What is the Primary Duty under the HVNL?
Short answer
The Primary Duty in HVNL section 26C requires every Chain of Responsibility party to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of the party’s transport activities relating to a heavy vehicle.
Plain English
The Primary Duty is the central safety obligation in the HVNL. Each CoR party must eliminate public risks, or if elimination is not reasonably practicable, minimise them. The law focuses on the safety outcome rather than prescribing one system for every business. Since 1 October 2018, the CoR framework has used a proactive, risk-based duty instead of relying mainly on deemed liability after a driver’s breach. Under section 26B, several parties can hold duties for the same matter at the same time. Each retains its own responsibility and must act to the extent of its capacity to influence and control the matter.
What this means operationally
Every CoR party—not only a driver’s employer or transport operator—needs working controls for the risks it can influence, such as safe scheduling, contracting, loading, maintenance, training, supervision and monitoring. Written policies are not enough by themselves: relevant controls must be implemented, used, checked and improved when necessary.
Who it applies to
Any individual or legal entity performing one or more of the ten CoR functions in HVNL section 5: employer of an employed driver, prime contractor for a self-employed driver, operator, scheduler, consignor, consignee, packer, loading manager, loader and unloader. Driving alone is not a CoR function; a driver becomes a CoR party only when also performing another function, for example as an owner-driver operator or loader.
Example
In Transport for NSW v De Paoli Transport Pty Ltd [2022] NSWSC 1678, De Paoli Transport pleaded guilty to a Category 2 offence under section 26G for contravening its section 26C duty and exposing drivers and others to a risk of death or serious injury or illness. George De Paoli and Jonathon De Paoli, prosecuted in their capacities as schedulers, pleaded guilty to Category 3 offences under section 26H for contravening section 26C. George was also the company’s sole director. The Supreme Court increased the fines on appeal to $180,000 for the company and $15,000 for each scheduler. No crash or injury formed part of the offending.
Exceptions and traps
The duty is not unlimited. Under sections 26A and 26B, its level and nature depend on the functions performed, the public risk and the party’s capacity to control, eliminate or minimise it. A party is not expected to control a risk it cannot influence. Drivers have separate HVNL obligations but are not CoR parties merely because they drive.
What changed
The risk-based Primary Duty and related safety-duty framework commenced on 1 October 2018, moving CoR away from many prescriptive and deemed-liability provisions towards proactive management of transport safety risks.
Previous rule
Before 1 October 2018, CoR relied more heavily on prescriptive obligations and extended liability for another person’s road-transport breaches, subject to reasonable-steps defences.
Legal foundation
Heavy Vehicle National Law section 5 (CoR parties); sections 26A–26B (shared responsibility and concurrent duties); section 26C (Primary Duty); section 26D (executive due diligence); sections 26F–26H (Category 1–3 offences)
Sources & primary documents
- www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/whole/html/inforce/2026-08-01/act-2012-021
- www.nhvr.gov.au/safety-accreditation-compliance/chain-of-responsibility/regulatory-advice/the-primary-duty
- www.nhvr.gov.au/law-policies/heavy-vehicle-national-law-and-regulations
- www.nhvr.gov.au/news/2018/10/01/ntc-and-nhvr-mark-commencement-date-of-new-chain-of-responsibility-laws
- classic.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/nsw/NSWSC/2022/1678.html
WWTG verification: Queensland Legislation, NHVR, NSW Supreme Court decision
Frequently asked questions
Can multiple parties hold the Primary Duty for the same transport activity?
Yes. Section 26B allows concurrent duty holders. Each retains responsibility and must discharge its duty to the extent of its capacity to influence and control the matter.
Does a Primary Duty offence require a crash or injury?
No. A Category 3 offence under section 26H requires a contravention of section 26C. A Category 2 offence under section 26G additionally requires exposure to a risk of death or serious injury or illness. Neither provision requires an actual crash or injury.
Are written policies enough?
Not by themselves. Policies should reflect the relevant risks and the controls must be implemented, used, monitored and reviewed.
Is a heavy-vehicle driver automatically a CoR party?
No. Driving is not one of the ten CoR functions. A driver becomes a CoR party only if they also perform another function, such as operating or loading.