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On October 2, 2024, the Australian National Transport Commission (NTC) opened a consultation to invite the stakeholders to share their feedback on the Draft Code for the land (road and rail) transport of dangerous goods. This initiative aims to ensure the changes keep Australia’s transport system safe, efficient and easier to maintain. Comments are welcome until December 10, 2024.
Highlights
The Australian Code for the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road & Rail (ADG Code) sets out rules and guidelines for classifying, packaging, marking, labelling and transporting dangerous goods safely. Changes made to the structure and content of this code mainly cover the following:
Include “Class 1 Explosives” into the Draft Code to support a coordinated and legally recognized approach to updating the Australian Explosives Code (AEC), streamline compliance, and reduce the burden on both industry and regulators.
Clearly mark the entries for prohibited or unregulated substances in the Dangerous Goods List (DGL). Entries with additional requirements for specific UN Number substances are split into separate line items with descriptive text outlining the requirements. Add new columns in the DGL for classification codes and carriage conditions, including loading, unloading, handling, and operations, as well as a list of UN numbers for certain chemical groups.
Add special provisions to assist with correct UN number assignment and introduce additional special provisions for land transport context. Some current total exemptions are modified to require a minimum assurance of safety in order to qualify for the exemption.
Add packing instructions for determining fill levels, packagings permitted to be used as salvage packaging, verification of chemical compatibility with plastic packagings.
Expand the definition and requirements for use of MEGCs to include MEGCs that are not designed for multimodal use.
Incorporate principles from the Agreement for the International Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR) and the Agreement for the International Transport of Dangerous Goods by Rail (RID) into the Draft Code to eliminate gaps in road and rail requirements and promote consistency in the application of its requirements across jurisdictions.
The complete Draft Code can be downloaded here. The draft dangerous goods list is available here. For better illustration, the NTC also published a document (Attachment F) focusing on the changes to each part of the code.
Background
The ADG Code was initially published in 1980 to provide consistent technical requirements for the land transport of dangerous goods within Australia, which adopted the structure, format, definitions and concepts of the United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods Model Regulations (UN Model Regulations). Although the ADG Code is updated every two years, there’s no critical review. Many parts of the ADG Code have become outdated and no longer reflect modern industry practices or the latest technologies. Moreover, gaps in the ADG Code often require the state and territory regulators to issue additional determinations, leading to inconsistency and increased administrative burden.
Therefore, in November 2020, the Australian transport and infrastructure ministers approved the NTC’s recommendation to conduct a comprehensive review of the ADG Code, aiming to update the outdated chapters and incorporate relevant concepts from the ADR and the RID. The NTC is progressing with the review to create a more streamlined and consistent regulatory framework for land transport of dangerous goods. Over the last 18 months, the NTC issued 12 discussion papers to consult on the proposed updates dealing with topics including classification, safety equipment, packaging, special provisions, transport vehicles, etc. The NTC recently issued the complete Draft Code for public consultation. The NTC will consider the feedback and then provide the recommendations to Australia’s transport ministers for approval in mid-2025. The updated ADG Code is expected to be implemented by October 2026.
