Under the Heavy Vehicle National Law, every party in the chain of responsibility must ensure schedules, requests and contracts don’t cause or encourage a driver to speed or drive fatigued. Breaching the “prohibited requests and contracts” provisions currently attracts a maximum fine of about $13,310 — and from 1 August 2026, that roughly doubles to about $26,610.
Key facts at a glance
- The amended Heavy Vehicle National Law commences on 1 August 2026 — the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator has confirmed there is no grace period.
- Sections 26E(1) and 26E(2) ban any request, direction or contract that would cause a driver to speed, drive fatigued or breach work and rest hours.
- The maximum penalty for a prohibited request or contract rises from about $13,310 to about $26,610 under the reform’s penalty changes.
- The duty captures all 10 chain of responsibility parties — schedulers, operators, employers, prime contractors, consignors, consignees, packers, loading managers, loaders and unloaders.
- NHVR’s Safe-T-Cam network detects vehicles travelling between camera sites faster than legally possible — with resulting 2026 prosecutions running to five-figure fines.
- Penalty clauses for late delivery and per-kilometre pay rates that incentivise speeding are on NHVR’s published list of prohibited pressures.
What does the law actually prohibit?
The primary duty (section 26C) requires each party in the chain to ensure the safety of their transport activities so far as is reasonably practicable — including ensuring their conduct doesn’t directly or indirectly cause or encourage a driver to exceed a speed limit.
Behind it sits section 26E, built for scheduling pressure. Under NHVR’s regulatory advice on prohibited requests and contracts, a person must not ask, direct or require a driver or another party to do something they know — or ought reasonably to know — would cause the driver to speed or drive fatigued (s26E(1)), and must not enter a contract that would have that effect (s26E(2)). NHVR notes a s26E breach will more than likely also breach the primary duty.
What counts as a prohibited request or contract?
NHVR’s published examples are strikingly ordinary commercial behaviour:
- Scheduling delivery times that ignore delays from traffic, road conditions or incidents.
- Schedules that simply cannot be met without speeding or driving fatigued.
- Penalty clauses for late delivery.
- Paying drivers per kilometre at rates that incentivise speeding.
- Incentive schemes that maximise driving hours, and price pressure through unreasonable tender-cycle contract terms.
None of these require anyone to say “drive faster” — the pressure is built into the schedule or the contract, which is why the law targets the people who write them.
Who carries the duty?
All 10 chain of responsibility parties — and section 26E goes wider, applying to any person whose requests or contracts could influence a driver on speed, fatigue or work and rest hours. Schedulers are named parties carrying the same primary duty as operators and consignors. Company executives carry a separate personal due diligence duty on top, covered in Executive Due Diligence Under CoR.
How is speed compliance actually enforced?
The enforcement workhorse is Safe-T-Cam, NHVR’s average-speed camera network: paired cameras record a heavy vehicle at two points, and if the travel time between them is less than legally possible, the operator can be issued a Notice to Produce records identifying the driver.
Ignoring those notices has become its own prosecution pipeline — NHVR’s court outcomes register shows a steady 2026 drumbeat:
| Date (2026) | Trigger | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 1 June | Safe-T-Cam detection (travel time faster than legally possible); two notices ignored | $18,000 fine |
| 1 June | Same pattern; prior March 2026 conviction | $16,000 fine |
| 4 May | Same pattern; prior conviction + 10 infringement notices 2023–2025 | $16,000 fine + registration suspension |
| 13 April | Kenworth K200 detected between Albury and Tweed Heads sites; three notices unanswered | $16,000 fine |
| 23 February | Same pattern; 48 previous offences | $20,000 fine + 12-month registration suspension |
The nuance matters: these are convictions for failing to produce records (section 569(2)), not for the speeding itself — stonewalling the regulator cost several times a speeding penalty, plus registration suspensions. In one February 2026 case, Safe-T-Cam data plus a work diary review exposed a driver who worked 16 hours in 24 — a critical-risk fatigue breach that cost the operator $10,000.
What changes on 1 August 2026?
The parties and the primary duty don’t change — the price of getting it wrong does. The National Transport Commission’s penalties review, the basis for the reform’s penalty schedule, lifts the prohibited request and contract maximums from about $13,310 to about $26,610, part of a broader rebalancing in which the most serious safety penalties more than double. The amended law commences 1 August 2026 with no grace period, alongside mandatory safety management systems for accredited operators and modernised fatigue and work diary rules — full picture in our HVNL reform explainer.
At the serious end: reckless breaches of the primary duty (Category 1) carry base maximum penalties of $300,000 and five years’ imprisonment for individuals, and $3 million for corporations, with indexation lifting actual figures higher each year. Category 2 and 3 base maximums are $150,000 / $1.5 million and $50,000 / $500,000.
What should transport businesses do before 1 August?
Review the documents that create time pressure: delivery windows, contract KPIs, late-delivery clauses and driver pay structures. If a schedule only works when every light is green, it’s evidence against you. Consignors and consignees should look hard at what their contracts demand of carriers — the duty reaches the customer, not just the trucking company.
And make sure the people writing schedules and contracts know the law they’re operating under. FMS Training delivers Chain of Responsibility Awareness training online Australia-wide, and the nationally recognised accredited CoR course (TLIF0009) for parties who need a Statement of Attainment — both from a registered training organisation (RTO 45189). Not sure which fits? Our guide to choosing the right CoR course walks through it.
Frequently asked questions
What is a prohibited request under the Heavy Vehicle National Law?
Any request, direction or requirement that a person knows — or ought reasonably to know — would cause a heavy vehicle driver to exceed a speed limit, drive while fatigued, or breach work and rest hours. Section 26E also bans contracts that would have that effect.
Who has speed and scheduling duties under Chain of Responsibility?
All 10 chain of responsibility parties — schedulers, operators, employers, prime contractors, consignors, consignees, packers, loading managers, loaders and unloaders — plus, under section 26E, any person whose requests or contracts could influence a driver on speed or fatigue.
What happens to the penalty on 1 August 2026?
Under the amended Heavy Vehicle National Law’s penalty changes, the maximum fine for a prohibited request or contract roughly doubles — from about $13,310 to about $26,610 — as part of a broader increase in safety-related penalties.
Are penalty clauses for late delivery illegal?
They can be. NHVR lists penalty clauses for late delivery among the contract terms that can breach section 26E, because they pressure drivers to speed or skip rest to avoid the penalty.
What is Safe-T-Cam and how does it detect speeding?
Safe-T-Cam is an average-speed camera network. Paired cameras record a heavy vehicle at two points and calculate whether the travel time between them was possible without exceeding the speed limit. Flagged operators can be required to produce records identifying the driver.
Can a business be fined without a speeding conviction?
Yes. NHVR’s 2026 court outcomes include fines of $10,000 to $20,000 — some with registration suspensions — against companies that failed to respond to Notices to Produce issued after Safe-T-Cam detections, separate from any underlying speeding offence.
Does the primary duty change on 1 August 2026?
No. The 10 parties and the primary duty to ensure safety so far as is reasonably practicable carry over unchanged. The reform increases penalties, mandates safety management systems for accredited operators and modernises fatigue and work diary rules.
Do consignors and consignees have speed and scheduling duties?
Yes. Customers who send or receive goods are chain of responsibility parties. Delivery windows, contract KPIs and price terms they impose must not pressure drivers to speed or drive fatigued — the duty reaches the businesses setting the schedule, not just the carrier.
Sources: NHVR — Prohibited requests and contracts under the HVNL · NHVR — The primary duty · NHVR — Court outcomes · National Transport Commission — HVNL Penalties Review (summary of proposed penalty changes, October 2024) · NHVR — HVNL reform implementation.