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Andrew Olsen, Rural Contractors New Zealand.
Rural Contractors NZ says proposed changes to land transport rules for agricultural vehicles are a welcome response by the Government to out of date regulations which have seen members hit with huge fines.
At the Rural Contractors conference in Christchurch held in June, members supported a campaign to secure a rapid change to the regulations governing vehicle dimensions and mass (VDAMs).
At the time, Rural Contractors NZ CEO, Andrew Olsen noted that some of his members had faced fines of $10,000 and more for agricultural vehicles being deemed too heavy for roads under rules more than a decade old. “Our members’ tractors and other machines have got heavier but the transport regulations are such that they can be overweight before they leave the showroom, let alone with implements on board,” said Olsen.
The RCNZ Association estimates that around 750 to 800 agricultural machines are currently affected by the out-of-date rules. Olsen explained, “They are not unsafe or damaging the roads. In Australia, the US and the EU, these machines operate lawfully but the Government has dragged its heels in finding a solution.”
The new rules propose to exempt rigid agricultural vehicles (excluding vehicles towing goods) from gross weight and mass limits, subject to specific restrictions to protect critical infrastructure such as bridges.
Associate Transport Minister James Meager says consultation has begun on 28 proposals to change heavy vehicle rules, including agricultural vehicles, to generally reduce compliance costs and improve productivity.
Rural Contractor NZ has been campaigning for changes, based on the premise that the current VDAM rules haven’t kept pace with the increasing size of machinery and amid a rigid permitting system.
OIsen says the Land Transport Rules Reform consultation document details how in the five years to June 2026, the NZTA processed almost 700 overweight permit applications for agricultural vehicles, of which, only 46 were declined because of the risk of exceeding structure limits such as maximum bridge weights.
“This many approvals translates to an unnecessary rubber-stamping process which can be safely removed providing productivity improvements for the vast majority of agricultural contractors,” says Olsen. “The exemption, now being proposed by NZTA, should further reduce the number of agricultural vehicles that require a permit and further reduce again when rules on vehicle dimension and mass are further reviewed in a later phase of consultation.”
The consultation document suggests that exemptions for agricultural vehicles be subject to route or structure restrictions as set by road controlling authorities, mostly NZTA or councils.
“Our members will be thankful the Government has responded on this issue even if it’s taken longer than is ideal,” says Olsen. “We are now asking that the changes be implemented in time for the next season starting in spring 2027 and the authorities enforcing the current out of date regulations, don’t hammer our members in the interim.”
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