Chain of responsibility for shippers and receivers: what you owe under the HVNL

If your business sends or receives goods by heavy vehicle, NHVR treats it as a party in the chain of responsibility, sharing one Primary Duty to keep those transport activities safe whether or not you own a truck.

If your business sends goods by heavy vehicle or takes delivery of them, it is a party in the heavy vehicle chain of responsibility (CoR). That is NHVR's rule of thumb, and you do not need to own a truck to be a party.

Here is the count that matters. NHVR lists 10 CoR functions. By our count, six of them are about the goods and the site, not the vehicle: consignor, consignee, packer, loading manager, loader and unloader. That is our reading of the list. It matches NHVR's own line that more than half the functions belong to people who do not own or operate a heavy vehicle.

Every one of those functions sits under the same safety duty. NHVR says a party can be prosecuted for failing to take proactive steps even if no incident or crash occurs.

The amended HVNL commenced on 1 August 2026, but that is context here, not a deadline. NHVR says the Primary Duty and Executive Duty are not subject to change in the HVNL review, and the Primary Duty has been in place since October 2018. The new pieces are the Unfit to Drive duty and the updated 2026 Master Code, which builds on NHVR's 2018 Code. Our earlier explainer on what changed on 1 August 2026 covers the reform as a whole. This piece is Logistics Industry News's guide for the businesses at either end of the truck.

Who is a party in the chain of responsibility?

You are a party because of a function you perform, not a job title or contract wording. The 10 functions are employer, prime contractor, operator, scheduler, consignor, consignee, packer, loading manager, loader and unloader.

For a shipper, retailer, warehouse or receiver, the goods-side functions are the ones to test yourself against:

• Consignor: you send the goods.
• Consignee: you receive them.
• Packer: you pack them for the trip.
• Loader and unloader: your people put goods on or take them off the vehicle.
• Loading manager: you run premises where five or more heavy vehicles are loaded or unloaded each day.

One business can hold several functions at once. A distribution centre that packs, loads and receives its own stock may tick most of that list.

Driving is not on it: an employed driver is not a CoR party because they drive, though an owner-driver is a party as an "operator", and NHVR notes that many risks start with decisions about scheduling, contracting, packing, loading and delivery requirements.

What does the shared Primary Duty ask of you?

Shared does not mean equal. Responsibility follows influence and control.

The Primary Duty, in section 26C, is to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of your transport activities. It also prohibits directly or indirectly causing or encouraging a driver or anyone else to break the HVNL.

There is one shared Primary Duty, and shared does not mean equal: responsibility follows influence and control. A consignor who sets the delivery time has more say over the schedule than the unloader at the other end. The duty asks each party to act on what it controls.

More than one party can hold the duty for the same activity (s 26B). Executives carry their own duty to exercise due diligence (s 26D).

What can a breach cost, on NHVR's figures?

Log scale: each gridline is ten times the one before

1. Primary Duty breach, businessmore than $4,100,000
2. Primary Duty breach, individualmore than $424,000 (or 5 years imprisonment or both)
3. Prescriptive loading offence, businessmore than $68,000
4. Prescriptive loading offence, individualmore than $13,700

$10,000$100,000$1,000,000$10,000,000

Figures as stated in NHVR's loading and load restraint advice. General guidance, not legal advice. NHVR indexes penalties each 1 July. These are the figures on its loading page; its current schedule (1 August 2026 to 30 June 2027) lists higher maximums: Category 1, $436,850 individual and $4,230,550 corporation; severe loading breach, $14,120 individual. Source: NHVR

NHVR's loading and load restraint advice states maximum penalties for the worst category of offence:

• Primary Duty breach: more than $424,000 or 5 years imprisonment or both for an individual, and more than $4,100,000 for a business.
• Prescriptive loading offence: more than $13,700 for an individual, and more than $68,000 for a business.

Put side by side, NHVR's stated Primary Duty maximum for a business is about 60 times its loading-offence maximum. That is our estimate: $4,100,000 ÷ $68,000 ≈ 60.

These are NHVR's stated figures for the worst category, quoted from its advice page. NHVR indexes penalties each 1 July, and its current penalty schedule lists higher maximums: $436,850 for an individual and $4,230,550 for a corporation for a Category 1 offence, and $14,120 for an individual for a severe breach of loading requirements. This article is general guidance, not legal advice.

Consignor and consignee duties: is your delivery window realistic?

1. 1Retailer promises next-day delivery
2. 2Consignor makes an urgent request
3. 3The schedule is compressed
4. 4Loading congestion at the site
5. 5A fatigued driver

Each party should have considered: is this timeframe realistic, and what happens if there is a delay?

Source: NHVR

NHVR's Shared Responsibility advice walks through a familiar scenario. A retailer promises next-day delivery. The consignor makes an urgent request. The schedule compresses, the loading dock is congested, and the driver ends up fatigued. NHVR's lesson is that each party should have considered whether the timeframe was realistic, whether delays meant the schedule needed adjusting, and whether customer expectations should change.

No single decision in that chain looks reckless on its own. Together they put a tired driver on the road. As the consignor or consignee, the delivery time is the lever you hold.

Contracting the transport out does not move your duty: CoR parties keep their Primary Duty when activities are contracted or subcontracted, and duties cannot be transferred through contracts.

Which contract terms can breach section 26E?

Section 26E prohibits anyone from asking, directing or requiring a driver or CoR party to do something they know, or ought reasonably to know, would cause speeding or fatigued driving. It also prohibits entering a contract with that effect.

NHVR's examples of unreasonable requests and contract terms, drawn from its list, its worked examples and its fatigue pressures, include:

• penalty clauses for late delivery
• schedules that can only be met by speeding
• double-fee incentives for fast delivery
• loading or unloading expected during rest breaks.

NHVR's worked examples on that page quote fines "exceeding $13,000". If your carrier agreements or receiving rules contain any of the four, they are worth a second read with whoever drafted them.

Packing and loading: what has to travel with the goods?

In another NHVR case study, a packer substitutes wrapping material, nobody tells the driver, and the load shifts. NHVR's lesson is plain: effective communication about changes to packing, packaging or load characteristics is essential.

NHVR's loading controls for CoR parties, including those packing and loading, include:

• give accurate information on the goods: type, dimensions, weight, and any dangerous or unusual packaging
• share loading and packing plans
• allow enough time for loading and unloading
• tell relevant parties about packaging changes when you pack for a third party.

Under section 111, no person may drive, or permit another to drive, a heavy vehicle that does not meet the loading requirements. NHVR names the loader, the packer and their employers among those who may have "permitted" it.

Our guide to freight packaging techniques covers packing methods. For dangerous goods, see safety measures for transporting hazardous materials.

What does Unfit to Drive mean for the people who book drivers?

Applies to heavy vehicles over 4.5 tonnes.

1. 1Driver tells employer they are unfit
2. 2Driver tells the employer and does not start or keep driving, so has met their legal obligation
3. 3Employer is prohibited under the Primary Duty from requiring them to start or keep driving

What makes a stop workable

• Back-up bookings
• No penalty for missed or late bookings caused by delays
• Time allowed for delays

Source: NHVR, Unfit to Drive Source: NHVR, time slot bookings

The new duty means drivers of all heavy vehicles over 4.5 tonnes must not drive while impaired by fatigue or unfit, not only drivers of fatigue-regulated vehicles. The CoR side of it is short and firm.

CoR parties must ensure their business practices do not cause or encourage a person to drive while unfit, and must empower them to stop. A driver who tells their employer they are unfit and does not start or keep driving has met their legal obligation. The employer is then prohibited under the Primary Duty from requiring them to start or keep driving.

Being medically fit for a heavy vehicle licence does not mean a driver is fit at any given moment. The duty runs alongside WHS duties and does not replace them.

A driver's right to stop only works if the schedule can absorb it. NHVR's advice on managing the risks of time slot bookings lists these risk controls for distribution centres and warehouses:

• provide back-up bookings
• avoid queuing vehicles onto the road
• not penalise drivers for missing or late bookings caused by delays
• allow time for delays in contracts.

For the driver's side of the duty, including the work diary changes, see our HVNL changes explainer.

What is the 2026 Master Code?

The 2026 Master Code is guidance on how to manage transport risks. It moves from a role-based to an activity-based structure, with 45 activities and more than 500 controls. No single business would apply them all. The controls are recommendations, and equally effective alternatives are allowed.

The Code is not a rulebook: it creates no new legal obligations, and a business cannot be prosecuted for "failing to comply with the Code". A court may use it as evidence of what parties knew, or ought to have known, about hazards and controls, though NHVR calls that only one piece of evidence among many. NHVR says it was not designed to be an audit tool, and it will not endorse any audit scheme for it.

The useful part for a busy shipper is the tooling. NHVR's Master Code page links a Risk Register Builder and a Master Code Filter tool, plus recordings of its free June webinars. Filtering to the activities you actually do, such as packing, loading or setting delivery times, is a quicker start than reading 500 controls.

For fitness specifically, NHVR also points to its Regulatory Advice on Fitness to Work and Fitness to Drive.

A checklist for shippers and receivers

Every item below is an NHVR control or example from the pages linked.

Timeframes

• Ask whether each delivery timeframe is realistic before you promise or request it (Shared Responsibility).

Contracts

• Check agreements for late-delivery penalty clauses, double-fee fast-delivery incentives, schedules only achievable by speeding, and loading during rest breaks (prohibited requests and contracts).
• Remember that subcontracting the transport keeps your duty with you (Shared Responsibility).

Load information

• Give accurate type, dimensions, weight and any dangerous or unusual packaging (loading and load restraint).
• Share loading and packing plans, and tell relevant parties about packaging changes when you pack for a third party (loading and load restraint).
• Allow enough time for loading and unloading (loading and load restraint).

Bookings

• Offer back-up bookings, keep queues off the road, and don't penalise drivers for delays outside their control (time slot bookings).

Drivers

• Make it workable for a driver to stop, and never require a driver who says they are unfit to start or keep driving (Unfit to Drive).

Executives

• Directors and senior managers carry a separate due diligence duty. NHVR's time slot advice says executives must ensure sufficient financial, human and other resources, approve final risk assessments, and monitor the effectiveness of controls.

1. 10CoR functionsSource: NHVR
2. 5+Loading manager: five or more heavy vehicles loaded or unloaded a daySource: NHVR
3. 4.5 tUnfit to Drive: heavy vehicles over 4.5 tonnesSource: NHVR
4. 45 / 500+2026 Master Code: 45 activities, 500+ controlsSource: NHVR
5. more than $4,100,000NHVR's stated worst-category Primary Duty maximum for a business(current NHVR schedule: $4,230,550)Source: NHVR

Your next step with Logistics Industry News

Start with one question: which of the six goods-side functions does your business perform? Then walk the checklist against your delivery promises, carrier contracts and receiving rules, and run the activities you do through NHVR's Master Code tools.

If there is a part of the chain you want Logistics Industry News to cover next, such as time slot bookings, load restraint or executive due diligence, send it to us through our contact page.

Sources

• https://www.nhvr.gov.au/law-policies/hvnl-reform-implementation
• https://www.nhvr.gov.au/safety-accreditation-compliance/chain-of-responsibility/the-primary-duty/parties-in-the-cor
• https://www.nhvr.gov.au/safety-accreditation-compliance/chain-of-responsibility/regulatory-advice/shared-responsibility
• https://www.nhvr.gov.au/safety-accreditation-compliance/industry-codes-of-practice/2026-master-code
• https://www.nhvr.gov.au/safety-accreditation-compliance/industry-codes-of-practice/master-code-of-practice-faqs
• https://www.nhvr.gov.au/safety-accreditation-compliance/chain-of-responsibility/regulatory-advice/loading-and-load-restraint
• https://www.nhvr.gov.au/safety-accreditation-compliance/chain-of-responsibility/regulatory-advice/prohibited-requests-and-contracts-under-the-hvnl
• https://www.nhvr.gov.au/safety-accreditation-compliance/chain-of-responsibility/regulatory-advice/managing-the-risks-of-time-slot-bookings
• https://www.nhvr.gov.au/safety-accreditation-compliance/human-factors/unfit-to-drive