Chain of Responsibility

Under the State of Western Australia (C&E) Chain of Responsibility (CoR) legislation, any person or organisation with control or influence in the transport chain has legal responsibilities to ensure compliance with all relevant heavy vehicle laws.

In Western Australia this law is contained within the following pieces of legislation:

In Western Australia under the new national laws, everyone in the supply chain must take "all reasonable steps" to prevent a CoR breach.

The Department of Main Roads and the Western Australia Police enforce the WA CoR legislation which currently covers:

  • Load Restraint
  • Dimension
  • Weight - Axle and GVM
  • Containers

Worksafe Western Australia enforces:

  • Fatigue

as it is still contained in the WA Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 and Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 1996.

Who Is Responsible

The new legislation states that any involved person in the transport of goods by road by means of a vehicle, which includes; the owner of a vehicle, the driver, the co-driver, a responsible person for that vehicle, a person in charge or apparently in charge of that vehicle, a person in charge or apparently in charge of a base of the driver of the vehicle, a person who is responsible for performing a function of a prescribed kind in relation to the vehicle by way of complying with a requirement of accreditation, a person in charge of premises, the consignor, the consignee, the loader, the packer, the owner of a weighbridge, a person who controls or directly influences the loading or operation of the vehicle for road transport, an agent, employer or employee or subcontractor of a person aforementioned, could be held liable for offences listed under the Road Traffic (Vehicles) Act 2012, Road Traffic (Administration) Act 2008, and Road Traffic (Regulations) 2014.

This legislation applies to both heavy vehicles over 4.5T and also just for WA, light vehicles under 4.5T.

This legislation applies to inbound and outbound transport of goods.

How to be Compliant

You need to have systems in place, prove training has been completed for drivers and staff in responsible positions and be saving and recording the right data to be able to prove your level of compliance. Should you have an incident and then be investigated, the above may need to be provided to the investigators.

If you need or would like help with training, consulting or just want a CoR audit to see where you stand, contact us at CPWA.