Project background

Farm Gate Access Working Group meeting

The third virtual Farm Gate Access Working Group meeting was held on 4 February 2021 and included representatives from the participating councils Transport for NSW, IPWEA, NHVR, LBRCA, NSW Farmers and LGNSW.

The meeting provided an update on Phase Two of the Farm Gate Access Project which included:

• The participating councils who wanted Transport for NSW to undertake bridge assessments have provided their bridge data. Transport for NSW will conduct a desktop bridge assessment using the same methodology and tools used on state roads and provide the results back to councils.
• The Farm Gate Network provisions in the LLS and GHMS Notices were discussed and agreed. Transport for NSW and the NHVR will now gazette these amendments.
• Councils are considering what travel conditions and exclusions apply for their local government area. Transport for NSW will continue working with councils to map the Farm Gate Network as a layer on the LLS, GHMS and RAV maps. 

Farm Gate Access Working Group meeting

Farm Gate Access Working Group met on 9 November 2020 and included representatives from the six invited pilot councils, Transport for NSW, IPWEA, NHVR, LBRCA, ARRB, TCA, NSW Farmers and LGNSW.

The meeting attracted more than 25 participants and provided an update on Phase Two of the Farm Gate Access Project. Update included:

• Farm Gate Access conditions.
• A presentation by ARRB on the Heavy Vehicle Intersection and Acceleration Risk Calculator.
• Presentation by Transport Certification Australia (TCA) on road manager access to telematics analytics and data via the Telematics Analytics Platform (TAP). Transport for NSW will fund portal access until 2023.
• Transport for NSW's decision to undertake bridge assessments on behalf of local councils. Transport for NSW will work with councils to gather bridge data and provide access advice in accordance with the same tools used to assess state road infrastructure.

A subsequent meeting will take place later in November 2020.

Farm Gate Access Working Group meeting

A virtual Farm Gate Access Working Group meeting was held on 4 June 2020. This meeting was an opportunity to discuss the results of the evaluation so far, seek feedback from the group on draft project recommendations and outline next steps for the project.

The working group consists of representatives from LBRCA, NSW Farmers, LGNSW, IPWEA, NHVR, TfNSW and each of the pilot councils and the meeting attracted more than 32 participants (including Freight Branch staff).

The following draft recommendations were presented to the group for discussion:

• Develop a Notice with conditional access. Conditional access means safety mitigations can be applied to roads as required.
• Increase road managers’ visibility of heavy vehicle movements on low volume roads.
• Improve the way access is provided to higher productivity vehicles travelling on low volume roads.
• Increase the level of support and assistance available to local councils when carrying out the road manager function.
• Overcome constraints that limit higher productivity vehicle access on local roads.

The feedback was positive with participants interested in the finer detail of the recommendations before providing their endorsement.

Steps toward completing the 12 month evaluation

Further consultation on the proposed recommendations will take place with members of the working group over the coming weeks. This includes the development of a project scoping plan and communications package to outline the detail of the project and the benefits for council who participate in the roll-out.

The final and endorsed recommendations will form the basis of the final evaluation report that will be presented to the Farm Gate Access Working Group by 30 June 2020.

Supporting access decision-making

TfNSW has engaged the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) to develop a risk calculator to provide further support for road managers. The calculator will use factors such as sight distance, acceleration, deceleration, vehicle length and performance to determine the level of risk for different heavy vehicles as they negotiate intersections. The tool will be used to inform access related decisions and can be used to support road managers when considering assessments carried out under the Farm Gate Access project.

TfNSW are expecting to finalise this tool before the end of June 2020.

Farm Gate Access Project: Nine month evaluation report

Transport for NSW has completed the nine month evaluation of the Farm Gate Access project.The evaluation of the project has been divided into three stages; assessment of current access and need, assessment of project acceptance and barriers to success, and development of recommendations on how the project can best achieve its objectives.

The first two stages, which are now completed, involved a survey of and consultation with the 18 pilot councils and selected industry and farming interests.

The third stage was to involve two regional workshops to develop recommendations for the how the FGA project can best achieve its objectives based on the findings from the 12 month pilot. This final stage has been revised due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and will now consist of a virtual workshop with the Working Group.

Key findings from the nine month evaluation are:

• Pilot councils support the Farm Gate Access project objectives and want to play a positive role in increasing transport productivity.
• Pilot councils are reluctant to provide open access to their road network and have sufficient resources to assess applications for access.
• Awareness of heavy vehicle movements on the local road network allows councils to determine impact to community and assets.
• Consultation between industry and councils at the local level would be beneficial.
• A strategic approach to heavy vehicle road access is required.

A final evaluation report will be presented to the Farm Gate Access Working Group by 30 June 2020.

Farm Gate Access Project: Six month review

Transport for NSW (TfNSW) has completed a six month review of the Farm Gate Access project. This is the first of three reviews to evaluate the framework, assess the level of participation by the farming sector and identify opportunities for improvement.

Since launching the pilot on 1 June 2019, nine risk-based assessments have been completed across five councils. Four of the nine assessments have been attached to a permit application using the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) road access portal. So far, most of the applications have been for:

• 26 metre B-doubles, vehicle combinations that are up to 4.6 metres in height or being used under the Livestock Loading Scheme
• on roads less than 10 kilometres in length,
• a mix of sealed and unsealed roads.

A number of barriers to success have been identified, namely the impact of the drought and limited marketing of the project to date. Barriers identified during the review will be addressed over the next six months.

The Farm Gate Access Project has been designed to benefit local farmers, businesses, participating councils and the broader community by fostering safe and legal access for heavy vehicles. TfNSW will continue to engage with councils, farmers and industry and identify opportunities to increase freight access.

Incentive

To support farmers, Transport for NSW will waive the first 50 Farm Gate Access permit application fees submitted through the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator's (NHVR) Road Access Portal from 6 January 2020.

This incentive is applicable for submissions received on eligible roads located within the participating council areas.

Farm Gate Access Permit Application Fee Waiver Information Sheet (PDF, 80.96 KB)

Farm Gate Access Project launched

On 1 June 2019, we launched the Farm Gate Access Project as an opportunity to test the use, acceptance and benefits of the decision making framework to approve access for higher productivity vehicles.

The project will be evaluated in conjunction with industry and participating councils. If successful, it will be promoted as an effective way to support access-related decision making on low volume council roads and rolled out more broadly across NSW.