The new 2026 Master Code  fundamentally changes how Chain of Responsibility risks must be managed and documented to satisfy regulator expectations rather than just be good practice. The 2026 Master Code  is now officially published by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator as a Registered Industry Code of Practice to support safety across the heavy vehicle industry. It sets out what parties in the Chain of Responsibility reasonably need to do to manage hazards and risks under

Two major developments in heavy vehicle safety and compliance are converging right now, and fleets running multi‑axle combinations or imported trailers need to act before the regulatory and product risk windows widen. Recent recalls out of North America provide a practical reminder of hardware failure risk. The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator has just opened a technical consultation on updating the high‑speed and stability  standards in the Australian Performance Based Stand

In 2025, regulators are not reinventing load restraint. They are doubling down on it. The release of the NHVR Load Restraint Guide 2025, alongside refreshed education materials from Safe Work Australia, makes one thing clear. Accurate, adequate load restraint remains a frontline control in heavy vehicle safety, and regulators are still seeing the same failures play out on Australian roads. Despite decades of guidance, load shift, load loss, and inadequate restraint continue

A coronial inquest in Western Australia has delivered a confronting finding for anyone responsible for heavy vehicle safety. A simple, unauthorised cabin modification materially extended a prime mover’s frontal blind spot and a worker was killed. This was not a high-speed crash, a driver sleeping at the wheel, or dangerous driving. I t happened during a routine departure from a roadhouse parking bay. A modified foil sunshade, fitted inside the windscreen, obstructed the driv

31 Oct 25 Across two very different worksites last week, both the ground and gravity again proved unforgiving teachers. In one, a bridge worker fell almost four metres while stripping formwork. In another, a vehicle struck and killed a woman at a country showground. The common theme: control measures existed in theory, but not in verified, living practice. The Bridgeworks Case – $150 000 for a 3.85m Fall SafeWork NSW confirmed Bridgeworks (Aust) Pty Ltd was fined $150 000 af

After inspecting transport facilities across Australia and New Zealand — from container yards and freight depots to distribution centres...

As electric vehicles (EVs) become increasingly popular in Australia, workplaces are starting to integrate them into their fleets. EVs...

I grew up around trucks, with my dearly-departed grandpa being a truck driver both in the Australian Army as a Bombardier "Nasho", and on...

Having family and mates in the force, previously working alongside police members, and as a fellow first responder to Motor Vehicle...

The recent prosecution of Minus 1 Refrigerated Transport Pty Ltd  serves as a stark warning to businesses about the consequences of...