Fatigue Management – Are You Breaking the Law?

The biggest challenge to the transport industry remains the behaviour of the consignor and consignee — the people who send or receive the goods. Transport providers are challenged most by the lack of understanding these entities have about the transport aspect of the supply chain, particularly fatigue management of drivers.

Transport providers increasingly find themselves caught in the middle. What is most alarming is that a lot of consignors don't even know they are breaking the law daily. Consignees can be even worse — many think they just receive the goods and have no further obligation.

Both consignors and consignees seem to lack understanding of the Chain of Responsibility legislation in most examples. This gap in awareness is what puts the entire chain at risk.

For a practical breakdown of duty holder obligations, see Chain of Responsibilities: What Australian HVNL Duty Holders Need to Understand.

One of the biggest pitfalls consignees and consignors have in common is that they don't plan well enough. This puts pressure on the chain to support their needs, causing transport companies to hurry — creating issues in fatigue management and speed management.

That pressure gets passed further down the chain, potentially all the way to the driver.

If an accident occurs and it is proven that the supply chain rushed the delivery of goods, this is called commercial pressure. It is a recognised risk factor under the HVNL fatigue provisions, and it can be traced back through every party that influenced the transport task.

Key sources of commercial pressure

• Unrealistic pickup or delivery deadlines set without consulting the transport operator
• Poorly timed receiving windows that force drivers to wait, then rush to the next stop
• Last-minute schedule changes that compress available driving hours
• Unloading delays that eat into a driver's rest or work time budget

If commercial pressure is proven in the courts, the directors of the consignor and/or the consignee — right down to the person who made the call to the transport company to get goods delivered ASAP — are liable for prosecution and harsh penalties.

These penalties have applied since 1 October 2018, when the strengthened CoR provisions came into effect. The law doesn't just target drivers and transport operators. Every party in the chain who influences the transport task shares the obligation to ensure fatigue is managed properly.

This means individuals — not just corporations — can face personal prosecution. Directors, dispatchers, warehouse managers, and anyone whose decisions shaped the transport task can be held accountable.

For a structured review of where your operation stands, consider practical CoR consulting to identify gaps before an auditor or regulator does.

If you're a consignor, consignee, or any party in the supply chain, take the time to do three things:

1. Consult with your transport operators

Talk to both internal and external operators with an emphasis on ensuring sound fatigue management across the transport task. Understand the real constraints of work and rest hours before setting deadlines.

2. Ensure your people are trained in CoR legislation

Practical Chain of Responsibility training gives your team the understanding they need to avoid creating unlawful pressure. Training should be role-based and relevant to how your people actually interact with the transport task.

3. Ensure the transport task has an active safety system

Maintain a Safety Management System with a focus on transport safety improvement and a special emphasis on fatigue management. The system should connect policies, procedures, records, and corrective actions.

These steps are not optional extras. They are the baseline controls every duty holder in the chain should have in place to manage fatigue risk and demonstrate compliance.

MAEZ helps Australian businesses turn Chain of Responsibility, HVNL, WHS, transport safety, and chartered risk obligations into practical training, advisory, audit, and implementation pathways.

We help transport operators deal with the compliance risk they already know is there — getting the Safety Management System in order, protecting NHVAS accreditation, reducing fine exposure, and connecting training, evidence, and workflow tools where needed.

• Find — identify what is exposed before an auditor or regulator does.
• Fix — build SMS controls around how the transport business actually runs.
• Prove — use structured records and evidence to demonstrate the controls are working.

For practical CoR training, MAEZ delivers through Chain of Responsibility course pathways. Where software is the right next step, CoRGuard supports the evidence workflow for fatigue records, driver diary checks, audits, and corrective actions.

Ready to review your gaps? Contact MAEZ for a practical review of the controls, evidence, training, and SMS gaps that matter most to your operation.