Every person in the road transport supply chain is responsible for ensuring that the Chain of Responsibility (CoR) laws are met.

Certain parties have particular duties. But how do you determine if you are one of them?

Before the CoR became law, heavy vehicle road safety was simple. The parties that bore the brunt of responsibility and liability for safe road transport were:

  • drivers; and
  • heavy vehicle owners/operators.

Everyone else in the transport supply chain relied on drivers and operators to ensure that trucks were roadworthy, loaded within their limits and driven safely.

However, the CoR recognises the control and influence on the above matters by the other parties to the road transport supply chain. For example, if goods aren't packed securely within a shipping container, they can shift and cause a truck to become unstable, or if customers set tight pick-up and delivery schedules or impose harsh penalties for late movements, drivers may be encouraged to speed.

To address the influence of these other parties within the road transport supply chain, the CoR pushes obligations further up- and down-stream, both on- and off-road.

The Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) is based on the principle that any person(s) with control or influence over an activity that affects safe road transport is responsible for the proper exercise of that role, and may be held liable for any breach.

The HVNL imposes general duties on all relevant people to prevent and avoid breaches. In addition, the HVNL recognises that certain key parties have greater control or influence over road transport activities, and imposes particular duties on those people.

The key parties identified under the HVNL are:

Driver – the person driving the vehicle, including any supervising or co-driver.
Prime Contractor – the person who engages a driver to drive a vehicle under a contract for services.
Operator – the person responsible for controlling or directing the use of a vehicle or combination.
Scheduler – the person who schedules transport of any goods or passengers by vehicle, or the work and rest times of drivers.
Packer – any person who puts goods in packaging, even if that packaging is already on a vehicle, or any person who assembles packed goods or supervises, manages or controls any of these activities.
Loading Manager – the person who manages or is responsible for the operation of loading/unloading premises or who is responsible for supervising, managing or controlling (directly or indirectly) activities carried out by a loader or unloader.
Loader/ Unloader– the person who loads/ unloads goods on a heavy vehicle or any container that is in or forms part of the vehicle, or any person who loads/unloads a freight container (even if empty) on a vehicle.
Consignor – the person named as 'consignor' on transport documentation or, if there is no such person identified, the person who engages a vehicle's operator (directly or indirectly) or has possession of or control over the goods immediately before they are transported by road, or the person who loads or imports goods.
Consignee – a person named as 'consignee' on transport documentation or who actually receives the goods after their road transport.

You will fall into one or more of the categories listed here based on the function/role that you perform, regardless of your title. If you fall within two or more categories, you will be subject to the particular duties that apply to all relevant categories.

For many mass, dimension, load restraint, speeding and fatigue offences, where an offence occurs, one or more of the employer of the driver, prime contractor, operator, consignor, consignee, packer, loading manager and loader/unloader can be deemed to have committed an offence. Each of these people can be prosecuted individually in relation to any such breach, whether or not any of the rest are.

In addition, the directors and managers of any corporation which breaches the HVNL are also deemed to have committed the same offence and are personally punishable.

This publication does not deal with every important topic or change in law and is not intended to be relied upon as a substitute for legal or other advice that may be relevant to the reader's specific circumstances. If you have found this publication of interest and would like to know more or wish to obtain legal advice relevant to your circumstances please contact one of the named individuals listed.