About Chain of Responsibility

Chain of Responsibility is the commonly used name for the duty-holder framework set out in the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL). The HVNL defines specific parties in the logistics network who influence a transport activity and are therefore accountable for safety on the road.

The principle is simple: if your decisions affect a heavy vehicle transport task, you share responsibility for making sure it is done safely and legally. That responsibility does not stop with the driver or the operator — it extends to every party whose actions or inactions can influence speed, fatigue, loading, mass, dimension, or vehicle standards.

Understanding CoR means understanding who holds a duty, what that duty requires in practice, and where evidence of reasonable steps should be kept.

Under the HVNL, duty holders can include a wide range of parties across the supply chain. The law is deliberately broad so that influence over the transport task — not job title — determines accountability.

Duty holders can include:

• Operators and employers
• Prime contractors and schedulers
• Consignors and consignees
• Loading managers, loaders, unloaders, and packers
• Executives whose decisions influence the transport task

If a party's commercial decisions, scheduling pressure, loading practices, or contracting arrangements affect how a heavy vehicle is used on the road, they can be caught by CoR obligations.

Each role carries different control expectations and evidence requirements. The key is mapping duties to the people and processes that actually drive the transport activity in your business.

The HVNL establishes a shared responsibility model. Duty holders must take all reasonably practicable steps to prevent breaches relating to speed, fatigue, mass, loading, dimension, and vehicle standards.

In practice, this means:

• Not requesting, directing, or entering into contracts that would cause or encourage a breach
• Implementing systems that identify and manage transport safety risks
• Keeping records that demonstrate reasonable steps were taken
• Reviewing controls to confirm they are working, not just sitting on a shelf

Executive officers of a legal entity also carry a personal due-diligence duty. They must actively ensure the business has appropriate systems and must know whether those systems are actually functioning.

For a deeper look at how duties apply across different roles, see Chain of Responsibilities: What Australian HVNL Duty Holders Need to Understand.

MAEZ helps Australian transport and supply-chain businesses turn broad HVNL obligations into practical, role-based compliance. We focus on the gaps that matter most before an auditor or regulator finds them.

Our approach covers:

• Find — Identify what is exposed across CoR, HVNL, WHS, NHVAS, training, and SMS frameworks
• Fix — Build Safety Management System controls around how the transport business actually runs
• Prove — Use structured records, reminders, audits, and evidence workflows where software is needed

Where the business needs a Safety Management System platform, CoRGuard supports records, fatigue and driver diary checks, maintenance, audits, document control, inductions, corrective actions, and evidence reporting. MAEZ defines the risk, obligations, and implementation pathway; CoRGuard provides the structured evidence workflow.

For training, MAEZ provides the advisory and risk pathway, while Chain of Responsibility courses are delivered through cortraining.com.au.

CoR is relevant to anyone who influences a heavy vehicle transport task — not just drivers and fleet managers. This includes:

• Owner-operators and transport managers
• Executives and company directors with personal due-diligence duties
• Consignors and consignees whose freight demands affect scheduling and loading
• Loaders, unloaders, and packers who control mass, dimension, and restraint
• Schedulers and prime contractors who set time pressures

If your role touches the transport supply chain, understanding your CoR obligations is essential. For role-specific guidance, explore Chain of Responsibility Training for Executives and Managers or contact MAEZ for a practical compliance review.