Transport
Chain of Responsibility
The Chain of Responsibility (CoR) legislation came into effect in September 2008 in all jurisdictions.
Under CoR, complying with the law is a shared responsibility. Anybody – not just the driver – who has control over the transport task can be held responsible for breaches of road laws and may be legally liable.
CoR legislation was already a feature of laws covering mass and dimension limits, load restraint requirements, driving hours and dangerous goods laws (check status with relevant road agencies), and so the new laws expanded the scope (fatigue) and parties able to be held responsible (consignees, consignors, etc.)
Most importantly it also reversed the onus of proof, meaning that documentation of instructions and more written contracts will be required, especially for consignees, consignors and transport schedulers.
As a producer it is crucial you understand your role (as a consignor or potentially a driver or a scheduler) in the chain, and the responsibilities which this creates.
Your responsibility
AgForce urges members to familiarise themselves with these requirements. Queensland Transport provides a full explanation of the responsibilities of:
Although Queensland Primary Industries Minister Tim Mulherin has committed to making the Transport Legislation Amendment Bill 2008 workable for producers, there are still some significant practice change which will be needed by all parts of the livestock supply chain.
Under the new chain of responsibility legislation you will need to ask your transporter/transport company if they will comply with the requirements. In addition to the fatigue and mass and volume questions, producers should ask if transporters have the necessary permits to drive b-doubles or road train on a specific road. In order to satisfy the requirements you must now start to ask the scheduler of the transport company if they have the necessary permits.
If they do not then you should insist they get the appropriate permission, or if a problem with finding permitted trucks occurs regularly then consider getting the permit yourself.
The Chain of Responsibility (CoR) legislation came into effect in September 2008 in all jurisdictions.
Under CoR, complying with the law is a shared responsibility. Anybody – not just the driver – who has control over the transport task can be held responsible for breaches of road laws and may be legally liable.
CoR legislation was already a feature of laws covering mass and dimension limits, load restraint requirements, driving hours and dangerous goods laws (check status with relevant road agencies), and so the new laws expanded the scope (fatigue) and parties able to be held responsible (consignees, consignors, etc.)
Most importantly it also reversed the onus of proof, meaning that documentation of instructions and more written contracts will be required, especially for consignees, consignors and transport schedulers.
As a producer it is crucial you understand your role (as a consignor or potentially a driver or a scheduler) in the chain, and the responsibilities which this creates.
Your responsibility
AgForce urges members to familiarise themselves with these requirements. Queensland Transport provides a full explanation of the responsibilities of:
Although Queensland Primary Industries Minister Tim Mulherin has committed to making the Transport Legislation Amendment Bill 2008 workable for producers, there are still some significant practice change which will be needed by all parts of the livestock supply chain.
Under the new chain of responsibility legislation you will need to ask your transporter/transport company if they will comply with the requirements. In addition to the fatigue and mass and volume questions, producers should ask if transporters have the necessary permits to drive b-doubles or road train on a specific road. In order to satisfy the requirements you must now start to ask the scheduler of the transport company if they have the necessary permits.
If they do not then you should insist they get the appropriate permission, or if a problem with finding permitted trucks occurs regularly then consider getting the permit yourself.