Agricultural vehicle definitions

Agricultural vehicle definitions and examples from the National Law

To ensure a comprehensive and correct understanding of the vehicles that are part of the broad agricultural fleet please refer to the following definitions and examples, and the relationship between these vehicles, as described in the National Heavy Vehicle Law.


An agricultural task is an undertaking carried out in agriculture. Examples of an agricultural task include cultivating land, growing and harvesting crops or rearing livestock. Agricultural tasks are performed by the following:

An agricultural vehicle, which is either an agricultural implement or an agricultural machine. 

An agricultural machine is an agricultural vehicle with its own automotive power, built to perform agricultural tasks. Examples of agricultural machinery include harvesters, tractors, windrowers and boom prayers.

An agricultural implement is an agricultural vehicle without its own automotive power, built to perform agricultural tasks and includes agricultural trailers. Other examples of agricultural implements include augers, conveyors, seeders, planters, rakes, tillers or irrigating equipment.

An agricultural trailer is a trailer that is designed to carry a load and used exclusively to perform agricultural tasks, Examples of agricultural trailers include silage trailers, comb trailers, mother bins and sprayers, etc.

Note: This does NOT include semi-trailers, hay trucks, grain truck & dog trailers, pig trailers, tag trailers or any multi-purpose trailers because, unlike agricultural trailers, these are NOT used exclusively to perform agricultural tasks.

An agricultural combination is a grouping of more than one vehicle, of which at least one is an agricultural vehicle. Non-agricultural vehicles (e.g. a truck towing an agricultural implement, or a non-agricultural trailer towed by an agricultural machine) can be used in an agricultural combination. A maximum of two implements may be towed by a single agricultural vehicle, so long as the overall length, width and mass complies with the conditions of the Notice.