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28 July 2025
Australia’s road transport industry is facing a critical shortage of heavy vehicle (HV) drivers, impacting freight, passenger services, and the broader economy. Truck driving ranks as the 9th most common occupation nationally, and with road freight volumes expected to grow by 11.5% over the next five years, the demand for skilled drivers will intensify.
To address this, strategies are being developed to attract, retain, and upskill HV drivers. The Transport and Logistics Industry 2025 Workforce Plan highlights that higher-level skills, are required by heavy vehicle drivers, which currently limits employers’ ability to recruit and train new drivers effectively.
Industry stakeholders have raised concerns about inconsistent training and licensing standards across jurisdictions. Although mutual recognition of licences exists between states, there is no unified national standard linking training, job-readiness, and licence progression. In response, Austroads is implementing reforms approved by Transport Ministers under the Review of the National Heavy Vehicle Driver Competency Framework. These reforms include:
- Enhanced learning and assessment tailored to each licence class
- Minimum course durations and behind-the-wheel training requirements
- Online training options to improve accessibility and reduce costs
- New licence progression pathways based on tenure, experience, or supervision programs
These changes aim to establish minimum standards for training and practical experience, ensuring drivers possess the necessary skills and knowledge for their licence level. This will help build employer confidence in the competency of newly licensed drivers.
To support these reforms, ISA has launched a project to review and update HV licensing competency standards within vocational training products. The goal is to align with Austroads’ training components and address key industry-identified skills gaps, particularly for new drivers and those operating multi-combination vehicles. The project will set a benchmark for a Minimum Standard and competency verification to enhance employer trust in HV driver capabilities.
Project Phases
The project will be delivered in three stages:
- Review of HV Licence Units – Five units will be reviewed and finalised by early 2026.
- Review of HV Driving Vocational Units – Eight units, relevant Skill Sets, and qualifications (including a new road train unit/Skill Set) will be reviewed and finalised by the end of 2026.
- Implementation Support – Guidance materials will be developed for inclusion in the CVIG, with webinars and workshops scheduled for the first half of 2027.
This project will review and update:
- 5 existing Licensing Units of Competency
- 5 existing Drive (vocational) Units of Competency
- One existing Operate Bus and Coach Unit of Competency
- 2 existing Driver awareness Units of Competency
This project will update:
- 11existing TLI Qualifications
- One existing AVI Qualification
- One existing ‘Road transport Driver’ Skill Set
This project will develop:
- 1 new ‘Multi combination for larger Road Trains’ Unit of Competency
- 1 new ‘Road train skill set’
This project will also:
- update the TLI Companion Volume Implementation Guide
- produce a mapping document stating changes made
- update any out-of-scope product affected by the changes made to the project training products.
View the list of all training products related to this project.
The reviewed training products are due to be submitted to the Assurance Body by 7 December 2026 - 29 January 2027
Industry Skills Australia (ISA) will engage with stakeholders throughout the project, considering all ideas, opinions, and feedback to ensure the revised training products meet industry needs. A consultation log summarising all feedback and ISA’s responses will be maintained and published on our website.
ISA will host two webinars to support stakeholder understanding:
- Webinar 1: At project launch – to explain the purpose of the changes.
- Webinar 2 After endorsement – to help stakeholders understand the final changes and their impact.
The Consultation Strategy is available here
