NTC considers chain of responsibility reforms

The chain of responsibility provisions in the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) are currently under review.

In July 2015, the National Transport Commission (NTC) published a discussion paper entitled Primary Duties for Chain of Responsibility Parties and Executive Officer Liability. The report proposes a number of options for reform including:

1. imposing a primary duty on operators, prime contractors and employers to ensure the safety of road transport operations;
2. imposing role specific duties on other chain of responsibility parties to reflect their responsibilities and influence on road transport operations;
3. replacing the standard of care presently required by the HVNL of 'all reasonable steps' with 'so far as is reasonably practicable';