The CEO of the national heavy Vehicle Regulator has resigned.

Richard Hancock will leave the post after an announcement late last Friday, in which the regulator’s chairperson Bruce Baird said he had accepted Mr Hancock’s resignation “with immediate effect”.

It is understood that personal and family health reasons were the basis of the decision, which has come at a difficult time for the NHVR as well.

“It is essential that we all continue to work towards efficiency, safety and productivity in the heavy vehicle industry,” the statement from Mr Baird reads.

“The NHVR is continuing to work with industry and all levels of government to develop a longer-term plan to permanently address issues and concerns associated with the changes to the new laws and keep Australia's heavy vehicles moving.”

The efficacy of the new regulatory system has been questioned in the weeks since it came online, with the NHVR having relinquished the handling of permits back to state governments in some jurisdictions.

Australian Trucking Association chair David Simon says Mr Hancock was a powerful linking force between the government body and the industry at large.

“Richard was a breath of fresh air when he joined the NHVR, because of his strong consultative approach and his willingness to try new techniques for reaching out to trucking operators,” Mr Simon said.

“Richard made an important contribution to untangling many of the problems with the original draft of the Heavy Vehicle National Law. The original draft had more than 1,020 issues.

“Many of those were fixed before the law came into effect, although there are still serious problems.

“Under Richard’s leadership, the NHVR also tried new ways of talking to trucking operators. We’re a difficult industry to consult, because trucking operators are always busy and small operators are often on the road.

“The NHVR pioneered the use of webinars and YouTube presentations so trucking operators that did not have the time to go to traditional forums could still hear about how the new truck laws were intended to work.

“The ATA supports the NHVR and national truck laws, because we believe it will increase the industry’s productivity and safety over time. It is essential, however, that the NHVR focuses on getting its systems right.”

Queensland Transport Minister Scott Emerson was one of the key voices behind waning confidence in the NHVR, after he expressed a lack of support for its abilities and leadership.

“There are questions being asked about the internal workings within NHVR,” Mr Emerson told ABC Radio in late February.

“We’ve made it very clear to the NHVR, to the chairman Bruce Baird, that we want things changed. We want to make sure that the NHVR... is working efficiently.”

“Until we’re confident about that we can’t rely on the NHVR to [process permits]... We’ll continue to hold those delegations to make sure that our industry continues to function well.”