle or component, this notice provides for more than one mass limit that may apply in the same circumstances, the more restrictive mass limit applies.
4) Regardless of any mass limits prescribed in this notice an eligible vehicle must not exceed manufacturer mass limits as defined in section 8(8) of the MDL Regulation.
9. Conditions – Mass (total mass of an eligible vehicle)
An eligible vehicle may have a gross combination mass equal to the mass it would be eligible for under section 2 of Schedule 1 of the MDL Regulation, plus an additional 7.5%.
10. Conditions – Mass (mass limits for types of axle groups)
1) Except for the limits set out in 2), an axle group on an eligible vehicle may have a mass equal to the mass it would be eligible for under sections 4 and 5 of Schedule 1 of the MDL Regulation, plus 10%.
2) The mass of a steer axle must not exceed the following limits:
a) for a prime mover forming part of a road train on which the steer axle tyres have a section width of 375mm or more - 7.1t.
b) for an eligible vehicle that does not fall under a) - 6.6t.
11. Conditions – Axle group tyre requirements
All axles on an eligible vehicle, except for the steer axle, must have a minimum of four tyres.
12. Conditions – On board scales
1) An eligible vehicle must be fitted with on board mass measurement scales, unless 3) applies.
2) On board scales used to comply with this section must be functional and accurate at all times while an eligible vehicle is operating under this notice.
3) An eligible vehicle delivering timber to a timber receiver that has a certified weighbridge does not have to comply with this section.
13. Conditions – Areas or routes
1) For the purposes of section 119(1)(a) of the HVNL, this notice applies to all state-controlled roads in Queensland.
2) An eligible vehicle operating on an area or route specified in this notice must comply with any of the conditions specified for those routes and areas in accordance with:
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