Chain of responsibility checker

Tick what your business does for heavy vehicles, such as sending, receiving, packing, loading or scheduling, to see whether it is a party in the chain of responsibility, the duty it owes and the current maximum penalties.

Figures checked 5 November 2026. Free to use, no sign-in.

What your business does for heavy vehicles (over 4.5 t)

Tick every role that applies, even if only occasionally

Your chain of responsibility duties

Heavy Vehicle National Law

You’re a party in the chain: consignor

As a party you must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of your transport activities for the vehicle: eliminate public risks or, if that isn’t reasonably practicable, minimise them (s 26C). The duty is shared with the other parties, can’t be transferred, and a contract can’t exclude it (ss 26B and 742).

Your roles and what to focus on

  • Consignor (s 5 (e))

    Accurate weights and dimensions in documents; delivery windows that don’t require speeding.

Risks the primary duty covers

  • Speed: don’t request, require or reward anything that would make a driver speed.
  • Fatigue: schedules, queues and rates that allow drivers to keep to their work and rest hours.
  • Mass, dimension and loading: vehicles within their limits, with loads restrained.
  • Vehicle standards and maintenance.

Maximum penalties for breaching the primary duty, 2026–27

Category 1 (s 26F, reckless conduct)
$436,850 individual or 5 years’ imprisonment, or both; $4,230,550 corporation
Category 2 (s 26G)
$212,090 individual; $2,120,880 corporation
Category 3 (s 26H)
$70,580 individual; $705,820 corporation
Asking or requiring a driver to speed, drive fatigued or breach work and rest hours (s 26E)
$28,230

Your WHS duties still apply

Chain of responsibility duties sit alongside your work health and safety duties to drivers and others, which apply in every state and territory.

  • Executives (directors and senior managers) must also exercise due diligence to make sure the business meets its duty (s 26D).
  • Penalties are indexed each year; these apply from 1 August 2026 to 30 June 2027.

General information, not legal advice.

How this works

The roles come from the definition of a party in the chain of responsibility in s 5 of the Heavy Vehicle National Law. Any party owes the primary duty in s 26C; executives owe due diligence under s 26D. The law applies in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT, as amended from 1 August 2026.

Maximum penalties are the indexed amounts the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator publishes for 1 August 2026 to 30 June 2027.

Legal basis

Checked against these sources on 5 November 2026. Spotted a figure that looks wrong? Tell us.

Questions

Who is in the chain of responsibility?

Section 5 of the Heavy Vehicle National Law lists the parties: the employer of a driver, the prime contractor of a self-employed driver, the operator, the scheduler, the consignor, the consignee, the packer, the loading manager, the loader and the unloader. One business can be several of them.

What is the primary duty?

Each party must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of its transport activities relating to the vehicle: eliminating public risks or, where that isn’t reasonably practicable, minimising them, and not causing or encouraging a driver to break the law (s 26C).

Does chain of responsibility apply in WA and the NT?

The Heavy Vehicle National Law has not commenced in Western Australia or the Northern Territory, which run their own heavy vehicle laws. It applies to WA and NT vehicles once they cross into a participating state or territory.

Can we contract the duty to the transport company?

No. A duty under the law can’t be transferred (s 26B), and a contract is void to the extent it tries to exclude or change the effect of the law (s 742).

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