Who must comply with Heavy Vehicle Chain of Responsibility (CoR)?
The applicability test for Comply with Heavy Vehicle Chain of Responsibility (CoR) (NHVR), computed across 35 industries, 9 business structures and 6 size bands.
Short answer: Some businesses
Applies when the business has industry: Road transport & logistics. Where the business has industry: Manufacturing / Construction (residential & commercial) / Retail trade / Agriculture, forestry & fishing, check whether you consign, pack, load or receive goods by heavy vehicle.
What the obligation is
Every party in the heavy vehicle supply chain has a positive duty under HVNL.
Sections 26C-26D of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) impose a primary duty on each party in the supply chain (consignors, packers, loaders, schedulers, operators, drivers, consignees) to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the safety of transport activities. Mirrors WHS due diligence.
The applicability test
Applies when the business has industry: Road transport & logistics. Where the business has industry: Manufacturing / Construction (residential & commercial) / Retail trade / Agriculture, forestry & fishing, check whether you consign, pack, load or receive goods by heavy vehicle.
How the regulator frames it: Every party in the heavy vehicle supply chain.
What triggers it: Engaging in a heavy vehicle supply chain activity.
Jurisdiction: Commonwealth law, so the test is the same in every state and territory.
Which industries are in or out
Outcome across the 35 industries Rules Mate maps (1 of 35: yes; 4 of 35: only if a further fact applies; 30 of 35: no).
| Industry | Answer |
|---|---|
| Road transport & logistics | Yes |
| Retail trade | Only if a further fact applies |
| Construction (residential & commercial) | Only if a further fact applies |
| Manufacturing | Only if a further fact applies |
| Agriculture, forestry & fishing | Only if a further fact applies |
| No | 30 other industries |
Business structure and size
Structure does not change the answer in the 5 industries it can reach: for every structure the answer is "depends on size or structure".
Size does not change the answer in the 5 industries it can reach: at every size band the answer is "depends on size or structure".
Worked examples
Each line is one run of the Rules Mate applicability engine for a single business profile, with the reason the engine gives:
- Pty Ltd company in road transport & logistics with 6–19 employees, turnover $1M–$3M: applies. Industry: Road transport & logistics.
- Pty Ltd company in real estate agents with 6–19 employees, turnover $1M–$3M: does not apply. Requires industry: Road transport & logistics.
- Pty Ltd company in retail trade with 6–19 employees, turnover $1M–$3M: check whether it applies. applies only if you consign, pack, load or receive goods by heavy vehicle.
When you need to check further
The engine shows this obligation as "check whether this applies" when a business has industry: Manufacturing / Construction (residential & commercial) / Retail trade / Agriculture, forestry & fishing. It then applies only if you consign, pack, load or receive goods by heavy vehicle. That fact is not something Rules Mate can infer from industry, structure or size.
What you must do, and when
- When due
- Continuous.
- Frequency
- Ongoing
- Evidence to keep
- Risk assessments, contracts allocating duties, training, monitoring records, incident reports.
- Status
- Current
- Priority
- Critical
Penalty for not complying
Maximum penalty: Category 1: up to $3M (corporations), 5 years prison; Category 2 and 3 lower but substantial.
Criminal liability
Audit or assurance level
Rules Mate has not yet classified the audit or assurance level for this obligation. Any audit, review or certification requirement is set by the regulator source listed below.
What usually applies alongside it
Across the 1,890 business profiles Rules Mate evaluates, these obligations apply to most of the businesses this one applies to, and are far more common among them than among businesses generally:
Where it sits in the corpus
Rules Mate tracks 1 published obligation tagged "cor", 1 of them rated critical. For a professional services Pty Ltd company with 6–19 employees operating in every state, 0 of those apply outright. This obligation is rated critical priority and carries criminal liability, and is an ongoing duty.
Regulator, legislation and tools
Regulated by National Heavy Vehicle Regulator.
NHVR: Single national regulator for heavy vehicles >4.5t under the Heavy Vehicle National Law.
HVNL: Model HVNL applied by NSW, Vic, Qld, SA, Tas, ACT (WA + NT operate separately).
Free tools that help with this obligation:
Questions
- Who must comply with Heavy Vehicle Chain of Responsibility (CoR)?
- Applies when the business has industry: Road transport & logistics. Where the business has industry: Manufacturing / Construction (residential & commercial) / Retail trade / Agriculture, forestry & fishing, check whether you consign, pack, load or receive goods by heavy vehicle.
- Do sole traders need to comply with Heavy Vehicle Chain of Responsibility (CoR)?
- Depends on size or structure. Looking in the 5 industries it can reach and every size band, the engine's answer for a sole trader is: depends on size or structure.
- Do businesses with 1–5 employees need to comply with Heavy Vehicle Chain of Responsibility (CoR)?
- Depends on size or structure (1–5 employees, turnover $100K–$1M).
- When is "Comply with Heavy Vehicle Chain of Responsibility (CoR)" due?
- Continuous.
Related
Sources
Computed by the Rules Mate applicability engine from the published obligation corpus; facts last checked 3 October 2026. Rules Mate is not a law firm and this is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your position with the regulator source or a qualified adviser before acting.