Who is affected? Under COR legislation, all participants in the supply chain now have express legal obligations. According to the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR), participants in the supply chain for CoR purposes include: • An employer of a driver • A prime contractor for the driver (if the vehicle’s driver is self-employed) • An operator of the vehicle • A scheduler for the vehicle • A loading manager for any goods in the vehicle • A loader / unloader of a vehicle • A consigner of any goods for transport by the vehicle • A consignee of any goods in the vehicle • A loader or unloader of any goods in the vehicle. New Primary Duty laws In late 2018, amendments to COR laws were introduced which aimed to more closely align COR laws with Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) laws. In particular, a primary duty of care was introduced which requires all participants in the CoR to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the safety of their transport activities. The duty of care includes eliminating, or if not reasonably practicable to eliminate, minimising, public risks arising from carrying out transport activities as well as ensuring that the party’s conduct does not directly or indirectly cause or encourage the driver of the heavy vehicle to contravene the CoR laws or to exceed a speed limit. Examples of conduct which could breach the duty of care include: • A consignor or consignee having unrealistic contractual arrangements that cause or encourage the driver to exceed regulated driving hours or drive whilst fatigued; • A scheduler having business practices which cause or encourage the driver to exceed the speed limit. Prosecutions and the importance of a Safety Management System If a prosecution occurs in relation to a breach, the courts are likely to look at how the breach occurred, what measures relevant participants had in place to eliminate or minimise the risk of the breach and what other measures would have been reasonably practicable to implement to eliminate or minimise the risk. It is important to be aware that the amended CoR legislation is focussed on being proactive rather than reactive – a participant in the COR may be found guilty of a breach of the CoR laws where there is a failure to implement reasonably practicable measures to eliminate or minimise a risk, even when there has been no specific incident. One of the best ways to ensure compliance and to assist in successfully defending a prosecution is to implement a thorough Safety Management System (SMS) for your business. An SMS takes a systematic approach to managing safety, including having the necessary organisational structures, accountabilities, policies and procedures integrated throughout the business wherever possible. Areas that should be covered under an SMS framework include Safety Promotion and Training, Safety Policy and Documentation, Safety Risk Management and Safety Assurance. Tough penalties Offences are categorised according to the risk they present. The severity of the offence also increases with the potential damage to road infrastructure and risk to people’s safety that is caused or could be caused. The four offence categories are Minor Breach, Substantial Breach, Severe Breach and Critical Breach. If found guilty, breaches attract significant penalties. For more serious cases, individuals face fines of up to $300,000 or 5 years’ imprisonment, and for companies, fines of up to $3M might apply. Full details covering Chain of Responsibility can be found on the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator website: nhvr.gov.au The information in this article is intended only as a general overview; it does not constitute or replace legal advice. Visit Website Visit Website 23 Safety News – Responsibility Chain