In Australia, governments have realised the potential of extending commercial telematics services into the regulatory context. The Intelligent Access Program (IAP) provided the first national regulatory telematics applications in Australia. Administered by TCA, it enables the provision of accurate compliance monitoring for heavy vehicles. Heavy vehicles enrolled in the IAP are provided with improved access to the Australian road network. In return, they are monitored (using GPS technology) for compliance against a set of conditions including spatial, temporal, speed, vehicle type and mass. Non-compliant activities are reported to the regulator.
Sweden is now running a three year pilot of the IAP. Interestingly, rather than duplicate that infrastructure just for a trial, the Swedes are using Australian infrastructure: the vehicles are in Sweden, but are being tracked electronically by Australian providers. If there is a breach in compliance to the regulatory conditions (such as traveling off an approved route) the report goes to the TCA in Melbourne, which then advises the transport authority in Sweden. This gives the Swedish agencies and stakeholders an opportunity to test the concept and how it might work in their jurisdiction before they invest more fully in the compliance policy and the associated technology.
Dr Walker and his colleague Alexandra Moulis received a grant from the Australia and New Zealand School of Government to study this international policy transfer case, with a particular focus on how the trial contributes to improving our practice in the field. In other words, what does this policy transfer experience deliver for agencies here in Australia?
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