Review of Grain Harvest Management Scheme

Overview

The Grain Harvest Management Scheme (GHMS) facilitates the movement of grain from farms to grain receivers during the peak harvest season. It protects roads and bridges, promotes the safe movement of grain across the state and supports the competitiveness of the NSW grain industry in national and international markets.

Under the scheme, eligible heavy vehicles may exceed regulated total mass limits by up to 5 percent when delivering grains to participating grain receivers in participating council areas.

In 2014, Transport for NSW commissioned an independent review to assess how well the GHMS was meeting its objectives.
Key findings

The review found that the scheme should continue for future harvests pending a number of improvements and clarifications. It assessed the performance of the Scheme in meeting those objectives in the three categories as follows:

1. Objective fully achieved with no requirement for other than routine adjustments to policy or process:

• Objective 3 – Facilitate the movement of grain off farms to grain receivers during the peak harvest season
• Objective 4 – Minimise the number of vehicle trips between farm gate and receival point
• Objective 8 – Maintain existing statutory obligations, including Chain of Responsibility laws.

2. Objective partially achieved with encouraging prospects. Adjustments to policy or procedures should be achieved if possible prior to rolling out a 2014/15 GHMS:

• Objective 1 – Promote the safe movement of grain
• Objective 3 – Maximise the productivity of the existing fleet of vehicles to complement increases in on-farm productivity
• Objective 5 – Protect road and bridge infrastructure
• Objective 7 – Support the competitiveness of the NSW grain industry on national and international markets.

3. Objective not sufficiently achieved and requires urgent attention with short term policy development needed:

•    Objective 6 – Manage excess loads on-site, rather than return those loads to the road network.

The GHMS is now administered by Roads and Maritime Services.

Find out more from Roads and Maritime: Grain Harvest Management Scheme