NHVR Route Planning in Australia – Complete Guide(2027)

Planning a heavy vehicle route in Australia starts with knowing which roads your truck can use. A local road that’s open to a rigid truck may require an access permit for a B-double. The vehicle’s configuration, loaded weight and dimensions all influence which roads it can take and what conditions apply.

The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) provides the National Network Map to help fleet planners check road access for specific vehicle configurations and identify where approval may be needed. For dispatch teams, those checks help determine which truck to send, which route it can take and when it can reach the customer.

In this guide, we will walk through how to check road access, understand when a permit may be required and review a route before dispatch. We will also show how to use NextBillion.ai to calculate truck routes and ETAs that account for your vehicle’s limits and any permit routes you have added in your plan.

What is NHVR Routing?

NHVR routing is the process of planning a heavy vehicle trip based on which roads the vehicle is allowed to use under Australia’s Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL). For each leg of the journey, fleet planners check whether the truck and trailer combination can use the road, what conditions apply and whether an access permit is required.

Those checks cover the entire trip, including local roads into depots and delivery sites. For example, if roadworks close part of an approved freight route, the dispatcher needs to check whether the detour is open to the same vehicle. A bridge weight limit or a road outside the vehicle’s approved network could require a different route. 

General and Restricted Access for Heavy Vehicles

Before you plan a route, you need to confirm the truck and trailer combination, its dimensions and the loaded mass. Under the Heavy Vehicle National Law, these details help determine whether the vehicle has general access or needs a notice or permit for the roads it will use.

General Access Vehicles

A General Access Vehicle (GAV) can use the road network without a heavy vehicle access notice or permit if it meets the applicable mass and dimension limits. Signposted restrictions still apply. For example, a rigid truck that qualifies for general access must still observe a bridge’s posted weight limit.

Restricted Access Vehicles

Restricted Access Vehicles (RAVs) include road trains and oversize or overmass vehicles. A gazette notice can authorise eligible vehicles to use a specified network under defined conditions. If the notice does not cover the vehicle or a section of the journey, check whether an existing permit covers the trip or whether you need to apply for one.

What does this mean for route planning? A semi-trailer combination that qualifies for general access on a typical run may need to follow a different route when it operates at Higher Mass Limits (HML). For that trip, check that the entire route is authorised for the combination at its planned mass, including the local road into the delivery site.

When Do You Need an NHVR Access Permit?

Once you have checked your route on the National Network Map, read the gazette notice that applies to your vehicle. You can travel under the notice if it covers your entire route and your vehicle meets its configuration, mass, dimension and operating requirements. If a road falls outside the notice, check whether an existing permit covers it or whether you need to apply for one.

If you need a permit, submit your vehicle details and proposed route through NHVR Go. The NHVR reviews the application and seeks consent from the relevant road managers where required. For travel within Western Australia or the Northern Territory, check with the relevant state or territory road authority.

Before dispatch, confirm that the permit covers the vehicle, route and travel date, and make sure the driver carries a copy. Check any restrictions on travel times when you set the departure time and share the delivery ETA.

How to Plan NHVR-Aware Routes With NextBillion.ai

Once you have identified the roads and permits that apply to your fleet, you can use NextBillion.ai NHVR-aware routing solution to bring that information into the routes and ETAs you calculate in your transport management system or dispatch platform.

1. Set up the vehicle profile

Start with the truck and trailer combination you need to dispatch, such as a rigid truck, semi-trailer, B-double or road train. As a next step, enter its actual height, width, length and loaded weight. NextBillion.ai uses the vehicle class to prioritize the relevant NHVR network and the truck’s specifications to account for mapped restrictions such as low clearances and bridge weight limits.

2. Add existing permit routes

If your fleet has an access permit for part of the journey, import the route covered by that permit as a GeoJSON file. Use Road Editor to add relevant access rules, such as restrictions on the approach to a depot. Check that your routing setup reflects which vehicles the permit covers, when it’s valid and any travel conditions that apply.

3. Calculate the route and ETA

Use the Directions Flexible API to calculate a route for the assigned truck. Include the planned departure time so the ETA reflects traffic conditions for that time. If you switch from a rigid truck to a B-double, recalculate the route and ETA using the new vehicle profile.

4. Review road access before dispatch

Use route verification to see how much of the journey follows the NHVR network and which vehicle classes each network segment allows. Where access is unclear, check the relevant notice or current permit before sending the route to the driver.

How to Plan Multiple Deliveries Across a Mixed Fleet

Suppose you are dispatching B-doubles and rigid trucks from the same depot. Both can reach the distribution centre, but only your rigid trucks have access to the local roads serving two other customers. Start by confirming which vehicles can reach each stop, including the roads leading to the delivery entrance.

In NextBillion.ai’s Route Optimization API, use the skills setting to reflect those access checks. Give the two local deliveries a required skill and assign that same skill to the rigid trucks that can serve them. The optimiser can then assign deliveries and sequence stops based on vehicle eligibility, load capacity, driver shifts and customer delivery windows.

If no eligible rigid truck can meet a customer’s delivery window, the job can remain unassigned. The dispatcher can then check for another truck with confirmed access or agree on a new delivery time with the customer.

How to Handle Road Closures and Detours

A bridge closure can change a B-double’s route after it leaves the depot. Start by checking the state or territory traffic service for an official detour. A signed detour can provide temporary access, so confirm that it applies to your vehicle combination and check any conditions before directing the driver onto it.

If dispatch needs to find another route, check each new road against the applicable notice or existing permit. If the route requires additional approval, check with the NHVR or relevant road authority about a permit amendment before using it.

Once you have confirmed access, use NextBillion.ai’s Directions Flexible API to recalculate the trip from the truck’s current location using its vehicle profile. Check that the revised route follows the confirmed detour, then send it to the driver and update the ETAs for the remaining deliveries.

NHVR Route Planning Checklist Before Dispatch

Use this checklist once you have assigned a truck and calculated its route. If the vehicle, load or departure time changes, revisit the checks that depend on it.

• Check the assigned truck against the route. Confirm the truck and trailer combination, loaded mass and dimensions match the vehicle profile used to calculate the route. Check bridge weight limits, low clearances and access roads into delivery sites.
• Verify the return leg. If the truck is returning to the depot or collecting a backload, check access in that direction too. A permit may specify a direction of travel, and a different load can change which roads the truck can use.
• Check travel conditions and disruptions. Confirm the applicable notice or permit covers the route and planned travel time. Check the relevant traffic service for closures and any detours that apply to the vehicle.
• Allow time for loading, unloading and rest. For fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle trips, account for loading and unloading as work time and identify suitable stops for required rest breaks. Use those timings to set delivery ETAs.
• Give the driver the final route and documents. Share the route, site entrances and any travel conditions that affect the trip. If the trip requires a permit, make sure the driver carries a copy and any other documents the permit requires.

Test NHVR-Aware Routing With Your Own Fleet Data

Start with a trip your fleet runs regularly, such as a B-double delivery that uses a permit to reach a depot. Enter the truck’s actual dimensions and loaded mass, add the permit route, and compare the route and ETA NextBillion.ai calculates with the plan your dispatchers use today.

Our technical team can help you review the results and show you how to bring NHVR-aware routes and ETAs into your existing dispatch workflow. Book an NHVR routing demo