Heads up
Fully Loaded Magazine · Enforcement Action · 19 October 2026
Victoria's Minister for Ports and Freight, Melissa Horne, announced the $1 million Better Freight Outcomes Fund last Thursday. It is paid for by penalties collected from operators caught breaching no-truck zones in Melbourne's inner west. The fund was set up under the West Gate Tunnel Truck Bans Act. It starts in 2027 and backs small to medium community-led projects. The survey page says funding "will vary from year-to-year" because it depends on compliance with the zones. The community survey closes Sunday, November 1.
Why it mattersThe inner west truck bans are law, and the money from breaches now has a home. Every truck caught in a no-truck zone pays into it.
Before your next run
If any run takes you through Melbourne's inner west, check your route against the no-truck zones before you leave. Don't take the shortcut on the day because the main road is slow.
On the road
Owner Driver Magazine · Regulatory Update · 16 October 2026
NHVR Director Northern Region Kelli Ready is urging operators to check OSOM permit conditions before every journey in Queensland. Conditions cover mass, speed, routes, travel times and third-party approvals such as Queensland Rail and Ergon Energy. Ready says they "can change day by day". The NHVR runs regular OSOM operations, and the Bruce and Peak Downs Highway corridors are among the busiest.
Before your next run
Read the permit conditions for each trip on the day, not the ones from your last run. If the direct road isn't on the permit, don't take it.
NHVR Latest News · Regulatory Update · 11 October 2026
Paul Simionato, NHVR Director Southern Region, says past South Australian harvests saw a lot of overloading, mass breaches and vehicle defects. More trucks and farm machinery are expected on rural roads, including around Dublin and Outer Harbour. Contractors may move in from Queensland and northern New South Wales. Simionato says interstate combinations coming through may not be compliant.
Before your next run
Before the first load, check brakes, tyres, lights and couplings, then do a pre-start every day. Know the SA rules for your combination before you cross the border.
Looking after yourself
Harvest and the Christmas peak are long. Plan for them.
Harvest runs straight into the pre-Christmas rush. That's weeks of early starts, long queues at the silo and pressure to get one more load in before the weather turns. It wears you down slowly. You notice it in your sleep, your temper and how much you look forward to anything. This week, do one thing. Pick a mate, another driver or someone at home, and agree on a short call at the same time each week until January. Tell them straight how you're going. If it starts to get heavy, Healthy Heads in Trucks & Sheds is the industry's own mental health foundation, and its tools are built for people who do this job.
Healthy Heads in Trucks & Sheds →
Rule check
Under your gross mass can still mean over the limit
The NHVR sets general mass limits for each axle, each axle group and the whole vehicle or combination. Concessional and higher mass limits allow more, but only under the right scheme, on the right roads, with the right conditions. Which ones apply to you depends on your accreditation and your state. Harvest arrangements are also set state by state, so check the SA terms before you load. Example: your truck weighs in under its gross limit, but the grain has settled forward and the drive group is over. You are still over. Drivers often watch the total and forget the axle groups. The loader shares the duty, but you are the one driving the load.
Read the NHVR page: Under your gross mass can still mean over the limit →
Worth a look
Big Rigs Magazine · Worth a look · 12 October 2026
Raymond Arthy bought his first truck in 1972. His children Stuart Arthy and Marion Sawyers now run Arthy Rural Services from the original Laravale site, carting molasses, liquid feed and live chickens.
Reader's rig
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Also this week
This week: 40 items read across 8 sources; 8 made the cut.