Chain of Responsibility (CoR) NSW: Obligations, Penalties & Enforcement

The HVNL's concept of a 'responsible person' makes the laws applicable to a wide range of people involved in the transport of goods. Each role carries distinct operational duties:

Drivers

• Must drive safely and within speed limits
• Must work within their fatigue limits and ensure rest requirements are met

Loaders

• Must load a vehicle within mass limits
• Must ensure load restraint requirements are met so the load is safe for transport

Consignors

• Must ensure the delivery of goods does not require the driver to exceed permitted driving hours
• Must not create conditions that cause a driver to drive fatigued or exceed speed limits

The HVNL also prohibits asking, directing, or requiring a driver or another party in the chain to do something that the person knows — or ought reasonably to know — would breach the law. Commercial agreements that attempt to limit or remove a party's capacity to influence safety do not remove their duty.

Any party in the supply chain whose actions or inactions may affect compliance with road transport laws can be held legally accountable if they do not meet their obligations.

For role-specific training pathways, visit Chain of Responsibility Training.

Offences in maintenance, mass, dimension, load restraint, and driver fatigue have been placed in risk-based categories. Breaches are classed as minor, substantial, severe, or critical, recognising that not all offences have the same impact on safety or infrastructure.

These risk-based offences reflect similar breach frameworks in related areas such as work health and safety and environmental protection. Heavy penalties apply, and a range of enforcement measures give the regulator — supported by police and the courts — greater tools for penalising offences and targeting the causes of breaches.

Administrative penalties

• Improvement notices — identify areas of risk and require a party to address non-compliance
• Warnings — put a party on notice to address non-compliance where a minor breach is found
• Infringement notices — can be an alternative to court proceedings, usually for less serious offences

Court-imposed penalties

• Fines
• Supervisory intervention orders
• Licensing and registration sanctions
• Prohibition orders
• Commercial benefits penalties

Courts can also distinguish between first-time offenders and systemic offenders, with more serious penalties for parties found to consistently break the HVNL. In addition, a body corporate may have a five times multiplier imposed on their penalty, which could be a significant financial impact.

The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) is responsible for safe and efficient journeys throughout NSW — and other participating states — for all heavy vehicles. Roads and Maritime NSW works with the regulator to ensure all road users operate safely within NSW, abiding by the HVNL.

Roads and Maritime is responsible for detecting and reporting to the NHVR any breaches found for further investigation. The NHVR may initiate a CoR investigation in situations including:

• Evidence of systemic and habitual breaches
• Evidence of continued unfair commercial advantage as a result of breaches
• A road crash that involves significant risks or damage to safety and infrastructure
• Evidence of unreasonable demands and pressures on other responsible persons in the supply chain

The regulator's enforcement approach is designed to prevent, persuade, and target the causes of breaches to ensure a culture of compliance within the heavy vehicle industry.

All parties should take a risk management approach to their CoR obligations, irrespective of which state they reside or operate in. This is considered a reasonable step in running a modern business — similar to managing work health and safety, quality control of goods, cash flow, and other important tasks.

Every business involved in a transport task should assess its CoR position and ensure compliance. Practical steps may include:

• Maintaining equipment
• Ensuring compliance and assurance conditions are met in commercial agreements with other parties
• Training staff, suppliers, and customers on CoR obligations
• Developing, implementing, and reviewing appropriate policies, procedures, and workplace practices
• Outsourcing advice on legal obligations where needed

The HVNL's primary duty requires each party in the chain of responsibility to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of transport activities. Executive officers of a corporation also have a specific duty — they must exercise due diligence to ensure the business complies with its safety duties.

For a structured review of your CoR controls and evidence, explore CoR Consulting. For readiness ahead of regulatory change, see our HVNL 2026 training readiness guide.

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

We help 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 and evidence workflows.

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, reminders, diaries, audits, and evidence where software is needed.

For practical training, MAEZ provides advisory and risk pathways, with Chain of Responsibility training delivered through dedicated training channels. For a practical review of your controls, evidence, training, and SMS gaps, contact MAEZ or explore more MAEZ Insights.