A concrete planter box outside a shopping centre entrance is not hostile vehicle mitigation. Neither is a bollard installed because someone in a planning meeting said the site needed one. Genuine HVM starts with understanding what a vehicle could actually do at that specific access point, at that specific speed, and building a response around that, not with buying a product and hoping it’s enough.
What Does HVM Stand For?
HVM stands for Hostile Vehicle Mitigation. It refers to the planning, design, and physical measures used to prevent or reduce the impact of a vehicle being used, deliberately or accidentally, to breach a space it shouldn’t enter.
Hostile Vehicle Mitigation covers everything from the bollards and barriers people picture when they hear the term, through to the placement, spacing, and rated strength of those measures, and the operational protocols that make them work in practice. A site can have bollards installed and still have no meaningful HVM, if those bollards weren’t chosen against an actual threat assessment.
At Smartsec Security Solutions, we help councils, developers, event organisers, and commercial property managers assess their HVM risks and implement standards-aligned protection that suits the site, rather than a generic, one-size-fits-all response.
Why HVM Matters in Australia
Australia hasn’t experienced vehicle attacks at the scale seen in parts of Europe, but incidents such as the 2017 Melbourne Bourke Street attack, and the sustained wave of ram-raid incidents across retail precincts nationally, have made vehicle-based threats a practical planning consideration rather than a hypothetical one.
Local governments, event organisers, and critical infrastructure operators are increasingly expected to demonstrate due diligence on this point, and HVM is now commonly required or strongly recommended for:
- Major civic events and festivals
- Public plazas and high-traffic pedestrian areas
- Transport hubs and train stations
- Outdoor dining and laneway activations
- Retail centres with vulnerable frontages, particularly those with a history of ram-raid activity
- Critical infrastructure assets, including water, power, and data centres
- Public infrastructure projects under development, where HVM is increasingly a planning condition rather than an afterthought
Mining and resources sites carry a related but distinct version of this risk. Isolated laydown areas, site entry points, and workforce accommodation can all be exposed to vehicle-based incursion, and the extended emergency response times typical of regional WA make getting the design right the first time more important, not less.
What HVM Is Not
HVM is not a shopping list of bollards. Poorly specified or incorrectly spaced barriers can create the appearance of protection while failing to meet any tested performance standard, which is arguably worse than having nothing, because it creates false confidence.
Genuine hostile vehicle mitigation works through a specific set of questions before a single product is chosen:
- What kind of threat is realistic for this site, given its use, location, and profile
- What speed and weight should the barrier system realistically withstand
- Does the layout preserve pedestrian access and meet accessibility requirements
- What standard should the system be tested and certified against
Planning and independent advice matter here because public safety, asset protection, and liability all sit behind the answer.
Rated vs Non-Rated HVM Solutions
One of the most common points of confusion we see on site is the difference between rated and non-rated HVM measures, and when each is appropriate.
Rated solutions have been crash-tested against a defined vehicle weight and speed, under a recognised standard, and carry a certified performance rating, typically expressed as penetration distance under a given impact scenario. These are used where the threat assessment identifies a credible, higher-consequence risk, such as a crowded civic space, a major event, or a critical infrastructure boundary.
Non-rated solutions, such as landscaping, planter boxes, bollards without a certified rating, street furniture, and traffic-calming design, still have a legitimate place. They can slow, deter, or channel a vehicle, and they’re often the right proportionate response where the assessed risk is lower, or where a rated system isn’t practical due to heritage, budget, or streetscape constraints. The mistake isn’t using non-rated measures, it’s using them where the risk profile actually calls for a rated one, or assuming a non-rated feature carries protective properties it was never tested for.
This is exactly why the assessment has to come before the product decision, not after.
Temporary vs Permanent HVM Measures
Not every site needs a permanent installation, and treating temporary and permanent HVM as the same design problem is a common source of poor outcomes.
Temporary measures are typically deployed for events, festivals, and seasonal activations, using demountable barriers, vehicles as blockers, or rated temporary bollard systems that can be installed and removed around the event footprint. These need their own threat and crowd-density assessment for the specific event, since the risk profile of a one-day festival differs from the site’s everyday baseline.
Permanent measures are engineered into the site itself, whether through fixed bollards, engineered planters, or building-in setback and stand-off distance at the design stage. These suit sites with an ongoing elevated risk profile, such as government buildings, transport infrastructure, or precincts with a consistent history of vehicle-related incidents.
Many sites end up needing both: a permanent baseline for everyday operation, plus a temporary overlay plan for when the site hosts an event or activation that changes its risk profile.
HVM Standards That Apply in Australia
Until recently, Australian HVM projects commonly referenced the UK’s PAS 68 or IWA 14-1 standards, largely because Australia didn’t have its own. That changed in 2023.
ISO 22343-1:2023 – Hostile Vehicle Mitigation Guidelines is now the benchmark standard, providing a structured framework covering vehicle threat types, protection objectives, barrier selection and spacing, pedestrian and service access design, product testing and certification, and ongoing operational and maintenance requirements.
At Smartsec, every HVM review and specification is aligned with ISO 22343-1, and where relevant we also factor in AS 1428.1 for pedestrian access and mobility, ISO 31000 for structured risk assessment, and applicable local planning codes for infrastructure upgrades or new developments.
For sites where HVM sits alongside broader hostile reconnaissance or crowded places planning, the UK’s National Protective Security Authority also publishes detailed public realm design guidance that we draw on for context, even though our formal compliance basis for WA and Australian projects remains ISO 22343-1.
When to Commission a HVM Risk Assessment
A HVM risk assessment is usually worth commissioning, rather than assumed unnecessary, when any of the following apply:
- A new public realm, plaza, or civic upgrade is being designed or redeveloped
- A planning condition or development approval references vehicle mitigation or crowded places requirements
- An event or festival will bring vehicle and pedestrian flows into closer contact than the site normally experiences
- The site has had a near-miss, an actual vehicle incursion, or a pattern of ram-raid activity nearby
- An insurer, board, or governing body is asking what’s been done to address vehicle-based risk as part of a duty-of-care review
- The site falls under SOCI Act or critical infrastructure obligations, where physical security risk management plans are expected to address this threat category directly
If any of these sound familiar and the site’s current HVM measures were installed without a documented threat basis, that’s usually the clearest sign an assessment is overdue.
What a HVM Risk Assessment Involves
Before specifying any bollard or barrier, a structured assessment needs to establish what the site is actually protecting against. At Smartsec, that process covers a few consistent areas.
Site context analysis looks at the layout of roads, access points, footpaths, and open spaces, existing infrastructure, landscaping, and fencing, event-based or seasonal changes in pedestrian volume, and the distinction between public and service vehicle zones.
Threat scenario planning considers vehicle type and weight, likely speed at the point of impact, driver intent across accidental, criminal, and hostile scenarios, and the areas most likely to be affected, such as crowded pedestrian zones or gathering points.
Control review evaluates what’s already in place, including any existing bollards or barriers, landscaping that limits approach, access control for service vehicles, and the operational procedures used during events or after-hours activity.
Gap analysis and recommendations bring this together into practical guidance based on the site’s actual risk profile, the performance rating required, such as penetration depth or stand-off distance, how well a solution integrates visually and functionally with the site’s use, accessibility compliance including minimum pedestrian clearance, and the maintenance and inspection needs of whatever’s recommended.
Who Needs HVM Advice
A HVM review is worth having if you manage a council park, plaza, or laneway, operate a shopping precinct, market, or public event site, are planning a transport, education, or health infrastructure project, need to protect critical infrastructure from hostile access, or have already been told to install bollards or barriers without a clear explanation of what type or why.
HVM isn’t about installing something. It’s about installing the right solution for the right risk, in the right way, and being able to defend that decision later if it’s ever questioned.
Why Choose Smartsec Security Solutions
Smartsec Security Solutions is a Perth-based, fully independent security consultancy. We don’t sell or install products, so the advice you get is shaped by your site and your risk, not by what’s easiest to move off a shelf.
We bring over 19 years of experience in physical security and infrastructure risk, with a focus on ISO-aligned risk assessments, public and event space protection, HVM design advice for councils, developers, and planners, CPTED and public safety integration, and compliance with ISO 22343-1 and AS 1428.1.
Whether you need a one-off assessment, design advice, or documentation to support a planning submission or grant application, that’s the kind of work we do regularly for local government and commercial clients across WA.
Let’s Talk
If you’re weighing up HVM for a site, or you’ve already been told bollards or vehicle controls are needed but not what kind, don’t default to a generic response. Speak with an independent adviser first.
Get in touch with Smartsec to arrange a HVM risk assessment and get a strategy that’s built around your site, not a generic checklist.
