Dangerous Goods Voluntary Data Study 

About the study 

The Dangerous Goods Voluntary Data Study (the Study) is a national study being conducted in collaboration between Transport Certification Australia (TCA), the National Bulk Tanker Association (NBTA) and other industry and state government participants. 

The study collects regular telematics and associated data from freight vehicles to better understand the movement of dangerous goods across Australia.  

By collecting data on vehicle types and the dangerous goods classification, combined with telematics data received from on-board telematics devices on the vehicles, TCA can analyse and visualise detailed information on the vehicles moving dangerous goods in Australia. This will include:   

• mapping the key routes and areas of travel intensity for specific commodities (dangerous goods movements and classes of dangerous goods);   
• assessing the comparative volume of transport on specific routes for different commodities;  
• identifying the travel times between key origins and destinations;    
• understanding the impact of disruptive events and tracking changes over multi-year periods. 

Purpose  

The purpose of the Study is to provide a reliable database that will support evidence-based discussions between the transport industry, road managers and other government authorities with regards to road access planning, infrastructure management and efficient transport.    

How data is collected 

Transport operators enrolling in the Study agree to their telematics service provider sharing telematics data from their enrolled vehicles with TCA. The telematics data will be shared and held by TCA strictly in accordance with the conditions of the consent agreement. 

TCA gives a clear undertaking that all data will be aggregated and anonymised to ensure commercial confidentiality. The Study will not enable the subsequent identification of individual vehicles, or the company ownership of vehicles. The voluntary data received by TCA will not be used for enforcement purposes. 

The Dangerous Goods Voluntary Data Study will build on the historical data collected during 2021 and add ongoing data from 2022 to the database. 

Study timeline

The Study will build on the historical data collected during 2021 and add ongoing data to the analytics. The Study will run for a two-year period until 30th June 2025 with the option to review and extend for a further period should participants agree. 

For more information on the Study or to get involved in it, please contact TCA.