The president of the National Road Freighters’ Association (NRFA) says the local road transport industry needs an entry gate to create a safer and more efficient sector.
Glyn Castanelli says the industry is facing a challenge beyond compliance, accreditation or regulation.
“Despite the importance of the sector, a fundamental question is whether commercial road transport should have a nationally recognised entry gate that demonstrates minimum operator capability before freight work is awarded,” he says.
“This isn’t an argument that the industry lacks regulation. Australia already has extensive safety laws, Chain of Responsibility obligations, fatigue requirements, workplace laws, vehicle standards and regulatory oversight. The issue is different and is whether the market itself is consistently rewarding operators who invest in safe, lawful and sustainable business practices.”
Castanelli pointed to an economical concept on ‘the market for lemons’, which states that when quality becomes difficult to identify for buyers, they tend to focus on price.
The result is a market that can unintentionally reward poor quality rather than excellence due to price being the distinguishing factor.
“That does not mean lower priced operators are unsafe. However, it does mean that operators who invest heavily in safety, training, maintenance and lawful employment practices may not always receive a commercial advantage for doing so,” Castanelli says.
“One of the most significant discussions currently occurring across the transport industry concerns employment standards and sham contracting. This conversation is important because safety outcomes are often closely linked to commercial and employment structures.
“If operators are competing in a market where freight rates do not adequately recover the real cost of compliance, maintenance, training and labour, pressure inevitably moves somewhere else in the system.”
Castanelli argues every mature high-risk industry has an entry gate, pointing to the aviation or bus sectors, as well as building and financial advisers.
“Road transport has significant obligations, but there is currently no universal national mechanism that clearly demonstrates minimum operator capability before commercial freight work is awarded,” he says.
“The industry therefore faces an important question – should participation in commercial road transport require recognised proof of safety and business capability?
“This does not necessarily mean creating a single accreditation program, nor does it mean creating unnecessary bureaucracy. Instead, it may mean recognising existing pathways that already demonstrate capability.”
He says an entry gate could look like compulsory accreditation, national operator licencing or a contractual chain standard.
The issue, according to Castanelli, is more than about choosing an option and rejecting others, with the NRFA president calling for a staged approach.
“The objective should be to lift the floor. Any future framework must be practical. It must work for owner-drivers, family businesses and small fleets, not just large operators with dedicated compliance teams,” he says.
“Most importantly, it should ensure that businesses investing in safety, lawful employment practices and professional standards are not commercially disadvantaged by competitors who avoid those costs.”
NRFA president calls for entry gate for road transport industry.
