Free chain of responsibility (cor) policy template

What is a chain of responsibility (cor) policy template?

A chain of responsibility policy is a written statement of how a business meets its Chain of Responsibility duties under the Heavy Vehicle National Law. Chain of Responsibility, usually shortened to CoR, makes safety a shared duty across everyone who influences a transport task, not just the driver behind the wheel. The policy names each party in the supply chain, the consignor, consignee, packer, loader, unloader, operator, scheduler, prime contractor and the executives who oversee them, and sets out what each one must do to ensure the safety of transport activities so far as is reasonably practicable. It covers the main risk areas of mass, dimension, loading restraint, speed, fatigue and vehicle maintenance, and explains how the business identifies, controls and reviews those risks.

The policy matters because under the HVNL a party cannot contract out of its safety duty, and a breach can expose both the company and its officers to enforcement. A clear, signed policy turns an abstract legal obligation into day to day practice for schedulers, loading crews and managers. It records the controls that prevent overloading, unsafe loads, unrealistic schedules that push drivers to speed or drive fatigued, and poorly maintained vehicles. Kept alongside fleet, maintenance and load records, the policy is the document a business relies on to show a regulator, customer or insurer that it actively manages heavy vehicle safety across the whole chain rather than leaving it to the driver alone.

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Benefits of digitising forms in MapTrack

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• Build conditional logic (show or hide questions based on answers).
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What to include in a chain of responsibility (cor) policy template

This chain of responsibility (cor) policy template covers 9 key areas:

• Purpose and scope: the transport activities, sites and vehicles covered, and a statement that safety is a shared duty under the HVNL
• Parties in the chain: the consignor, packer, loader, operator, scheduler, consignee and others, with the CoR duty that applies to each
• Mass duties: how loads are kept within mass limits and how weights are confirmed before dispatch
• Dimension duties: how vehicle and load dimensions are checked against limits, including any restricted access vehicle conditions
• Loading and restraint duties: how loads are restrained to the NHVR Load Restraint Guide standard and who verifies the restraint
• Speed duties: how schedules, routes and incentives are set so they do not require or encourage speeding
• Fatigue duties: how work and rest hours and realistic delivery windows prevent fatigue, linked to the fatigue management plan
• Maintenance duties: how vehicles are kept roadworthy through scheduled servicing, defect reporting and repair
• Roles, reporting and review: who is responsible, how breaches and near misses are reported, and when the policy is reviewed

How often should you complete this policy?

Treat the policy as a standing document and review it at least once a year, and sooner whenever something changes that affects transport safety. Common triggers are a new customer or contract, a change to routes or delivery windows, a fleet or vehicle type change, a CoR breach or near miss, an enforcement action, or an amendment to the Heavy Vehicle National Law or your accreditation.

The policy sets the framework, but the duties live in daily practice. Mass checks, restraint verification, schedule sign off and defect reporting happen on every relevant task, not once a year. Use the annual review to confirm the framework is still right, and rely on the day to day controls and records to show the duties are actually being met between reviews.

Applicable regulatory standards

This template aligns with the following regulations and standards:

• Heavy Vehicle National Law - Chain of Responsibility (the primary duty: each party in the supply chain must ensure the safety of transport activities so far as is reasonably practicable)
• Heavy Vehicle National Law - duties of executives and officers to exercise due diligence over transport safety
• National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) - Chain of Responsibility guidance and the four risk areas of speed, fatigue, mass and dimension, and loading
• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 - primary duty of care, aligned with the heavy vehicle safety duty
• NHVR Load Restraint Guide - load restraint performance standards referenced by the loading duty

Related resources

More compliance templates and guides:

• Chain of responsibility checklist
• Mass management plan template
• Load restraint checklist
• Fatigue management plan template
• Journey management plan
• Fleet safety program template
• Asset tracking
• Pricing