Chain of Responsibility
What is Chain of Responsibility?
The Chain of Responsibility (CoR) is a set of laws under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) that seeks to facilitate and regulate all parties involved in the road transport supply chain.
What are the changes to CoR laws?
On 1 October 2018, CoR laws were amended to focus on safety. With this, all parties in the road transport supply chain have a primary duty to promote, manage, and ensure the safety of their transport activities. This includes compliance with mass limits, load restraints and dimensions, and the prevention of fatigue and speed offences.
Does CoR apply to me?
All parties that control or influence the transport activities of a business, using a heavy vehicle with a gross vehicle mass exceeding 4.5 tonnes, can be held liable under CoR laws. As such, provided that an individual has the ability to control or influence the outcome of a transport activity by asking, directing, or requiring (directly or indirectly) the driver of a heavy vehicle or a party in the CoR, to act in a way that breaches safety duty and results in the risk of death/injury or recklessness, that individual will be liable. However, no individual will be liable for breaches or risk outcomes that they cannot control.
Thus, CoR laws will apply to:
- Primary producers (Growers)
- Prime contractors (Brokers)
- Logistic Providers
- Traders
- Local governments (e.g. Council Works/Fleets)
- Executive Officers, separate from their Corporations
"I use AgriChain for my farm and to manage my logistics business, and it's hard to think of us using anything else."
Tyson Vivian
Logistics - Southern Victoria
How do you prevent a breach in CoR?
To prevent a breach in CoR, begin by identifying, assessing, reducing, and, where possible, eliminating the safety risks associated with your transport activities.
Often, this includes the documentation of freight movements and all associated activities from pickup sites to delivery sites using manual Record forms or a logistics system.
For the latter, an example would be the AgriChain System’s mobile app for logistic movements. In the CoR section of this app, prior to the completion of an inload/outload, both the grower and the truck driver are required to legally declare, confirm, and sign off that they have complied with mass limits, load restraints and dimensions, and are fit to drive.
Whilst growers are not required to check a driver’s work diary or physically inspect vehicles, this sign off ensures that farmers will take notice of any issues that could breach safety duty and result in the risk of death/injury or recklessness.
What are the penalties if I breach my primary duty/CoR laws?
What are the penalties if I breach my primary duty/CoR laws?
The following penalties apply to:
1. Breaches in safety duty
- AUD $ 50,000 individual
- AUD $ 500,000 corporation
2. Risk of death/injury
-AUD $ 100,000 individual
-AUD $ 1 million corporation
3. Recklessness
-AUD $ 300,000 individual + 5 years imprisonment
-AUD $ 3 million corporation
Moving forward, what can I do to comply with CoR laws?
At this stage, the best way to comply with CoR laws is to proactively manage the risks involved in transport activities.
This can be done by establishing standards and procedures for all parties in the road transport supply chain, and implementing a safety system, capable of tracking and tracing all freight movements, to reduce, and if possible, eliminate risks.