The Hon Troy Buswell, MLA, Minister for Transport, has approved a Harvest Mass Management Scheme (HMMS) to be offered to all grain receiver operations during the 2011/12 harvest season.  This covers the period from 01 October 2011 to 29 February 2012.

The HMMS offers a 10% extra mass allowance for registered grain receival operators.  The scheme was developed in consultation with industry and grower representatives to cater for the loading difficulty caused by the natural variation of grain density and to provide flexibility in the movement of grains from paddock to receival facilities.  The allowance offered by the HMMS will help grain receivers and transport operators comply with regulatory vehicle mass limits.

Grain receivers wishing to offer the extra mass allowance to transport operators must be registered and approved to join the scheme.  To register, please complete the Grain Receiver Registration Form (1 page DOC 198 KB). 

Participation is voluntary; however, non-participating grain receiver operations will not be able to offer the extra mass allowance to transport operators delivering grain to their receival depots. 

Transport operators wishing to participate in the scheme must register with the grain receiver, not Main Roads.

Please note that two new clauses have been placed into the Business Rules 2011-12 (17 page PDF 410 KB) in regard to loads above 7% extra mass.  The new clauses are as follows:

• 3.2.13.  A vehicle must complete more than 10 loads during harvest before its loading data is reviewed by Main Roads after the harvest for the purpose of considering if the vehicle should be excluded from HMMS for the following year.
• 3.2.14.  Where the review of loading data after the harvest shows that over 20% of a particular vehicle's loads during the harvest were more than 7% above the VSR load limit, then Main Roads may exclude that vehicle from the HMMS for the following year.

Please view HVO Update 53-2011 or the HMMS Government Gazette for further information.