Queensland Access Conditions Guide - Christmas and New Year Oversize Vehicle Restrictions (version 6.0 published)

Information from Department of Transport and Main Roads - Heavy Vehicles Unit

Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) has published the Queensland Access Conditions Guide version 6.0 to assist industry with ensuring the safe movement of oversize heavy vehicles.

Queensland Access Conditions Guide

The Queensland Access Conditions Guide provides conditions for the safe movement of oversize heavy vehicles and combinations carrying indivisible items, special purpose vehicles and special purpose combinations.

TMR has undertaken a detailed and plain English review of the Queensland Access Conditions Guide.

TMR recommends that operators review the Queensland Access Conditions Guide version 6.0 to ensure the use of up-to-date information when assessing the suitability of routes for oversize heavy vehicles.

Summary of changes in the Queensland Access Conditions Guide version 6.0:

• Clarification of Christmas/New Year and Easter holiday conditions and exemptions in schedules.

• New conditions in Schedule 3: 

  • peak hour time exemptions for additional Port of Brisbane roads (Table 18).

  • approved roads for access to bond stores and holding yards in Brisbane and Mackay areas (Table 24).

• Transfer of the Port of Brisbane conditions into relevant notice schedules.

• The Houghton Highway Bridge and Ted Smout Bridge are no longer restricted roads and have been removed from the list of restricted motorways, tunnels and roads in section 11.1.

• Extension of the southeast corner conditions allowing oversize B-double and road train access to the Gatton Decoupling Facility (Table 23).

• Agricultural conditions are no longer provided in the Queensland Access Conditions Guide. For light agricultural vehicles or combinations (a vehicle or a component of a combination with a GVM up to 4.5 tonnes) refer to the Safe Movement Guideline for Light Agricultural Vehicles, Light Agricultural Combinations and Drawn Plant.

Christmas and New Year restrictions for oversize vehicles

The following restrictions apply to an oversize vehicle or combination during the Christmas and New Year period:  

• An oversize vehicle or combination movement which requires more than one pilot or escort vehicle is not permitted to travel from 12.01am Tuesday 19 December 2023 until 11.59pm Tuesday 2 January 2024.

• All oversize vehicles or combinations are not permitted to travel from 12 noon Friday 22 December 2023 until 11.59pm Tuesday 2 January 2024.

Specific exemptions to these restrictions can be found in the published Queensland Access Conditions Guide version 6.0: 

• Schedule 1 – Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) under the National Class 1 Special Purpose Vehicle (up to 40t total mass) Mass and Dimension Notice or a crane up to 3.5m in width operating under permit issued by the NHVR.   
• Schedule 2 – Special purpose combinations under the Queensland Class 1 Special Purpose Combination Mass and Dimension Exemption Notice. 
• Schedule 3 – Load carrying vehicles under the Multi-State Class 1 Load Carrying Vehicle Dimension Exemption Notice.   
• Schedule 5 — Oversize conditionally registered vehicles travelling to or from un-programmed operations. 

Note: The Queensland Access Conditions Guide should be used in conjunction with the Conditions of Operation Database and QLDTraffic.

We're here to help  
If you have questions about the Queensland Access Conditions Guide, please email hv.policy@tmr.qld.gov.au.