Managing Effluent in the Livestock Supply Chain Code of Practice FAQs

On this page:

What is a Registered Industry Code of Practice?

A Registered Industry Code of Practice under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) provides practical guidance to parties in the Chain of Responsibility (CoR) to help them understand and comply with their Primary Duty to ensure heavy vehicle safety.

A registered code provides information about known hazards and risks associated with a specific activity and describes risk assessment processes and control measures that can be used to manage those risks.

A registered code may also be used by a court as evidence of what CoR parties know, or reasonably ought to know, about hazards, risks, risk assessments and controls relating to the topic covered by the code.

What are the benefits of adopting the Effluent Code?

A Registered Industry Code of Practice shares industry knowledge and practical guidance to help businesses understand their current processes, and where they can improve how they manage safety risks. Using a code can deliver substantial improvements in safety outcomes to individual businesses and to overall safety across industry.

Apart from its safety benefits, the Effluent Code may also promote consistency in how activities are done. When businesses have a shared understanding of risks and appropriate control measures, they can coordinate better by using common terminology and aligning systems, processes, and equipment.

Adoption of the Effluent Code will improve animal welfare outcomes and support the health and safety of workers involved in livestock handling. It will also reduce the risk of environmental damage, including the spread of weeds, pests and disease.

Who has a Primary Duty for livestock transport under the HVNL?

Parties in the CoR for livestock transport have a Primary Duty to ensure the safety of the heavy vehicle transport activities they influence or control.

The Effluent Code focuses on the risk of effluent spilling during livestock transport. CoR parties should use the Effluent Code to understand what they can reasonably do to eliminate or minimise the risk of effluent loss and its impacts on safety and the environment while ensuring animal welfare requirements aren’t compromised.

Why should producers, agents and processors participate in implementing the Effluent Code?

As parties in the CoR, producers, agents and processors all have a Primary Duty obligation to do what is reasonably practicable to prevent or reduce instances of effluent loss during road transport within the parts of the livestock supply chain they influence or control.

The Effluent Code provides practical guidance to help these parties understand their role and how they can contribute to eliminating or minimising the risks arising from livestock effluent loss.

What are the risks if effluent spills occur?

Effluent spills can cause the road to become slippery, creating a risk to public safety, particularly at higher speeds, on bends, corners, undulating surfaces or where drivers may not expect slippery conditions.

Large or repeated effluent spills on the road present a risk to public amenity, particularly in urban or built-up areas, and may cause environmental harm.

In extreme cases, ongoing effluent spills on the road can impact animal welfare and reduce confidence in the livestock supply chain.

Do parties in the supply chain have to implement all the risk management controls described in the Effluent Code?

Parties in the CoR are not bound to implement any or all controls described in a code of practice. However, if the hazards or risks described in the code are present in their transport activities, they must be eliminated or minimised so far as is reasonably practicable.

This means a party must implement effective controls for the hazard or risk. If the controls differ from those described in the code, they must be at least an equivalent or higher level of control.

What do livestock transporters need to do to implement the Effluent Code?

The information in the code is an important resource for all parties to understand what good practice looks like.

Livestock transporters should use the information in the Effluent Code to understand and manage the risks associated with their transport activities. In particular, the code encourages information sharing between CoR parties at all stages of the transport journey to eliminate or minimise effluent spills.

What can you do when a producer does not prepare their stock appropriately?

Stock preparation is an important element of livestock effluent management during road transport, however is not always essential for very short journeys. When it is a critical factor in eliminating or minimising the risk of effluent spillage, use the information in the code during discussions with all CoR parties to work together to address the risk before transport occurs, and to point out what good practice should look like.

In extreme cases, or where repeated non-compliant business practices cause or encourage breaches of the Heavy Vehicle National Law, the matter can be reported to the NHVR via the Heavy Vehicle Confidential Reporting Line.

Phone the Heavy Vehicle Confidential Reporting Line on 1800 931 785

Why have a code of practice when there are limited roadside effluent disposal facilities available?

Despite a lack of effluent disposal infrastructure, there are still steps that all parties can take to minimise or eliminate the risk of effluent spillage during road transport. These actions are outlined in the Effluent Code.

The information in the code should be used by all parties in the livestock supply chain to highlight the availability and effectiveness of the equipment and facilities to help manage livestock effluent during road transport.

Where industry stakeholders identify a need for effluent disposal facilities, the information in the code can be used to support proposals for their construction by industry and/or governments.

Do road safety enforcement agencies know about the Effluent Code?

The NHVR has provided information about the Effluent Code to road agencies and police in all participating jurisdictions. The code is an important information resource for compliance activities involving livestock effluent loss.

Where can I get a copy of the Effluent Code?

The Effluent Code, along with other Registered Industry Codes of Practice are available for download from the NHVR website.

Who can I contact for more information about the Effluent Code?

For more information about the Effluent Code, contact ALRTA at office@alrta.org.au or the NHVR at codes@nhvr.gov.au.

www.nhvr.gov.au