Chain of Responsibility Training for Consignors, Consignees, Shippers & Receivers

If your business sends, books, receives, or unloads heavy-vehicle freight — even if you don’t own a truck — you’re a named party under Chain of Responsibility law. The Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) extends primary duty to consignors, consignees, and operators who influence how freight moves. The NHVR investigates and prosecutes non-transport businesses — not just carriers — when fatigue, speed, mass, or load-restraint breaches can be traced back to commercial pressure, delivery windows, or booking terms. Our Chain of Responsibility online course is the awareness training for the people in your business who book, approve, receive, or reject freight. Online, self-paced, under an hour, $69.

• NHVR and HVNL aligned
• For non-transport businesses with CoR exposure
• Online, self-paced, under 1 hour
• $69
• Delivered by FMS — RTO 45189

“We don’t own trucks — are we really in scope?”

Yes. One of the most under-appreciated aspects of Australian CoR law is that it reaches upstream and downstream of the carrier. If your business:

• Sets delivery windows or slot times that can only be met by pushing fatigue or speed limits
• Specifies or packs load characteristics that affect mass or restraint
• Receives freight and creates queues that keep drivers waiting past legal rest windows
• Uses commercial terms that incentivise non-compliance (penalty clauses, hard cutoffs, no-show fees)

…you’re a named party in the chain. The NHVR has specifically targeted consignors and receivers in recent enforcement, and the Industrial Manslaughter and WHS interfaces sharpen the exposure.

What you’ll learn

• Your primary duty as a consignor, consignee, shipper, or receiver under the HVNL
• How delivery windows drive fatigue and speed breaches
• Commercial terms and CoR — what to review in contracts, SLAs, and master services agreements
• Mass and load-restraint specification at the packing or slot-booking stage
• Receiver obligations — queuing, slot discipline, turn-arounds
• Documentation — what to keep, how to keep it, for how long
• NHVR investigations — how consignors and receivers typically surface

Who this suits

• Supply chain and procurement teams
• Transport bookers in manufacturing, retail, wholesale, construction, mining
• Inbound/outbound receivers at DCs, retail sites, construction sites
• Commercial and contracts managers
• Customer service and sales staff who commit to delivery windows
• Operations managers at consignor or receiver businesses

How the course works

1. Enrol online — $69.
2. Immediate LMS access.
3. Self-paced — under an hour.
4. Knowledge check.
5. Certificate of completion.

Why FMS

• RTO 45189, Brisbane-headquartered
• Built around non-transport-business CoR exposure — not just driver-focused content
• Fast, cheap, practical
• Volume pricing for consignors, receivers, and supply-chain teams

Will AI or booking platforms shield consignors?

No. Booking platforms, AI-based TMS tools, and automated slot systems can’t override the consignor’s primary duty. If commercial terms or slot design pressures unsafe driving, the consignor is in scope regardless of the system used. See: AI-proof careers in Australia.

Frequently asked questions

We’re a manufacturer, not a transport company. Do we need CoR training?

If you send or receive heavy-vehicle freight, yes. Consignors and receivers are named parties in the chain under the HVNL.

Our broker handles all the transport — aren’t they liable?

They have their own primary duty, but yours doesn’t disappear. CoR liability is joint across the chain.

Is training alone enough?

No — training sits inside a broader CoR management system (policy, contract terms, slot design, documentation). It’s a necessary but not sufficient control.

How long does it take?

Under an hour.

Explore further

• Main CoR online course
• TLIF0009 — accredited CoR unit for compliance managers
• What is Chain of Responsibility?