Chain of responsibility in transport safety: a practical guide

Chain of responsibility (CoR) is the rule that everyone who plays a part in moving goods or people by heavy vehicle shares the duty to keep the road safe. It sits in the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL). If a truck is overloaded, a driver is fatigued or a delivery window can't be met without speeding, the driver isn't the only one who can be held accountable. Operators, schedulers, consignors, loaders and executives can all be on the hook.

The duty is the same for each party: to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the safety of your transport activities. What that means for you depends on what you do in the chain, not on your job title or what your contract says.

This guide explains who is caught by CoR, the risks that most often lead to breaches, the controls that help, and the documents that show you did the work.

Who is in the chain?

CoR covers any party that has control or influence over a part of a transport task. The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) describes the parties by what they do, so a business can be a CoR party even if it never owns a truck.

Being a party depends on the function you perform. If you hire a carrier, set delivery times or pack a truck, you're in the chain, whatever your contract says. The NHVR's guidance on CoR duties sets out each party's role in more detail.

The risks that cause most breaches

Most CoR breaches come from a small number of risks. Start with these:

1. Fatigue. Schedules that cut into rest breaks, night driving that isn't planned for, and drivers who keep working after the warning signs show. Fatigue is also a WHS hazard for the workers involved.
2. Speed. Delivery windows that can only be met by speeding, and no one monitoring how fast vehicles are driven.
3. Overloading and load restraint. Exceeding mass limits to save a trip, or loads that shift, come loose or stick out in a way that endangers other road users.
4. Unsafe scheduling. Timetables that ignore traffic, weather and the availability of rest stops.
5. Vehicle condition. Defects that go unrecorded, and maintenance that is done late or not at all.

A useful test is to ask whether your business has done anything, through a contract term, a bonus, a penalty or a request, that could push a driver to speed or break the rules. If it has, change it. Under the HVNL, the question is what you did, not only what the driver did.

What you need to do

Compliance with CoR is a system, not a single action. These steps give you the basics.

1. Set up a safety management system. A documented system lets you identify road safety risks, set the procedures that control them, check they're working and fix what isn't. It also helps you show you've met the primary duty.
2. Put control measures in place. Controls range from changing how work is scheduled to changing vehicles or equipment. Examples include a fatigue management plan with rest and shift limits, a load restraint check before departure, and a daily pre-operational check of each vehicle.
3. Train everyone in the chain. Drivers, schedulers and loaders each need training on their own duties, and on the rules that apply to them. Give refresher training on a schedule, and induct new people into your policies before they start.
4. Keep records of defects and maintenance. Log defects found on daily checks, schedule repairs and record when they're done. These records show what you knew, and when.
5. Audit and review. Check how the system works in practice. Internal audits can cover each department. External audits by consultants or government agencies give an independent view. Look for trends in incident and near-miss data, and update procedures when the law, your fleet or your customers change.
6. Use fleet technology where it helps. GPS tracking can show speed and route problems as they happen, and the data can be used to improve routes and schedules. Technology supports the system; it doesn't replace it.

Documents that support CoR compliance

Good records make it easier to show what you did. These are the documents auditors and investigators usually ask to see:

• A chain of responsibility management plan. Sets out who does what, and the policies and procedures that apply across the chain. Our chain of responsibilities management plan gives you the structure for it.
• A fatigue management plan. Covers rest breaks, shift and hours limits, and the training drivers and schedulers need. Our CoR fatigue risk assessment form helps you assess the risk on a route or roster.
• Load restraint and loading procedures. Shows how loads are secured and checked before departure. The loading and unloading trucks SOP sets the steps.
• Pre-operational checklists and defect logs. A vehicle pre-operational checklist gives drivers a daily check, and a maintenance log shows the repairs that followed.
• Scheduling procedures. Shows how trip times are planned so they don't push drivers to break the rules.
• Training and induction records. Show that each person understands their duties, and when they were trained.
• Incident and near-miss registers. Show what went wrong and what changed afterwards.

Keep the records current, and keep them in one place. A plan that was written three years ago and never updated is hard to defend.

What happens if you breach CoR

The HVNL sets penalties in tiers. The most serious breaches, including reckless conduct, can carry prison terms for individuals as well as fines for businesses and officers. Penalties aren't the only cost. A breach can also affect your operating accreditation, your insurance and your customers, and it can end up in the public record.

Figures change, so check the NHVR's current guidance rather than relying on numbers in older articles. The point stands either way: a documented system that shows you took reasonable steps is far cheaper than defending a breach after a crash.

How SafetyDocs helps

SafetyDocs has transport templates for CoR plans, fatigue assessments, load checks and pre-operational forms. Job, client and site details fill themselves in, so the same set of documents works across your depots and contracts. Drivers and subcontractors can sign from a text, a link or a QR code on any phone, with no app or account, and when a procedure changes, everyone who signed the old version is asked to sign the new one.

The templates help you meet your duties under the HVNL and WHS law. They don't make your business compliant on their own. You still have to run the system.

Related reading

Fatigue is the risk that most often sits behind a CoR breach. Our guide to effective strategies for fatigue management in the workplace covers how to spot the warning signs and plan around them. For the duties of each party under WHS law, see who is responsible for workplace safety and health.

Common questions

Is a driver the only one who can be prosecuted under CoR? No. Any party whose actions or decisions contributed to a breach can be held accountable, including schedulers, consignors, loaders and executive officers.

Does a contract clause shift the responsibility to someone else? No. CoR duties follow what each party does in the chain. A contract can say who is responsible for what, but it can't remove a party's own duties under the HVNL.

Do I need a formal CoR management plan? The law expects you to have a documented system that shows how you manage the risks. A written plan is the most practical way to do that and to show it to an auditor.

Does CoR apply to businesses that don't drive trucks? Yes, if the business hires, schedules, packs, loads or unloads heavy vehicles, or sends goods on them. Many CoR breaches involve businesses that never own a vehicle.

This is general information, not legal advice. Check the current law with your WHS regulator and the NHVR.