Master Code of Practice consultation

The NHVR has drafted an update to the Master Code to ensure it remains a practical and relevant safety resource. Feedback should be provided by Friday 19 September 2025.

Master Code Of Practice - Public Consultation Draft

Master Code Of Practice - Public Consultation Draft (DOCX, 623KB)

Please download this consultation draft and use tracked changes and comments to provide your feedback.

What is it?

The Master Code was first registered in November 2018 as a general code for use across the entire heavy vehicle industry. It is widely utilised and continues to be regarded as an authoritative source of information concerning safety in heavy vehicle transport.

The code provides general guidance on managing hazards, risks, risk assessments and risk controls. It is a key safety tool that helps businesses and individuals meet their primary duty under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL).

Why are we consulting?

Industry has significantly matured in its understanding of the primary duty and the skills required to manage safety. This review represents a significant opportunity to build on the Master Code’s existing content to produce a revised version that will serve as an even better information resource for parties in the Chain of Responsibility and their executives to manage transport safety.

The draft has been shaped through extensive formal and informal consultation with industry and reflects feedback received to date. This collective effort directly supports our commitment to improving road safety outcomes.

For more details read our Master Code Review FAQs.

Background

The Master Code is still widely used across the heavy vehicle industry and is valued for its practical safety guidance. However, since the HVNL and industry have evolved since its original registration, the NHVR has developed a draft update to keep the code current and effective.

The NHVR is actively seeking external perspectives to ensure the revised Master Code remains comprehensive, relevant, practical, clear, and easy to follow. This includes identifying any new or emerging hazards, risks and control measures that should be considered.

Providing Feedback

We welcome input from all parties in the chain, including off-road parties, to reflect the shared responsibility for transport safety, not just from those who operate heavy vehicles. Feedback should be provided to codes@nhvr.gov.au by Friday 19 September 2025.

Please download the consultation draft and use tracked changes and comments or you can use the form below to provide your feedback as well.

Feedback Form - Master Code of Practice (DOCX, 80KB)

You can use this form to provide feedback on the Master Code of Practice consultation.

We would also value your thoughts on:

  1. Is the structure clear and user friendly?
  2. Are there Activities we have overlooked, or any that should be removed or combined?
  3. Are there Hazards that should be added or removed?
  4. Are there controls we’ve missed or which are poorly expressed?
  5. Has any important content from the current Master Code been lost?
  6. Are there other references or sources of information that should be added?
  7. Are any industry sectors missing or needing more specific content?

Publication of submissions

Unless clearly marked IN CONFIDENCE or CONFIDENTIAL, submissions received may be made public at our discretion.

We will consider all submissions, whether published or not. We reserve the right to edit or redact part or all of a submission, or withhold a submission from publication on any grounds, including, but not limited to, offensive language, potentially defamatory material or copyright infringing material.

Our privacy policy outlines how and what information we collect, including how to access and correct your personal information.