Road managers
Accessibility tools
The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) provides Regulatory Advice for industry to help parties in the Chain of Responsibility (CoR) manage safety risks associated with their heavy vehicle operations. This advice is organised into specific categories to make it easier for businesses and individuals to find guidance relevant to them.
Parties in the Chain of Responsibility can use this information to:
- understand the risks of your heavy vehicle tasks
- seek guidance on how to manage heavy vehicle risks
- determine what actions to take to minimise those risks
- ensure your business is operating safely and complying with the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL).
Foundational information
To assist industry in implementing best practice and improving safety and efficiency, the NHVR has developed educational material on fostering a positive safety culture.
It’s strongly recommended that all parties in the Chain of Responsibility familiarise themselves with this information prior to accessing specific Regulatory Advice.
| Title | Topic |
|---|---|
| Developing a positive safety culture | Safety culture can be described as the collective beliefs, perceptions, and values that a business and its workers share regarding safety. A positive safety culture is a crucial component for the safe operation of any business. |
Fundamental Guidance (Chain of Responsibility and Heavy Vehicle National Law)
Parties in the Chain of Responsibility need to understand the HVNL primary duty and how to comply.
It’s strongly recommended that all parties in the Chain of Responsibility familiarise themselves with this information prior to accessing specific Regulatory Advice.
| Title | Topic | Published |
|---|---|---|
| The Primary Duty | Guidance on the primary duty established under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) section 26C and the principles applying to the primary duty. | 18 December 2023 |
| Reasonably practicable | Guidance to parties in the CoR on the meaning of reasonably practicable under the HVNL. | 29 November 2022 |
Legal obligations under the HVNL
| Title | Topic | Published |
|---|---|---|
| Prohibited requests and contracts under the HVNL | Guidance on how to comply with speed, fatigue, work and rest hours obligations under section 26E of the HVNL. | 22 June 2022 |
| Providing false or misleading information to the NHVR |
Why providing false or misleading information about your heavy vehicle transport activities to the NHVR, other Authorised Officers, or responsible persons is prohibited by law. |
8 June 2022 |
| Discrimination against or victimisation of employees | Guidance on employee protections against discrimination and victimisation under section 699 of the HVNL. | 16 August 2022 |
|
Guidance on HVNL obligations for the operation of Restricted Access Vehicles (RAVs). |
18 July 2022 | |
| Loading and load restraint | Guidance on how parties in the CoR can ensure the safety of packing, loading, unloading, and load restraint practices and meet their primary duty under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) section 26C. | 13 February 2024 |
Risk management
| Title | Topic | Published |
|---|---|---|
| Managing the risks of transporting freight in shipping containers | Identifying and managing the safety risks of transporting freight in shipping containers by road. | 17 November 2021 |
| Managing the risks associated with non-compliant heavy vehicles arriving at premises | Guidance to parties in the CoR on how to manage the risk of non-compliant heavy vehicles arriving at their premise and their obligations under the HVNL. | 22 November 2022 |
| Managing the risks of undertrained workers | Guidance on identifying and managing the safety risks of insufficiently or inadequately trained workers in the heavy vehicle industry. | 25 May 2022 |
| Managing the risks of time slot bookings | Guidance on recognising and managing the risks associated with the scheduling of delivery or pick-up times for heavy vehicles. | 10 May 2022 |
| Managing the risks of employees impaired by alcohol and other drugs | Guidance on managing the risks associated with alcohol and other drug use impairment in the workplace. | 29 March 2022 |
| Managing the risks of light to medium heavy vehicles | Identifying and managing the safety risks linked to the use of light to medium heavy vehicles. | 12 January 2022 |
Human Factors
| Title | Topic | Published |
|---|---|---|
| Fitness to work | Guidance on how Human Factors and organisational performance impact a worker’s fitness to work and provides examples to assist businesses in implementing reasonable interventions to assess and verify worker fitness. | 19 March 2025 |
| Fitness to drive: Mental health | Guidance on mental health and wellbeing in the heavy vehicle transport industry. | 10 October 2022 |
| Fitness to drive: Physical health | Guidance on the management of known and unknown medical conditions of drivers and other workers in the heavy vehicle industry. | 28 September 2022 |
| Fitness to drive: Fatigue | Guidance to parties in the CoR on fatigue in the heavy vehicle transport industry and outlines their obligations under the HVNL. | 16 August 2022 |
| Driver distraction | Guidance on obligations under the HVNL to manage the safety risks associated with driver inattention and distraction. | 12 August 2022 |
Industry specific guidance
| Title | Topic | Published |
|---|---|---|
| Bus and Coach Driver Fatigue and Health and Wellbeing | Guidance to CoR parties focusing on the management of fatigue and driver health and wellbeing in the bus and coach industry. | 4 July 2025 |
| Chain of Responsibility for Owners and Operators of Weighbridges | Guidance on obligations for CoR parties who own or operate weighbridges to ensure safety and mass compliance in line with their primary duty. | 12 June 2025 |
| Local Government as a CoR Party | Guidance to local governments who undertake functions which make them a party in the CoR under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL). | 24 October 2023 |
| Livestock | Guidance to businesses and individuals that use or engage the use of heavy vehicles to transport livestock by road, on how to meet the primary duty under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) section 26C. | 30 May 2024 |
| Operating in the agricultural sector | Guidance to parties in the CoR who operate in the agricultural sector to assist them in ensuring the safety of their transport activities and meeting their primary duty obligations under the HVNL. | 15 December 2022 |
| Maintenance of heavy vehicles used in agricultural or seasonal work | Guidance to parties in the CoR on managing the risks associated with maintaining heavy vehicles used in agricultural or seasonal work, such as harvest or snow activity. | 15 December 2022 |
| Managing the risks of heavy vehicle transport activities in the construction industry (Principal Contractor) | Guidance to businesses in the construction industry about their obligations as parties in the CoR when engaging in heavy vehicle transport activities and how to manage those risks under the HVNL. | 27 April 2022 |
| Managing the risks of heavy vehicle transport activities in the construction industry (Operator) | Guidance to businesses in the construction industry about their CoR legal obligations and how to manage safety risks and hazards. | 27 April 2022 |
Heavy vehicle safety and operations
| Title | Topic | Published |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy vehicle safety technology and telematics | Guidance to parties in the CoR on best practice for using safety technologies and telematics to improve the safety of their transport activities and meet primary duty obligations under the HVNL. | 27 March 2023 |
| Managing the risk of a light or empty lead trailer in a laden B-double | Guidance to parties in the CoR on managing the risks associated with a light or empty lead trailer in a laden B-double. | 23 December 2022 |
| Managing the risks associated with heavy vehicles travelling down steep descents | Guidance on managing the risks associated with heavy vehicles travelling down steep descents, especially steep descents which requires the use of low gear. | 26 April 2023 |
| Seatbelt use compliance in the heavy vehicle industry | Guidance on seatbelt use in the heavy vehicle transport industry and obligations under the HVNL. | 12 August 2022 |
Resources
| Title | Topic |
|---|---|
| Master Code (876KB) | The main purpose of this Code is to assist each party in the CoR, and their executives, to ensure the safety of transport activities and to comply with relevant provisions of the HVNL. |
| Safety Management Systems (SMS) | Having an effective Safety Management System (SMS) can be one of the best ways of ensuring you have a safety-focused business and are complying with your safety duty obligations under the HVNL. |