Note: This information is intended to provide general guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. We encourage you to obtain independent advice about your legal obligations. If you have any feedback on the information provided please contact us at info@nhvr.gov.au

This regulatory advice provides guidance on how parties in the Chain of Responsibility (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.

Who is this advice for?

• Parties in the Chain of Responsibility (CoR parties).

What are my legal obligations?

Primary duty

This is an obligation to eliminate or minimise public risks, and a prohibition against directly or indirectly causing or encouraging a driver or another person, including a party in the CoR, to contravene the HVNL. CoR parties and their executives, should be aware that they remain a CoR party even when their transport activities are contracted, or subcontracted, to another party.

This means that each CoR party shares responsibility and has the same duty. It is not a matter of determining which party is responsible for each part or each transport activity; rather all parties share the responsibility.

Loading requirements and loading performance standards

Schedule 7 of the Heavy Vehicle (Mass, Dimension and Loading) National Regulation (MDL Regulation) outlines loading requirements and loading performance standards. To meet the loading requirements the heavy vehicle must be loaded:

• in a way that load placement does not make the heavy vehicle unsafe or unstable
• in a way that the load is not likely to fall or be dislodged from the vehicle
• using an appropriate system to restrain the load.

Loading performance standards in Schedule 7 of the MDL Regulation provide further detail about the loading requirements.

What are the legal consequences?

Primary duty

If your business is a party in the CoR and it fails to eliminate or minimise public risks so far as is reasonably practicable, then it may be in breach of its primary duty. A breach of the loading requirements could also amount to a primary duty breach when a party in the CoR has failed to do everything reasonably practicable to ensure safety. For example, a pattern of non-compliance could be evidence of a business’s failure to ensure safety.

If a breach is proven, the law provides sanctions against a company and its executives, ranging from education and improvement notices to prosecution.

It is important to understand that the primary duty is based on a positive duty to ensure safety. This means that a CoR party can be prosecuted for a primary duty breach if that party does not take proactive steps to perform its duty, even if no incident or crash occurs.

Loading requirements and loading performance standards

Driving or permitting another person to drive a heavy vehicle on a road that does not comply with the loading requirements is a breach of HVNL section 111. There are several individuals and/or parties that could be deemed to have permitted a person to drive an improperly loaded or restrained heavy vehicle including:

• the person who loaded the vehicle or applied load restraint
• the person who prepared or packed the load for transport
• the person who permitted the vehicle to drive on the road
• the employer of any of those persons listed above
• the employer of the driver
• the driver.

If a breach is proven, the law provides sanctions ranging from education to infringement notices and improvement notices to prosecution.

Primary duty vs prescriptive offence

Prescriptive loading requirements are different to the primary duty however control measures can be implemented to comply with both. Differences between the two kinds of obligation are outlined in the table below.

Primary duty	Prescriptive offence
Only applies to parties in the Chain of Responsibility. An executive of a business may also be in breach of their duty to exercise due diligence.	Applies to drivers. Applies to any person who permits a driver to drive a vehicle with an improperly placed or secured load.
The primary duty is breached when a party fails to implement measures to ensure the safety of a loaded heavy vehicle. An incident does not need to occur.	An offence is committed if a load does not comply with the loading requirements and/or the loading performance standards.
For the worst category of offence: Maximum penalty for an individual exceeds $375,000 or 5 years imprisonment or both. Maximum penalty for a business exceeds $3,500,000.	For the worst category of offence: Maximum penalty for an individual exceeds $12,500. Maximum penalty for a business exceeds $60,000.

Note: A pattern of non-compliance could be evidence of a businesses’ failure to ensure safety.

Why is this important to my business?

Safe loading and appropriate load restraint are important parts of ensuring safety. Ensuring the safety of packing, loading, unloading, and load restraint of goods on a heavy vehicle will not only improve safety for heavy vehicle drivers and other road users but also reduce the risk of damage to a business’s fleet, and the goods being transported.

CoR parties have a duty to ensure safety under the primary duty as they have control and influence over; training workers, equipment and work environment, operational procedures, assurance activities, and reviewing and updating processes to improve safety and compliance. However everyone, including CoR parties, other businesses, drivers and workers all have a responsibility under HVNL section 111 not to drive or permit anyone else to drive a heavy vehicle that isn’t safely loaded.

Many practices surrounding loading can impact the way a heavy vehicle is loaded and its safe operation on the road. Simple things like providing accurate information can have a huge impact. For example:

• Information about the type of goods, dimensions, and weight will determine the vehicle selection and the load restraint method.
• The configuration of operational facilities, processes and procedures, and equipment provided for workers may affect the time required for loading or unloading a heavy vehicle, influencing driver work and rest.

Where there has been a load restraint failure, there are multiple individuals and businesses with a legal obligation, the driver, the loader, the packer, or another person who had an impact on the load, loading or load restraint. 

Working collaboratively with multiple parties will contribute to better safety and compliance outcomes. This includes implementing proactive preventative risk management strategies long before a heavy vehicle is loaded. These strategies should be robust enough to provide your business with the confidence that another party’s contributions will provide the desired safety outcomes.

Unless all parties understand their responsibilities and have knowledge about what each party is contributing, it will be impossible to ensure safety. Setting mutual safety expectations and implementing reporting mechanisms are essential for maintaining consistently high safety levels.

What are the hazards and risks?

Improperly loaded heavy vehicles, inadequate load restraint systems, and inappropriate packing methods can result in loads shifting. This may cause part or all of the load to become dislodged during transport. This creates a risk to the driver, loader, unloader, and other road users. It can also damage road infrastructure and the environment.

Hazards associated with poorly loaded or improperly restrained loads may include:

• objects becoming dislodged and falling from vehicles
• drivers of other vehicles swerving to avoid fallen objects
• load shifting causing the vehicle to become unstable or to roll over
• load spillage – bulk commodities, liquids
• the load impacting the cabin when braking
• packaging failures making loading or unloading hazardous.
• load placement configuration for multiple drop offs impacting on continued load restraint effectiveness, vehicle stability and load distribution throughout the journey.

The potential risks resulting from the hazards include:

• the risk of serious injury or death to workers and other road users
• the risk of damage to infrastructure
• the risk of damage to the environment.
• financial risks because of disruption to business operations.

How can my business manage these hazards and risks?

One of the most effective ways for CoR parties in the heavy vehicle supply chain to manage the safety of their transport activities is to adopt and actively use a Safety Management System (SMS) as part of their everyday business.

An SMS is a systematic approach to managing safety which, once implemented, will help CoR parties identify how to ensure the safety of their transport activities, so far as is reasonably practicable.

As part of the risk management process, CoR parties should:

• identify hazards associated with their transport activities
• assess the risks associated with those hazards
• identify and implement control measures to eliminate or minimise those risks
• review the effectiveness of control measures, either periodically and/or post any incident, to ensure they remain effective.

General controls for CoR parties to help ensure the safety of loading, unloading and load restraint practices

Forward planning, policies and procedures

• Provide robust training to workers to allow them to operate in a safe and compliant manner and perform the tasks assigned to them.
• Provide workers with accurate information about the vehicle capacity, the load, and the load restraint system.
• Clearly describe mutual expectations and standards for the management of safety risks in contracts.
• Share information between parties about what each party is doing, the equipment used, training provided, and the time required to safely perform tasks.
• Ensure enough time is provided to safely perform packing, loading, unloading and other related tasks.
• Ensure policies, procedures and training for loading and load restraint inform workers about how to deal with safety risks.
• Ensure vehicles selected are suitable for the freight task and vehicle design considers the type of load being transported and the load restraint method.
• Supply appropriate loading equipment for the freight task, in good working condition and conduct regular inspections of the equipment to ensure it remains fit-for-purpose.
• Ensure the loading and unloading area is safe, well-lit, and clean.
• Develop and share loading/packing plans that provide clear guidance so loads are placed and restrained appropriately to ensure safety and meet HVNL loading requirements.
• Have assurance processes in place to monitor and report on the effectiveness of packing/loading plan processes, including suggestions to modify or amend plans that will improve safety.
• Encourage workers to report concerns about improperly restrained, insecure, or damaged loads that may pose a safety risk or are not restrained to the agreed standard.
• Communicate any issues identified with loading/packing plans with other relevant parties.
• Provide accurate and detailed information about goods including the type of goods, dimensions, weight, and other relevant information such as if goods will be unusually shaped or packaged or are classified as dangerous or hazardous goods. This information should be shared with all relevant parties.
• Provide accurate and detailed information about the loading and unloading location and operational conditions.
• Tailor communications and documentation to the intended audience.
• Ensure relevant parties have easy access to the Load Restraint Guide 2018 and other reference material such as loading guides.

Note: Resources such as Registered Industry Codes of Practice, Regulatory Advice, subject matter experts, industry knowledge and your own experience can help determine the best measures to ensure the safety of your transport activities.

Manufacturing

• When manufacturing goods and packaging of goods consider the strength and durability required to ensure packaging will withstand the forces generated in transport.
• Develop packing and loading plans for goods to be transported and/or palletised that provide clear guidance so units are placed and restrained appropriately to ensure safety and meet HVNL loading requirements.

Packing

• Pack the goods following the provided packing or loading plan.
• Conduct testing of packing materials for strength and durability to ensure they will withstand the forces generated in transport.
• Ensure workers do not pack or load additional items beyond what is stated in the loading plan as this may cause mass or load restraint issues, including package failure, topple and rollover risk.
• Ensure appropriate packing methods are being used for the type of goods in accordance with manufacturer ‘s packing or loading plans.
• If packaging items for a third party, ensure any changes or updates to the packaging process or resources are communicated to relevant parties.

Loading

• Ensure workers load goods as per loading plans.
• Provide appropriate loading equipment for the type and size of load.
• Check to ensure goods packed by third parties are compliant and the packaging is unlikely to fail during transport.
• Ensure loads are not placed in a way that would make the heavy vehicle unsafe or unstable or cause all or part of the load to become dislodged during transport.
• Ensure loads are appropriately restrained and meet loading performance standards.
• Liaise with the driver in relation to loading. For example, they may request pallets to be arranged in a certain order if they have multiple drop off locations to make unloading more efficient and safer.

Unloading

• Provide a safe area for unloading, away from people and obstacles that may pose a safety risk.
• Provide appropriate equipment for unloading.
• When only partially unloading avoid disturbing restraints securing other parts of the load.

Transporting

• Ensure the appropriate vehicle is selected for the size and type of load and operational conditions.
• Have processes in place requiring the driver to regularly inspect the load during the journey for any load shifts.
• Maintain a register of load shift occurrences and monitor risk controls to ensure the ongoing safety and compliance of transport activities.
• Monitor, record, and report poorly packed and restrained loads to the responsible party.

Specific controls for specialised loads

Shipping Containers

• Provide appropriate equipment for securing loads in containers. For example, inflatable dunnage.
• Seek professional advice/endorsement for the restraint system used to secure machinery or heavy loads transported in shipping containers.
• Share detailed loading and mass information with all CoR parties, especially for containers with a high centre of gravity or uneven mass distribution.
• Work with freight forwarders to develop loading plans and implement assurance processes and provide copies to relevant parties.
• Report non-compliance with loading plans or load restraint failures to freight forwarders.
• Work with overseas manufacturers/freight forwarders sending goods to Australia to ensure goods are correctly packed and restrained before shipping.
• Inspect containers on opening to monitor the effectiveness of the load restraint system.
• Ensure that a completed Container Weight Declaration is obtained from the responsible entity/consignor.

Plant and machinery

• Manufacturers should include rated tie-down points for load restraint in the design of the plant or heavy machinery.
• Manufacturers should develop loading plans to be included in manuals or accompanying the plant or heavy machinery and provided at point of sale.
• All relevant parties, including operators and loaders, should receive copies of loading plans before transport.

Palletised goods

• When using pallets, make sure they are in good condition without any damage.
• Understand load rating of pallets.
• Clearly and accurately label palletised goods including information on the type of goods, weight, and if they have specific requirements such as being perishable or if they are dangerous or hazardous goods.

More information on the loading performance standards and guidance on load restraint can be found here.

Resources

Safety Management System (SMS)

Management of safety risks can be more effective with the adoption, development and active use of a Safety Management System (SMS).

An SMS is a systematic approach to managing safety, including the necessary organisational structures, accountabilities, policies and procedures, which is integrated throughout the business wherever possible.

An SMS can help you:

• provide a safer work environment for your employees, customers, contractors and the public
• manage your safety duties under the HVNL
• demonstrate your ability to manage risk and ensure safety
• become an employer of choice and preferred supplier to customers
• make informed decisions and increase efficiency
• allocate resources to the most critical areas that have an impact on safety
• reduce costs associated with incidents and accidents.

Regardless of the size of a business, an effective SMS can help your business have an appropriate safety focus and comply with its duty to ensure the safety of its transport activities, so far as is reasonably practicable.

Targeted guidance, tools and information regarding the development and implementation of an SMS is available in the 9 Step SMS Roadmap.

Understand the HVNL and your primary duty

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