Minister for Transport and Main Roads Scott Emerson said the government had made the decision to take back the processing of some categories of permits following concerns raised by sections of the trucking industry.

“Queensland relies on a safe and efficient heavy vehicle industry and we’ve listened to the concerns of these carriers,” Emerson said.

“Due to some teething issues, many heavy-vehicle operators in Queensland have had trouble receiving permits over the past week.

“We support the uniform national laws, which came into effect last week, however there are some issues with the regulator that need to be addressed.

“NHVR has agreed to temporarily delegate approvals for some heavy vehicle permits back to the Department of Transport and Main Roads.”

Applications for over size and over mass, and special purpose vehicles in Queensland will be processed by TMR. There are up to 21,000 of these permit types issued in Queensland, particularly supporting the mining industry.

All other heavy vehicle permit applications should continue to be submitted to the NHVR.

“It’s important that we ensure the impact of the new national law on industry is minimised,” Emerson said.

“Yesterday we began processing more than 100 permit applications and these vehicles will still be subjected to the rigorous safety approval processes as always.

“We will also work with police and local government on the approvals process during this period.”

Emerson said he had not put a time-frame on this interim solution.