Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association seeks licence changes

Last month, the National Skills Commission published its 2022 Skills Priority List, which showed shortages increased in machinery and driver occupations (29 per cent in 2022 compared to 17pc in 2021).

Among the large employing occupations within this major group was truck driver (general).

Truck driving was also one of 129 occupations to be added as a job in shortage in 2022, after not being considered in shortage in 2021.

And now industry representatives are calling for a gear change in licensing regulations to help alleviate the pressure.

Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) vice president and MDH Transport managing director Matt Henderson likened the situation to a revolver door - and a painful one at that - where staff come and go.

Despite his recruitment efforts, 20 to 30 per cent of Mr Henderson's workforce remains unfilled.

"The driver shortage is a fulltime job in itself - it is a big problem," Mr Henderson said.

"We have over 23 road trains running around, so you can only imagine the headaches I have with employing staff.

"I have been placing adverts everywhere I can and even upped my rate to try and entice people.

"At the same time, I'm not going to put someone in a truck for the sake of it because I think there could be worse outcomes."

It is the same song most of the country's agricultural sector is singing, but what can be done to fill the void?

Suggestions have been made by Federal and State governments to lure more overseas workers, however for Mr Henderson this is not the answer.

He believes there was an opportunity to tap into a market much closer to home - where trucks, tractors and machinery are used in everyday life.

"I know the majority of the farmers have a son or daughter, who have all driven trucks, and are more than capable," Mr Henderson said.

"The job would suit a lot of young people and we could utilise them, especially for seasonal work.

"It is a very well paid industry where you are paid straight up over $100,000 a year."

Mr Henderson said if the shortage was not filled, rates would go up until they reached an unsustainable level.

So if this was the case, what's the 'roadblock'?

Under current regulations, one of the biggest issues is the wait time between moving from a heavy rigid (HR) or heavy combination (HC) licence onto a MC multi combination (MC) class licence.

And why is this an issue?

MDH Transport - and many other companies - don't actually occupy HR/HC vehicles.

A HR vehicle licence allows the holder to drive heavy vehicles with three or more axles and a gross vehicle mass (GVM) greater than eight tonnes.

They can also tow a trailer with a maximum GVM of 9t.

Meanwhile, a HC licence allows the holder to drive prime movers with attached single semi-trailer and HR vehicles with attached trailer, which has a GVM greater than 9t.

Additionally, any other trailer in addition to any trailer or semi-trailer mentioned above, with a GVM of 9t can be towed, as well as an unladen converter dolly or low loader dolly as defined in the Road Traffic (Vehicles) Regulations 2014.

The MC licence allows any heavy combination unit towing two or more trailers - each having a gross vehicle mass greater than 9t - to be driven.

However, to gain such a licence the person must no longer be a provisional licence holder and have held a car (C class) licence for at least three years and a HR or HC licence for at least one year.

And there's a catch - a person can't obtain their HR licence until they are 18, which means they can't move onto their MC licence until they are 20 to 21 years old.

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"I feel like we are losing a lot of young people in the industry because of this," Mr Henderson said.

"Someone could leave school, have a passion to spend time on the road and want to become a professional truck driver - with our current system they don't do that.

"It is all well and good to say they have to go through the ranks at a HR licence and the likes.

"But I can't offer them a position because I can't use them in a road train vehicle for up to three years until they are eligible for their MC."

This is where Mr Henderson thinks young people within the agricultural sector or from a farming background could step in.

His strategy would be simple - keep the age limit the same, but put drivers on a supervised and then restricted licence.

The difference?

Under the supervised licence they would need to complete a certain number of road hours - for example 100 hours - in company with a long-term MC licence holder.

Once completed, they would move onto a licence where weight and distance restrictions were in place, and be allowed to drive as a fulltime MC operator when they are 20-years-old.

"You're allowed to go to the pub and drink when you are 18 years old, so I can't see why you can't drive a road train," Mr Henderson said.

"When drivers move onto the restricted licence they can generate a profit for me and earn income for themselves, while learning at the same time - it is a win-win.

"The licence could also create opportunities for trainers and assessors."

When it came to the way the restricted licence worked, Mr Henderson used his own Merredin-based trucking yard as an example.

He said a 200 kilometre radius could be put in place, which would allow drivers to service clients, but still come back home at night.

Meanwhile, a weight system could be used, where the tonnage was slowly increased.

"Driving in the country would be a great way to learn because there isn't the hustle and bustle of the city," Mr Henderson said.

"And if there were weight limits, drivers wouldn't be able to load onto a AMMS 3 load, which is an extra mass or the highest level of weight.

"Instead they could load axle weights - this would take weight off the truck - and then slowly move up in tonnage.

"I really feel a restricted licence - which could be open at some point - is the sort of approach we should be taking."

And the transport industry wouldn't be the only one to benefit, Mr Henderson said agriculture would too.

Farmers trying to source operators in harvest periods could use younger people who were already working in the trucking sector.

"We are facing what could potentially be a record harvest across WA," he said.

"Farmers are screaming out for transporters and transporters are screaming out for operators, it is making it very difficult to fulfil that requirement."