Frequently Asked Questions

In Western Australia, any Individual or Company operating certain types of heavy vehicles, are required to become accredited in their own right to gain a permit or order from Main Roads.

WAHVA enables heavy vehicle operators to demonstrate, through audit of their management systems, that their vehicles and drivers comply with regulatory standards.

WAHVA involves four modules – Fatigue Management, Maintenance Management, Dimension and Loading Management and Mass Management. (Optional)

These modules set out the standards that are required to achieve heavy vehicle accreditation status. Operators are required to incorporate these modules into their daily work practices in order to demonstrate compliance with the scheme.

WAHVA does not exempt operators from complying with other requirements of the Road Traffic (Vehicles) Act 2012. Any applied sanction is in addition to the normal penalties incurred for a breach of other legislation.

Exemplar Global is the certifying body responsible for managing and maintaining a database of certified HVA Auditors. Only a person certified as a HVA Auditor by Exemplar Global is qualified to undertake heavy vehicle Entry, Re-entry and Compliance audits. Accreditation audits are to be conducted on an annual basis.

A search for certified auditors can be conducted on the Exemplar Global Website. Please see link below.

• Exemplar Global Website – HVA Auditor Search
• Begin your search by selecting “Find an Auditor/Training, then select “Find an Auditor”.
• Select Australia from the “Select Country” drop down and in the “Select a Scheme” dropdown, select Western Australian Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme.
• Next, select “Search”. Once complete, this should generate a list of certified WAHVA Auditors. You can refine this list by completing one or more of the option boxes such as by Suburb/City, State etc.

If you experience any difficulties trying to locate auditors within your area, you will need to
contact Exemplar Global on 02 4728 4600.

WA Fatigue management Regulations require that there can be no more than 17 hours between breaks of at least 7 continuous hours of non-work time; also a Commercial Vehicle Driver must have 27 hours of non work time in any 72 hour period. It is possible to work for 17 hours on two consecutive days but no more than 11 hours the next day (this is not recommended). There must be at least two periods of 24 continuous hours of non-work time in any 14 day period and a maximum of 168 working hours in any 14 day period.

Working hours include driving hours and work incidental to driving, so time on a header counts as working time therefore is included as part of the 17 hours.

Exemptions may be granted to the following:

• WA State Government;
• Federal Government;
• Local Government Authorities;
• Sporting Teams / Events (once a year activity);
• Charities (provided they do not operate their transport services as part of a commercial business for hire or reward);
• Vehicles which have a (GVM) of 8 Tonnes or less;
• Buses;
• Special purpose vehicles (SPVs)
• Agricultural equipment

Roadworthiness Checks are required of all vehicles operating under the accreditation. A Roadworthiness Certificate is the evidence of a physical inspection of the vehicle and demonstrates compliance with all legal requirements for the intended use of the vehicle.

Qualified mechanics can do the roadworthiness check or a competent person with at least five years’ experience in maintaining heavy vehicles.

A Certificate of Roadworthiness must not have been conducted more than six (6) months prior to the date of the entry and re-entry audits. Main Roads may at its discretion regard proof of registration as evidence of roadworthiness for new vehicles registered in the previous 6 months.

Operators can transpose the details from each individual Certificate of Roadworthiness onto a Western Australian Heavy Vehicle Roadworthy template and submit this form with entry and re-entry audits. This must include the date each vehicle was inspected and be signed by the inspecting person.

Where a vehicle is (or is to be) registered in a jurisdiction other than Western Australia, the certificate of roadworthiness is to comply with the inspection requirements of the jurisdiction where it is (or is to be) registered.

Western Australian Heavy Vehicle Accreditation is mandatory for any individual or organization that requires a permit or order to perform any transport task as part of a commercial business or for profit within Western Australia.

Sub-Contractors may be included in an operator’s accreditation provided that the accredited operator can take full responsibility for the Vehicle and Fatigue Management and that the Sub-Contractor is working exclusively for that operator only.

Sub-Contractors who work for various operators must be accredited in their own right.

Options for Sub-Contractors:

• Operate under the prime contractors accreditation scheme; or
• Prime contractors will require that sub-contractors have their own accreditation schemes and provide proof of current accreditation

Operators with a fleet of up to five towing units operating under Main Roads WA permit or notice – Records for the entire fleet and total drivers operating under WA HVA must be examined;

Operators with a fleet of greater than five towing units operating under Main Roads WA permit or notice – As a minimum the greater of: Records for 10% of the entire fleet and total drivers, 5 motor vehicles, 5 trailers or 5 drivers operating under WA HVA must be examined.

An accredited operator’s accreditation may be cancelled in the following situations:

• Not submitting a compliance audit;
• Falsifying documentation in regard to accreditation (i.e. trip records);
• Refusing to take part in a random or triggered audit;
• Refusing to cooperate with or obstructing a Main Roads officer/auditor when conducting a random audit;
• Failure to close out a major non-conformance; and
• Any combination of the above.

There are three forms of exit from accreditation:

• An accredited operator may voluntarily retire from WAHVA at any time;
• An operators accreditation may expire; and
• An operator’s accreditation is revoked

All major non-conformances detected during an audit must be closed out before the audit is sent to Main Roads. If an audit is submitted to Main Roads with an open major nonconformance it will be returned to the operator for action.

Failure to submit an audit report may put your accreditation in jeopardy.

Actions that can be taken in regard to an accredited operator include:

• A written notice of cancellation;
• A notice directing corrective action to be taken within a specified period;
• Increasing the frequency of scheduled compliance audits;
• Revocation of accreditation; or
• Any combination of the above.

A company or individual that hires out vehicles to a second party must be accredited in both modules when:

• It is a wet hire to another entity; or
• It operates RAV’s to move its own equipment.

A company or individual that hires out vehicles to a second party may be required to be accredited in the maintenance module only when:

• It is a dry hire; or
• It is trailer or converter dolly hire only

A company or individual that hires a vehicle from a hire company that is accredited by Main Roads and operates that vehicle as a RAV, using the hire company’s permit, must be accredited in at least the fatigue management module of WAHVA.

A hire company that only hires out trailers (does not require permits) is exempt from accreditation but may be accredited voluntarily.

No.

No.

Yes, if it is in the fleet, treat it the same at all times. It must be remembered that fatigue management is not just for accredited operators. If a driver meets the definition of a commercial vehicle driver (even if they are not driving a permitted vehicle) then they must meet the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 1996.

A company or individual that hires a vehicle from a hire company that is accredited by Main Roads and operates that vehicle as a RAV, using the hire company’s permit, must be accredited in at least the fatigue management module of WAHVA.

A hire company that only hires out trailers (does not require permits) is exempt from accreditation but may be accredited voluntarily.

Yes, all depots must be included in the audit.

An operator’s accreditation does not transfer to a new owner in the event of the company being sold and acquired by another operator. Where the new owner is already an
accredited operator the acquired vehicles must be added to their vehicle register in the
same manner as any other acquired vehicle.
If the new owner is not an accredited operator, they must seek accreditation in their own
right.

Further information is available from Main Roads Heavy Vehicle Services Helpdesk, contactable on 138 486, open from 7am to 8.30pm Monday to Friday and 7am to 3.30pm Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays. The Accreditation team area available Monday to Friday – 8:30am – 4:30pm

Email: hvoaccreditation@mainroads.wa.gov.au
Phone: 138 HVO (138 486)