NHVR authorises national high-productivity PBS network access

The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has published the National Class 2 Performance Based Standards (High Productivity) Authorisation Notice 2026 (No.3), authorising eligible high-productivity PBS vehicles to operate on specified networks in New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria. The notice, registered in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette on 10 September 2026, commences on 18 September 2026 and expires on 14 November 2026.

The instrument revokes and replaces the National Class 2 Performance Based Standards (High Productivity) Authorisation Notice 2026 (No.2). It is made under section 138 of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) — the regulator’s power to authorise use of class 2 heavy vehicles — and section 23 of Schedule 1, and was signed by Jose Arredondo, Manager Network Access Policy at the NHVR.

Scope and conditions

The notice applies to class 2 heavy vehicles that hold a PBS vehicle approval issued under section 23 of Part 1.4 of the HVNL and that comply with the notice’s conditions and schedules. Access is limited by PBS tier ratings and reference-vehicle requirements, and an eligible vehicle must comply with both its own PBS approval and the more restrictive conditions of the notice.

• Access is granted to stated areas and routes in each participating jurisdiction’s schedule, subject to road, travel and vehicle conditions under sections 160–162 of the HVNL.
• Reference-vehicle parameters cover number and type of units, mass, length, height, width, axle configuration, axle spacing, draw bar length, overhang and ground clearance.
• The notice is an access authority, not an exemption from prescribed mass or dimension limits.

Jurisdictional networks

New South Wales (Schedule 1) authorises networks such as PBS 2B Quad-Tri/Quad-Quad B-doubles and A-doubles with tandem-axle dollies up to 30m, with mass tiers from GML/CML/QML 1 to HML/QML 2 and Tier 1 or Tier 3 bridge assessment. Certain PBS Level 1 vehicles may operate on the Great Western Highway between Emu Plains and Marrangaroo at PBS Level 2 mass limits up to 57.5t.

South Australia (Schedule 2) sets out reference vehicles from PBS Level 1 (50.5t, 20m) up to PBS Level 4B (up to 163.0t, 60m), with total combination mass capped at 74.5t on the Level 2A 74.5t HPFV networks. Victoria (Schedule 3) covers quad semitrailers, A-doubles, B-doubles and volumetric reference vehicles, with mass up to 113.5t and lengths to 36.5m.

Compliance and telematics

Eligible vehicles must meet axle-group mass limits and, where required, certified road friendly suspension. Intelligent access program conditions apply under Chapter 7 of the HVNL, with vehicles monitored by approved intelligent transport systems.

• In NSW, vehicles at GML/CML/QML 1 Tier 1 limits must enrol in Road Infrastructure Management (RIM); Tier 3 and HML/QML 2 vehicles require the Intelligent Access Program (IAP) or Telematics Monitoring Application (TMA).
• In Victoria, vehicles over 68.5t or quad semitrailers over 46t must use On Board Mass Management (OBM) Category B or C, plus IAP or TMA.
• Victorian vehicles longer than 26m must obtain permission from the Department of Transport and Planning’s Over Dimensional Load team before crossing a railway or tramway.

The notice gives freight operators a single national framework for high-productivity PBS access across three states, replacing the previous instrument and aligning network, mass and telematics conditions until its expiry in November 2026.

Source: Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, Government Notices, 10 September 2026, p. 1–23 (official reference: C2026G00600).