MAEZ insight
Chain of Responsibility (or CoR) in Victoria
October 2018 saw the first major changes to the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) since its 2014 adoption, which affect changes to Chain of Responsibility (or CoR) in Victoria. These changes fit into six broad categories and are explored in further detail
Unloading decisions can affect safety, scheduling, and responsibility.
Managers need a clear view of gaps before audit or enforcement pressure arrives.
Contractor controls should be verified before the work starts.
Receiving windows, site rules, and unloading delays can all shape the transport task.
Consignors
Role-based Chain of Responsibility controls, evidence, and SMS expectations.
Consignees
Role-based Chain of Responsibility controls, evidence, and SMS expectations.
Loaders
Role-based Chain of Responsibility controls, evidence, and SMS expectations.
Managers
Role-based Chain of Responsibility controls, evidence, and SMS expectations.
Original MAEZ page graphics
Legacy visuals preserved for this page
Chain of Responsibility (or CoR) in Victoria
October 2018 saw the first major changes to the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) since its 2014 adoption, which affect changes to Chain of Responsibility (or CoR) in Victoria. These changes fit into six broad categories and are explored in further detail below; Change 1 – Duty of Care At the crux of the changes is a move from incident-based prosecution for Chain of Responsibility breaches to a requirement for all parties within the Chain to insofar as is reasonably practicable ensure the safety of their activities. This means that prosecution for breaches of duty of care in the Chain of Responsibility in Victoria and other states under the HVNL can take place regardless of an incident occurring. Change 2 – Executive Liability It also means that the executives from parties within the Chain can be prosecuted if either their organisation or an individual from within it fails to exercise appropriate due diligence. Change 3 – Increased Penalties Like the Work Health and Safety (WHS) laws they have been modelled on, the HVNL changes include the introduction of three categories of breaches. Maximum penalties within each of these categories range from, A $50,000 individual fine and $500,000 corporation fine for a Category 3 breach of duty or, A $150,000 individual fine and $1,500,000 corporation fine for a Category 2 breach of duty or, A $300,000 individual fine and/or 5 year jail term and $3,000,000 fine for a corporation convicted of a Category 1 breach. Change 4 – Alignment with WHS Management Systems The alignment of responsibilities and penalties for duty of care breaches under HVNL with WHS law means that many Chain of Responsibility and WHS management systems could be aligned or integrated reducing cost and administrative burden. There are differences between HVNL and WHS obligations however, as Chain of Responsibility obligations are not limited to a site or group of employees but to the supply chain party and the supply chain itself. MAEZ has been integral to many large companies and have supplied practical advice and tools to assist with integrating Chain of Responsibility and WHS management systems. Change 5 – Vehicle Standards All parties in the Chain are now responsible for adhering to standards related to road worthiness, construction, and design for the vehicles within their supply chain. This includes a maintenance regime with any and all Heavy Vehicles, that is undertaken by a qualified mechanic and at the same time adheres to the Manufacturers Service Intervals and Maintenance Processes. Change 6 – Industry Codes Industry codes must now be more compliance focused to be accepted for registration by the NHVR . The benefit of this is that registered industry codes can play an evidentiary role in court proceedings to determine whether duty of care has been complied with. Whilst compliance with a code is not a suitable defence, it can be used to test reasonable practicability in circumstances relevant to the code. Help is Available to Apply HVNL Changes in Victoria Whilst Chain of Responsibility in Victoria is now the regulatory responsibility of the NHVR, VicRoads and the RTA have put together a series of maps to help drivers comply with the HVNL requirements. These maps outline curfews, height clearances, and required permits and aim to assist drivers to determine the roads they are permitted to use based on the time of day and their vehicle mass and dimensions. VicRoads has also made the map data available so that companies can add it to their GPS systems or interrogate routes further. These maps as well as additional information for heavy vehicle drivers can be found at https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/business-and-Industry/heavyvehicle-industry/. Drivers should note however, that information is only available for freeways, highways, and main roads, and that councils will need to be consulted for information on local roads. MAEZ has an abundance of information on the changes to Chain of Responsibility in Victoria. Get in touch with us today to find out more.
How this connects to MAEZ now
MAEZ helps Australian businesses turn Chain of Responsibility, HVNL, WHS, transport safety, and chartered risk obligations into practical training, advisory, audit, and implementation pathways. Where software is the right next step, CoRGuard at chainresponsibility.au supports the evidence workflow.
Operational message set
Find the gaps. Fix the system. Prove the controls.
MAEZ helps transport operators deal with the compliance risk they already know is there. We help get the Safety Management System in order, protect NHVAS accreditation, reduce fine exposure, and connect training, evidence, and CoRGuard workflows where software is needed.
Find
Identify what is exposed before an auditor or regulator does.
Fix
Build the SMS controls around how the transport business actually runs.
Prove
Use CoRGuard where records, reminders, diaries, audits, and evidence need structure.
Evidence path
From MAEZ advice to a working Safety Management System
Advisory work should leave a practical implementation trail. These examples show how CoRGuard supports records, fatigue and driver diary checks, maintenance, audits, document control, inductions, corrective actions, and evidence review after MAEZ identifies the gaps.
Training records
Connect training completion from cortraining.com.au to evidence and follow-up.
Driver diary checks
Connect fatigue and driver diary review back to manager visibility.
Corrective actions
Turn audit findings, hazards and incidents into tracked actions.
Frequently asked questions
Questions people ask about this topic
What is the purpose of Chain of Responsibility (or CoR) in Victoria?
October 2018 saw the first major changes to the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) since its 2014 adoption, which affect changes to Chain of Responsibility (or CoR) in Victoria. These changes fit into six broad categories and are explored in further detail
Who should read this page?
This page is useful for owner-operators, transport managers, executives, consignors, consignees, loaders, schedulers, contractors, and anyone who influences a heavy vehicle transport task.
What does MAEZ help transport businesses fix?
MAEZ helps Australian transport and supply-chain businesses identify Chain of Responsibility, HVNL, WHS, NHVAS, training, audit, document-control, and Safety Management System gaps, then turn those gaps into practical controls and evidence.
Is Chain of Responsibility training handled on this website?
MAEZ provides the advisory and risk pathway, but Chain of Responsibility training is delivered through cortraining.com.au. Where software is needed, CoRGuard supports the Safety Management System evidence workflow.
How does CoRGuard fit with MAEZ consulting?
MAEZ helps define the risk, obligations, controls, and implementation pathway. CoRGuard is the SaaS Safety Management System platform used when the business needs structured records, reminders, audits, maintenance, driver diary checks, inductions, corrective actions, and evidence reporting.