Australia plans ADG revision

CHANGE DOWN UNDER – 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 AUSTRALIA • THE ADG CODE REFLECTS BUT DOES NOT COPY THE in the Suez Canal last year, it has faced UN MODEL REGULATIONS AND THE PROVISIONS OF ADR AND RID. “significant roadblocks”, she said. Many goods have been in short supply and, while the THAT MAY BE ABOUT TO CHANGE, AS COSTHA DELEGATES HEARD situation is easing, there are still some problems. For instance, Debra said, there is a critical shortage of urea, which means there ON THE FACE of things, Australia has a very is also a shortage of AdBlue. streamlined way of regulating the transport of Some problems have been self-inflicted. dangerous goods: the Australian Dangerous Individual states and territories have, during Goods (ADG) Code is updated periodically, in the Covid pandemic, imposed their own line with the changes adopted by the UN restrictions. These have sometimes included Experts in the Model Regulations – even if it border closures or the installation of border is often out of line with the biennial revisions. checkpoints, often at very short notice and International air and sea transport fall affecting significant road connections, such as under the international codes, as is the between South Australia and Victoria or general practice. between Queensland and New South Wales.

However, the domestic regulations are complicated by the federal nature of the WHERE WE ARE NOW country: while the National Transport Debra explained how the ADG Code is Commission (NTC) is responsible for updating structured: while it is based on the UN Model the ADG Code, it is put into effect by each of Regulations and the Manual of Tests and the various states and territories; these are Criteria, those core requirements are

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 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

supplemented by some unique components. This reflects to some extent the particular qualities of road and rail transport in Australia, with large volumes of goods having to be moved over very long distances, often involving the use of ‘road trains’ with up to six or seven trailers behind a very big tractor unit. That means that the modal elements of the Code have to reflect operations on the ground, so the provisions for vehicle construction are necessarily different to those in, say, ADR.

However, the ADG Code also has its own requirements for vehicle placarding, loading, stowage and segregations, as well as, less surprisingly, the provision of emergency information and local licensing. It is important to remember, Debra added, that the ADG Code does not always follow ADR/RID, and especially does not include the 500 and 600 series of special provisions. . While it is unlikely that there is much international transport involving road tankers to Australia, those moving dangerous goods by intermodal containers and tank containers should be alert to the differences.

One other element not covered by the ADG Code is the land transport of explosives (other than those of division 1.4S). Each state/ territory has its own licensing and permitting systems – and these can vary considerably, Debra added. Again, this reflects local operations, with often very large quantities of explosives or precursors carried by road or rail over long distances for delivery to mining operations, especially in Western Australia.

The ADG Code is updated every two years, in line with the UN Model Regulations, with a one-year transitional period, although it is not always implemented accordingly because of the need for its to be reflected in state/ territory legislation. The current verion, ADG 7.7, took effect on 1 October 2020 and has been mandatory from 1 October 2021.

In addition to the Code itself, and rather in the manner of the special permit and approvals process in the US, industry can petition for national approvals, exemptions, determinations and classifications that may be at variance with the Code itself. Applicants should in the first instance contact the competent authority in the relevant jurisdiction but for nation-wide consideration submissions go to the Competent Authorities Panel (CAP). More than 220 such applications were considered by CAP during 2021.

PLAN OF ACTION NTC now has plans in place to attempt to rationalise the Code itself and to improve national implementation. In November 2020 it recommended an in-depth review of those sections of the Code that are specific to Australia, which would include bringing in requirements for all Class 1 goods and, perhaps, some relevant concepts from ADR and RID. It will also include a review of the training requirements, with more detail on the training required for employees in different positions.

A review period began in February 2022 and is due to run to November 2023; following that, a revised ADG Code will be drafted, with the aim of having the recommendations ready for adoption by November 2024.

This is, Debra admitted, quite a task that NTC has set itself. “It won’t be smooth sailing,” she said, “NTC knows which way it wants it to go but the outcome is far from clear.”

Those interested in keeping up with proceedings should keep an eye on the NTC website, and in particular the page on the ADG Code: www.ntc.gov.au/codes-and-guidelines/ australian-dangerous-goods-code. This provides a link to a pdf copy of the Code itself, a summary of the differences between ADG 7.6 and 7.7, and more information on the various laws in place in each of the states and territories.

In addition, NTC’s website has some guidance on the transport of dangerous goods in limited quantities, downloadable class labels and other marks, and a link to a pdf copy of the Australian and New Zealand Emergency Response Guide 2021 (ANZ-ERG), which may be used as an alternative to the Initial Emergency Response Guide and is approved as satisfying the requirements of the ADG Code.

THE ADG CODE NEEDS TO TAKE ACCOUNT OF THE VERY

SPECIFIC NATURE OF ROAD AND RAIL TRANSPORT IN

AUSTRALIA, OFTEN OVER VERY LONG DISTANCES WITH

VERY LARGE VEHICLES