Dangerous goods tank design compliance statement templates
If you will be transporting dangerous goods in a tank—either forming part of the vehicle, or attached to the vehicle – you need to have the tank design approved by the Department of Transport and Main Roads before it can be used for the transport of dangerous goods by road.
When applying, you will need to include a cover letter and the relevant compliance statement. Templates are available in both Word and Excel format.
To learn about the application process or which Australian Standards apply for a dangerous goods tanker, visit dangerous goods tank design applications.
Fee
The application fee is $302.20 (current to 30 June 2025). You must pay the fee at a transport and motoring customer service centre prior to posting your application.
Note: From 1 July 2024, fees will be frozen at their current level for 1 year to ease cost-of-living pressures for Queenslanders. Usually, fees increase each year due to indexation. The freeze will mean that fees will not increase on 1 July 2024 as they normally would.
Application checklist
Dangerous goods tank design applications must include:
- a cover letter—use the dangerous goods tank design application cover letter and ensure all fields are completed in full
- application fee receipt—include a scanned copy with your application (payable at any transport and motoring customer service centre)
- a design application statement that addresses every applicable clause of the relevant standards (2 copies for posted applications and 1 copy for emailed applications)
- a compliance statement template of the relevant standards. Ensure all fields are completed in full. (1 copy for posted and emailed applications)
- layout drawings of the vehicle, with the tank attached—submit drawings which outline the required measurements for compliance to the applicable standards, e.g. road and cabin to tank clearances and stability measurements. (2&nsbp;copies for posted applications and 1 copy for emailed applications)
- approval notice and approval number issued by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ)—for applications involving pressure vessels, where the pressure vessel has been approved to AS1210 or other applicable standards. (2 copies for posted applications and 1 copy for emailed applications)
- the signature of a Registered Practising Engineer in Queensland* (RPEQ) on every page of the application.
* The Board of Professional Engineers of Queensland administers the Queensland Professional Engineers Act 2002 and prohibits persons who are not registered from providing professional engineering services in Queensland.
Design Application statements
The design application statements are prepared by the RPEQ engineer and must clearly outline how the design achieves compliance and, where relevant, reference supplied drawings, details, calculations and photographs. The information supplied must be comprehensive and satisfy the department that the design is safe for transporting dangerous goods.
Where a clause in the standard is for information purposes – such as scope and definitions – the engineer should write 'understood, read and noted' or 'understood, responsibility of owner' (or similar). Similarly, if a clause in the standard is not relevant to the application, the engineer should write 'understood, not relevant to this design'.
The following table is an example of an acceptable design application statement:
Clause no. | Clause description | Comments | Person - ID | Reference specifications/drawings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2.1 | Basic design | Understood, see below | J Done – Engineer | |
2.1.1 | Stability | Understood, read and requirements met. See drawing and calculations | J Done – Engineer | Drawing No. 123XY and stability calculation |
2.1.2 | Road clearance | Understood, read and requirements met. See drawing | J Done – Engineer | Drawing No. 124YX |
2.2 | Trailers and semitrailers | Understood, read and requirements met | J Done – Engineer |
Drawings
All drawings must contain enough detailed information to support claims of compliance against the relevant standards. All notes, dimensions and figures must be able to be read without magnification.
You must clearly identify symbols in an appropriate legend on each drawing, and every drawing must be signed and dated by a RPEQ engineer certifying compliance.
You must include an overall layout drawing with the application, as well as other drawings outlining specific details (for example, method of tank attachment). This overall layout drawing must show the fully configured vehicle including the location of fire extinguishers, placards and emergency stop buttons.
The drawing must also show the:
- ground clearance to the lowest tank component
- cabin to tank clearance
- impact protection distance from the rear of the tank to impact surface and stability variables (width and height from the ground to centroid of tank).
Refer to the relevant standards for a complete list of the variables that you need to show in the drawings. Your application may be delayed if you don't include all the information required.
You may include photographs in your application to show the design and prove compliance.
Australian Standards
The following Australian Standards outline the specifications for design, construction, testing, maintenance and inspection of road tank vehicles (as referenced in chapter 6.9 of the Australian Dangerous Goods Code).
Standard | Type of dangerous goods |
|---|---|
AS2809 – Part 1 | Part 1 applies to all road tank vehicles, in addition to the requirements of the applicable Part 2-6 according to the type of goods |
AS2809 – Part 2 | Flammable liquids |
AS2809 – Part 3 | Liquefied compressed gases |
AS2809 – Part 4 | Toxic or corrosive liquids. The correct type of tank (1–5) under this part should be selected according to the properties of the dangerous goods to be transported |
AS2809 – Part 5 | Bitumen-based products |
AS2809 – Part 6 | Cryogenic gases and liquids |
These Australian Standards can be purchased from SAI Global.
Compliance statement templates
Download a compliance statement template for each relevant standard.
Submitting your application
Send your application to: dgu@tmr.qld.gov.au
Email submissions preferred. If you are submitting your application by mail, ensure you have 2 full copies of your application and post to:
Industry Licensing — Industry Accreditation Policy Unit
Department of Transport and Main Roads
PO Box 673
FORTITUDE VALLEY QLD 4006
Approval process and guidelines
Approval of a tank design by the department only applies to use of the vehicle in Queensland. If the road tank vehicle will be used in other states, make this known in your application. The approval will then be submitted to the Competent Authorities Panel (CAP) for national endorsement, which will allow the use of the vehicle in other states.
You may manufacture multiple units of the same approved design (differentiating individual units by the manufacturer's serial number). However, if any changes are made to the department's approved design, you must submit a new tank design application to the department, along with the required fee.
Similarly, you must submit a new tank design application, along with the required fee, to the department, if a tank is removed from a road tank vehicle that has an existing tank design approval and fitted to another vehicle (known as 're-horsing').
For more information about the application process or which Australian Standards apply for a dangerous goods tanker, contact the Department of Transport and Main Roads at dgu@tmr.qld.gov.au.
Data and Resources
- Dangerous goods tank design application cover letter (DOCX, 81KB)
- Dangerous goods tank design compliance statement AS2809–Part 1 (DOCX, 93KB)
- Dangerous goods tank design compliance statement AS2809–Part 2 (DOCX, 93KB)
- Dangerous goods tank design compliance statement AS2809–Part 3 DOCX, 94KB)
- Dangerous goods tank design compliance statement AS2809–Part 4 DOCX, 93KB)
- Dangerous goods tank design compliance statement AS2809–Part 5 DOCX, 94KB)