Presenter: Damien Hense The projected growth in the Australian freight task is well understood by all Australian governments. Road asset owners, particularly those at the local government level are increasingly recognising the need for more efficient freight movements in and around their local road networks. Recent developments in the transport industry including the formation of the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) have provided local road managers, for the first time, statutory responsibility and accountability for heavy vehicle access to their road networks. This change will lead to increased access requests to operate higher productivity freight vehicles on local roads. Improved access arrangements for more efficient freight vehicles offer an opportunity to improve the nation’s productivity and reduce the number of freight movements across Australia’s road network. The presentation will detail progress made to date with the Performance Based Standards Route Assessment Tool and will include an explanation of new developments and emerging opportunities in the heavy vehicle access space. #SpeakerPresentation