When you embed the chain of responsibility (CoR) into day-to-day operations, you directly lift truck driver safety outcomes.
Under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL), every party in the supply chain – consignors, schedulers, loaders, operators and executives – has a primary duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of their transport activities, not just the driver behind the wheel.
That legal framing turns truck driver safety from a “driver compliance” issue into an organisational and supply-chain system you must design and monitor.
Know Your Legal Framework
For most of Australia (ACT, NSW, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC), the HVNL applies and is administered by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR), which enforces chain of responsibility duties that underpin truck driver safety.
Western Australia and the Northern Territory are not HVNL jurisdictions, but they impose analogous obligations – and HVNL applies when vehicles from those states operate in HVNL jurisdictions – so your controls should be nationally consistent to protect truck driver safety everywhere you operate.
Read more in our article, What is the Transport Chain of Responsibility?
The Master Code Connects the COR to Truck Driver Safety
The NHVR-registered Master Industry Code of Practice (“Master Code”) translates HVNL risks – speed, fatigue, mass/dimension/loading, and vehicle standards – into practical controls for chain of responsibility and truck driver safety.
The NHVR is currently updating the Master Code to keep pace with technology and practice; align your systems with it to demonstrate due diligence for the safety of truck drivers.
Load Restraint is a Frontline Control
Poorly restrained freight endangers drivers and other road users, making load restraint a core chain of responsibility obligation and a foundation of truck driver safety.
Use the latest NHVR Load Restraint Guide (2025) as your technical reference for methods, performance standards and worked examples, and fold its practices into training, SOPs and audits to strengthen driver safety.
Current Australian Statistics That Matter
To calibrate your risk profile, track national indicators that reflect the chain of responsibility control effectiveness and truck driver safety outcomes.
In the 12 months to March 2025, 157 people died in crashes involving heavy trucks (93 articulated, 73 heavy rigid), a 17.4% decrease from the previous year – proof that sustained controls can lift truck driver safety.
Broadly across all industries, Safe Work Australia recorded 200 worker fatalities in 2023, underscoring why proactive chain of responsibility systems are critical to driver safety and broader WHS performance.
Executive Due Diligence
Officers must exercise due diligence to ensure the business complies with its chain of responsibility duties, which directly affects truck driver safety.
Practical due diligence looks like verifying resources and processes are in place, monitoring performance data, and ensuring timely corrective actions – proving leadership is actively governing driver safety risk, not just acknowledging policies.
10 High-Impact Controls That Operationalise Truck Driver Safety
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Scheduling & speed management
Build trip schedules that can be completed legally without breaching speed limits; prohibit KPIs that incentivise speeding. This is a core chain of responsibility control that protects truck driver safety by removing pressure to rush. -
Fatigue risk management (BFM/AFM)
Use risk-based rosters, pre-trip fitness-for-duty checks, and rest-break verification. Under the chain of responsibility, everyone who influences time pressures shares responsibility for truck driver safety – not just the driver. -
Mass, dimension and loading governance
Verify weights at origin, document responsibilities in contracts, and use calibrated scales. Effective loading practices directly prevent rollovers and loss-of-control events. -
Load restraint systems and training
Standardise gear selection, inspection and application using the NHVR Load Restraint Guide, then verify via audits. -
Vehicle standards & preventative maintenance
Implement defect reporting, lock-out criteria and pre-start regimes aligned to manufacturer specs. -
Telematics, EWDs and camera analytics
Use electronic work diaries, GPS, and forward-/driver-facing cameras to monitor speeding, harsh events and fatigue indicators. Data-led chain of responsibility oversight supports timely coaching and measurable gains in truck driver safety. -
Contracting & procurement controls
Bake chain of responsibility clauses into contracts with consignors, loaders and subcontractors (e.g., lawful schedules, load documentation, compliance data sharing). -
Impairment management (D&A and medicals)
Adopt evidence-based drug and alcohol programs and medical fitness standards so systems detect and manage impairment risks to truck drivers early. -
Competency-based training & verification
Deliver role-specific training for schedulers, loaders, supervisors and drivers grounded in the Master Code. -
Incident learning & continual improvement
Investigate beyond “driver error” to find systemic causes – contracts, scheduling, equipment – and close the loop. Mature chain of responsibility programs treat events as signals to refine truck driver safety controls.
Building a Practical System
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Map your chain – Identify every party that can influence outcomes (consignors, loaders, schedulers, operators, maintenance providers), then define hand-offs and controls .
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Adopt the Master Code – Use it as the backbone for risk registers, SOPs, and audit tools.
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Localise for WA/NT – Where you operate outside the HVNL, mirror equivalent requirements so the chain of responsibility standards produce uniform truck driver safety outcomes regardless of jurisdiction.
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Set KPIs that don’t harm – Replace “on-time at all costs” with metrics like zero schedule-induced breaches, verified legal mass, and fatigue compliance.
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Verify, don’t assume – Use assurance activities – ride-alongs, weigh checks, camera reviews – to confirm your controls are actually protecting drivers on the road.
Aligning WHS and Transport Law
The HVNL’s primary duty language mirrors WHS laws (“so far as is reasonably practicable”), which helps unify governance between your WHSMS and transport compliance, sit inside one risk framework.
Integrating WHS risk management steps (identify–assess–control–verify) with HVNL hazard areas creates a single, auditable system for truck driver safety performance.
What “Good” Looks Like in Truck Driver Safety
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Evidence-ready: You can show schedules, mass records, EWD logs, training and audit results that prove your chain of responsibility controls work for truck driver safety.
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Master Code-aligned: Your procedures and assurance plan map to the Code’s hazard areas, signalling a contemporary approach to driver safety.
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Data-driven: You trend heavy-vehicle crashes and near misses against national indicators to benchmark improvements where they matter most.
See our courses on the Chain of Responsibility, Chain of Responsibility for Leaders, and Heavy Vehicle Driver Fatigue Management.
Bottom Line
Treat the chain of responsibility as a system you design — contracts, schedules, loading, maintenance, fatigue and data – to measurably improve truck driver safety.
If you align with the Master Code, adopt the latest Load Restraint Guide, and govern like WHS, your results will follow – and you’ll be able to prove it.