Chain of Responsibility

New National Heavy Vehicle laws now apply. If you consign, pack, load or receive goods as part of your business, you could be held legally liable for breaches of the law even though you have no direct role in driving or operating a heavy vehicle. In addition, corporate entities, directors, partners and managers are accountable for the actions of people under their control. This is the ‘chain of responsibility’ (COR).

Under the new laws everyone in the supply chain shares equal responsibility for ensuring safety on our roads.

Who are the parties in the supply chain?

Any person with an influence and/or control in the transport chain is a ‘party’ and includes, but is not limited to:

  • corporations, partnerships, unincorporated associations or other bodies corporate
  • employers and company directors
  • exporters/importers
  • primary producers
  • drivers (including a bus driver and an owner-driver)
  • prime contractors of drivers
  • the operator of a vehicle
  • schedulers of goods or passengers for transport in or on a vehicle, and the scheduler of its driver
  • consignors/consignees/receivers of the goods for transport
  • loaders/unloaders of goods
  • loading managers (the person who supervises loading/unloading, or manages the premises where this occurs).

When could COR apply?

Some examples include:

  • heavy vehicle driver breaches of fatigue management requirements or speed limits
  • heavy vehicle driver breaches of mass, dimension, or loading requirements
  • where any instructions, actions or demands parties in the supply chain causes or contributes to an offence under the HVNL. That includes anything done, or not done (directly or indirectly) that has an impact on compliance. For example a) schedulers whose business practices place unrealistic timeframes on drivers which cause them to exceed their work rest options, b) operators who do not provide drivers with a sleep environment which allows for quality sleep if their work requires them to sleep away from home (approved sleeper cab, access to rest stops).

Duty holders must also make sure the terms of consignment or work/employment contracts will not result in, encourage, reward or provide an incentive for the driver or other party in the supply chain (e.g. a scheduler) to break the HVNL.

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