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Truck Owners and Drivers Association

Truck Owners and Drivers Association of Australasia

By the Truckers, For the Truckers.

Truckers of the World, Unite! Truckers of Australasia, Unite!
What Truckers Are Up Against

Truckers need to unite to get a rule changed, a law passed, a treaty renegotiated or a regulator moved — which is why a Global Network of associations exists.

Minimum standards for road transport contractors

Federal legislation

New powers allow minimum standards to be set for owner-drivers. The tribunal that did this before was abolished in 2016 after owner-drivers said it would put them out of business. Owner-drivers were the subject of both decisions and barely the authors of either.

Heavy Vehicle National Law review

National regulator

The law governing access, fatigue and compliance is under review. Its outcome sets operating conditions for the whole sector.

Chain of responsibility in practice

National regulator

Liability is shared along the supply chain in law. In practice the driver is the one at the roadside. Closing that gap is an enforcement question.

Heavy vehicle road user charging reform

Federal and state

Charging reform changes the cost base for owner-drivers who cannot pass it into contract rates.

Owner-driver contract law

State legislation

Only some jurisdictions regulate owner-driver contracts. Protection stops at the state line.

Rest area provision on remote routes

Federal and state funding

Hundreds of kilometres between facilities on the routes where fatigue risk is highest. Provision is a public investment decision.

Fatigue rules against real distances

National regulator

Work and rest requirements are written for a network far denser than the one road train operators run.

New Zealand road user charges

National legislation

The RUC system sets the cost base for every New Zealand operator and is reset by legislation.

What the Association Does

Each of these answers something on the list above. This is the work of moving those decisions, not a catalogue of services.

Drafts the owner-driver position on minimum standards

Formal submission

Standards were set about owner-drivers twice without them. The Association makes sure the third time is different.

Files in the national law review

Formal submission

Access, fatigue and compliance rules under review, with the owner-driver's case carried into it.

Presses chain of responsibility to reach past the roadside

Campaign

Liability is shared in law and lands on the driver in practice. Closing that gap is an enforcement question.

Argues rest area provision from member route logs

Member evidence

Hundreds of kilometres between facilities on the routes where fatigue risk is highest.

Builds a shared Australia and New Zealand position on charging

Cross-border position

Two charging systems, one set of operators moving between them.

Negotiates on fuel, tyres, insurance and maintenance

Collective bargaining

Terms an owner-driver cannot obtain alone.

Membership

Four Ways for Truckers of the World, Unite!

Associates

Truck owners, drivers, owner-operators, motor carriers, companies and transport workers. The foundation of the Global Network and its chapters.

Enterprise

Organizations in a deeper commercial and operational relationship with the Global Network of Associations, delivering mission-aligned services under its governance.

Affiliates

Providers of resources and services - compliance, insurance, finance, equipment, software and training, delivering benefits to Associates under agreed terms.

Collaborators

Media, influencers, digital creators, researchers, educators, advocacy groups and campaign partners who amplify the work and build it with us.

Become an Associate
Partner with Us

The Association invites local and regional associations, truck owners, motor carriers and professional drivers to build this with us.

Road freight is carried by the people doing the work, and their expertise is what matters most. Joining means becoming a regional partner in the Global Network of Associations worldwide — what is learned here reaches operators on every other corridor the Global Network covers, and what they have learned comes back.

Let us build a future where the road freight sector is robust, inclusive and forward-thinking.

Contact Us
Truck Owners and Drivers Association of Australasia info@JoinTODA.com Australia and New Zealand
#JoinTODA
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