Chain of Responsibility (or CoR) in Australia, is driven by the HVNL, also known as the Heavy Vehicle National Law.

 

The HVNL is the backbone of all the hype and sensation around CoR, but don’t be fooled, your role in Transport Safety is critical for everyone, especially you. CoR compliant, its meaning we believe is a full stop to continual improvement. CoR demands innovation and continual improvement as a result. Your future in supply chain depends on your ability to ensure that any possible risk is removed from causing danger or harm to anyone else, whether they work for your business or not. That is now your prime duty within the chain, legislated by law, in effect to ensure your CoR compliance.

 

How you ensure CoR compliance is essentially the same as Work Place Health and Safety Law. However, don’t fall into the trap of making up your own rules, test and assure that the processes you implement and manage actually work. If they are not deemed sufficient by someone else, which may be the regulator or the Police, that is when you can get into serious trouble, and the CoR legislation can be used against you and your business, concurrently if you are a managing director.

 

Many people believe that because the truck does not belong to them or that they do not directly employ the driver driving a truck with their goods on board, that they are not liable under CoR legislation. People also think that because they ‘don’t know’ or ‘didn’t know’, it removes them from being a guilty party. That is false and worse, it potentially increases your liability more so in the eyes of the courts, especially if your role in the chain could have prevented an incident taking place.

 

Even worse though, another piece of legislation called the Executive Liability Provision makes it possible to prosecute particular individuals in business for putting at risk someone else in the chain, or innocent bystanders, which may be the public. Within the CoR legislation, you do not have to have a breach anymore to be prosecuted, so it is vital that you ensure your CoR compliance today.

 

Whether it be CoR safety systems, training, management or advice, it is essential you seek out someone who can help you find any potential risk, especially if you are not sure how to look or what to look for. The easiest way and most cost-effective way to reach a thorough understanding of your CoR risk is to conduct a business audit and desktop audits of your providers. When it comes to the HVNL, it requires you to ensure due diligence with your vendors, so understanding how strong their CoR compliance strength is vital in your business.

See below video explaining the Heavy Vehicle National Law.