ALRTA Weekly Update: Jan 30

Welcome to this week's news

Why ALRTA Makes Submissions, and Why It Matters for Members

As Australia’s peak industry body for livestock and rural road transport, ALRTA has a clear and non-negotiable responsibility:
to represent the views, realities, and priorities of our members to governments, regulators, and decision-makers.

That role does not happen by accident, and it does not happen through headlines or slogans.

It happens through structured engagement with government departments, participation in formal consultation processes, and the preparation of detailed, evidence-based submissions that put industry positions on the public record.

This is how policy is shaped.
This is how regulatory outcomes are influenced.
And this is how livestock and rural operators get a voice in decisions that affect their businesses.

Why Submissions Matter

Most major transport, animal welfare, biosecurity, safety, and charging decisions are not made in meetings alone. They are made through:

• Regulatory Impact Assessments

• Productivity Commission inquiries

• NHVR and NTC consultations

• Budget processes

• Ministerial briefings and departmental advice

If industry does not clearly and professionally articulate its position at these points, the outcome risks policy designed without a proper understanding of rural operations, small business realities, animal welfare constraints, or regional infrastructure limits.

Submissions are where ALRTA:

• Explains how rules actually operate on the ground

• Highlights unintended consequences before they are locked in

• Pushes back on one-size-fits-all approaches

• Advocates for proportionate, workable solutions

They are not academic exercises — they are the mechanism by which member experience is translated into government decision-making.

Why ALRTA Strengthened Its Policy Capability

Recognising the increasing complexity and volume of national reform processes, ALRTA made a deliberate decision to strengthen its internal policy capability.

That is why we appointed Ashley Mackinnon as General Manager, Policy and Strategy.

Ashley’s role is to:

• Formalise industry views into clear policy positions

• Ensure submissions are consistent, credible, and technically sound

• Coordinate engagement across multiple reform streams

• Represent ALRTA professionally with departments, regulators, and commissions

• In short, to make sure that members’ views are not just heard — but taken seriously.

Since Ashley commenced, ALRTA has significantly increased both the quality and reach of its policy work.

What We’ve Put on the Record

Over recent months, ALRTA has lodged submissions across a wide range of national processes, including:

• Productivity Commission inquiries into economic reform, freight productivity, and workforce

• Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) statutory instruments (including SMS, accreditation, and audit standards)

• Heavy vehicle charging reform for 2026–27

• Open-road default speed limit proposals

• Economic Reform Roundtable submissions

• Biosecurity, animal welfare, and infrastructure consultations

Across all of these, ALRTA has consistently advanced several core principles:

• Small and medium operators must not be regulated out of the industry

• Safety outcomes matter more than paperwork

• Animal welfare must be supported by practical infrastructure, not just enforcement, and must be a shared responsibility across all parties in the chain

• National consistency matters — fragmentation costs real money

• Productivity, safety, and welfare can advance together if policy is designed properly

The Three Most Recent Submissions

Only in the last week, ALRTA has focused on three critical reform areas that will shape the operating environment heading into 2026 and beyond.

1. PBS Reform — High-Speed and Stability Standards

ALRTA has lodged detailed technical feedback on the PBS High-Speed and Stability Standards Review.

Our position is clear:

• Modern stability technology should be recognised

• Safety intent must be preserved

• Livestock transport must be explicitly included — not treated as an edge case

We have advocated for:

• Technology-based pathways that reflect real vehicle capability

• Livestock-specific recognition where welfare and design constraints apply

• Clear guidance to reduce inconsistent assessments across jurisdictions

This work is about unlocking safe productivity, not lowering standards.

Importantly, ALRTA Council last year established a PBS Working Group made up of operators, PBS engineers and certifiers, and departmental and regulator representatives. This group is now supported by the ATA and recognised as important to the broader trucking industry.

Without structured industry input like this, ALRTA cannot credibly represent an industry position.

This process - member input, technical working groups, then formal submissions — is how effective policy advocacy is built.

2. Australian Animal Welfare Strategy (AAWS)

ALRTA has provided targeted feedback on the AAWS Livestock and Production Chapter to ensure transport is represented accurately and responsibly.

Our focus has been on:

• Anchoring transport welfare to the existing Land Transport Standards

• Avoiding language that could create new or unintended compliance expectations

• Reinforcing shared responsibility at dispatch, loading, and receival points

• Preventing voluntary assurance frameworks becoming de facto mandatory for small operators

This submission protects members from policy creep through contracts and procurement, while supporting strong welfare outcomes.

3. Pre-Budget Submission — Viability and Infrastructure

ALRTA’s 2026–27 Pre-Budget Submission focuses on two practical priorities:

1. Certainty around Fuel Tax Credits

We are seeking clear confirmation that no structural change will occur in how Fuel Tax Credits are applied to industry, allowing operators to plan pricing and investment with confidence and protecting FTCs against incorrect claims that they are a fossil fuel subsidy.

2. Investment in truckwash and managed effluent infrastructure

This is about making compliance possible - not theoretical.
Without lawful washdown and disposal options, enforcement alone cannot deliver biosecurity, food security, or welfare outcomes.
This submission positions livestock and rural transport as essential national infrastructure, not a discretionary service.

Why This Work Matters Now

Members rightly expect ALRTA to do more than react.

They expect:

• A credible national presence

• Clear advocacy on their behalf

• Policy positions grounded in real operations

• Representation that understands small business realities

This submission work is part of how we make that happen.

It is also how ALRTA maintains influence, credibility, and unity at a national level - particularly at a time when the industry faces significant reform pressure — and how we continue to demonstrate ALRTA’s role as the peak industry body for livestock and rural trucking in Australia.

Looking Ahead

As we move into 2026, ALRTA will continue to:

• Engage directly with departments and regulators

• Lead coordinated national submissions

• Advocate for practical, proportionate reform

• Ensure livestock and rural transport is properly understood

This is not about politics.
It is about doing the job members expect of their national peak body.
And it is work we will continue to do - clearly, professionally, and on behalf of the entire industry.

Until next week, stay safe.