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CHANGE DOWN UNDER AUSTRALIA • THE ADG CODE REFLECTS BUT DOES NOT COPY THE UN MODEL REGULATIONS AND THE PROVISIONS OF ADR AND RID. THAT MAY BE ABOUT TO CHANGE, AS COSTHA DELEGATES HEARD
ON THE FACE of things, Australia has a very streamlined way of regulating the transport of dangerous goods: the Australian Dangerous Goods (ADG) Code is updated periodically, in line with the changes adopted by the UN Experts in the Model Regulations – even if it is often out of line with the biennial revisions. International air and sea transport fall under the international codes, as is the
regularly out of alignment, as it takes longer for some states/territories to implement the rules than do others. Furthermore, there are certain areas – explosives in particular – that are out of scope of the ADG Code. In essence, the ADG Code is a model regulation and it is up to each state or territory to update their own legislation appropriately. Speaking at the Council on Safe
general practice. However, the domestic regulations are complicated by the federal nature of the country: while the National Transport Commission (NTC) is responsible for updating the ADG Code, it is put into effect by each of the various states and territories; these are
Transportation of Hazardous Articles’ (COSTHA) Annual Forum in early April, Debra Kirk, manager of legislative maintenance at NTC, reported that regulatory misalignment has perhaps been the least of the country’s problems over the past two years. As an island country – a large island, but still an island
HCB MONTHLY | JUNE 2022
– Australia is highly reliant on imports but, with supply chain disruptions caused by the Covid pandemic, alongside accidents such as the grounding of the containership Ever Given in the Suez Canal last year, it has faced “significant roadblocks”, she said. Many goods have been in short supply and, while the situation is easing, there are still some problems. For instance, Debra said, there is a critical shortage of urea, which means there is also a shortage of AdBlue. Some problems have been self-inflicted. Individual states and territories have, during the Covid pandemic, imposed their own restrictions. These have sometimes included border closures or the installation of border checkpoints, often at very short notice and affecting significant road connections, such as between South Australia and Victoria or between Queensland and New South Wales. WHERE WE ARE NOW Debra explained how the ADG Code is structured: while it is based on the UN Model Regulations and the Manual of Tests and Criteria, those core requirements are
