CHAIN OF RESPONSIBILITY: LET’S GET BACK TO THE BASICS
With amendments to the Chain of Responsibility (CoR) introduced on 1 October 2018, many are left wondering what CoR actually means and to whom does this apply.
“Surely, if I’m just responsible for loading trucks for deliveries, this wouldn’t really apply to me?”
Yes, it does. CoR applies to everyone involved in the entire transport supply chain.
Where do we start with understanding CoR? We’ll make it easier for you—let’s look at some of the key aspects of CoR and how they affect you.
CoR basics
Put simply, CoR is a legal obligation that holds all workers in the transport supply chain responsible (and liable) for ensuring breaches of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) do not occur.
According to the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, if you are in a position that influences the transport supply chain, then you have responsibility under CoR, which then holds you legally liable.
The focus of CoR is to instil a safe working environment for everyone by bolstering the safety practices and procedures throughout the transport supply chain.
The current CoR sees primary duty of care applied to each party in the supply chain of a transport vehicle, which means everyone at every step of the transport supply chain has an obligation to minimise or eliminate potential risks or harm by taking reasonable measures to ensure safety.
So whether you’re a packer, driver, contractor or business manager, so long as you’re a link in the transport supply chain, then the laws are applicable to you.
These relevant work roles include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Rostering and scheduling
- Vehicle operation
- Loading and packing
- When a party has control or influence over a transport activity and fails to manage the risk it creates
- When a party’s business practices cause or encourage the driver of a heavy vehicle to exceed the speed limits
- When a party’s business practices cause or encourage the driver of a heavy vehicle to breach mass, dimension, or loading requirements
- Where instructions, actions or demands to parties in the supply chain cause or contribute to an offence under the HVNL
- A consignor or consignee has unrealistic contractual arrangements which causes or encourages the driver to exceed regulated driving hours or drive whilst fatigued
- A scheduler’s business practices, requests or demands cause or encourage the driver to exceed the speed limit
- Safety policy and documentation
- Safety risk management
- Safety assurance
- Safety promotion and training
- Minor breach: risk of someone gaining a minor unfair commercial advantage over those who operate legally, but no risk to safety or infrastructure
- Substantial breach: risk of damage to infrastructure, increasing traffic congestion and unfair competition
- Severe breach: appreciable risk to safety, more severe risk to infrastructure, greater risk of traffic congestion or a greater level of unfair competition
- Critical breach: contravention of fatigue-regulated maximum work time and/or minimum rest time which would adversely affect the driver’s ability to drive safely
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