Every party in the heavy vehicle supply chain carries a legal duty to manage drug and alcohol risk under the Heavy Vehicle National Law. Since the 2018 reforms, that duty extends well beyond the driver to include operators, schedulers, consignors and executives. The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator can investigate whether adequate safety measures are in place at any time, not only after an incident has occurred.
Many operators have a drug and alcohol policy on file but lack the testing infrastructure, documentation systems and active implementation to demonstrate compliance under scrutiny. A policy document that sits in a drawer or on an intranet page does not satisfy the primary duty standard. The NHVR assesses whether an operator's drug and alcohol risk management measures are adequate in practice, and the evidence required to demonstrate that is operational, not administrative. Operators navigating the alcohol and drug laws applying to Australian heavy vehicle operators should understand that the compliance threshold shifted materially in 2018.
How the 2018 Reforms Shifted Drug and Alcohol Obligations
The October 2018 amendments replaced the previous deemed liability model with a proactive primary duty framework. Before 2018, Chain of Responsibility operated on extended liability: a party in the chain could be treated as automatically liable for a driver's breach and was required to prove on the balance of probabilities that it had taken reasonable steps to prevent the breach. The burden of proof sat with the operator.
Under the current HVNL, section 26C imposes a primary duty on each party to manage the safety of its transport activities so far as is reasonably practicable. A breach is now proved in two main ways: by demonstrating that the operator did not have measures in place to manage safety, or by showing that existing measures were inadequate. The practical effect is significant. An operator who previously met the old "reasonable steps" minimum by maintaining a written policy and conducting occasional testing may not satisfy the current standard. The primary duty requires active, ongoing and documented risk management, not a one-off compliance exercise.
Which Parties in the Supply Chain Carry Drug and Alcohol Obligations
The HVNL identifies 10 functions within the supply chain and attaches a primary duty to each party that performs one of those functions. Drug and alcohol risk management is not the driver's responsibility alone. Section 26A establishes that safety is the shared responsibility of each party in the chain. Section 26B confirms that multiple parties can hold concurrent duties for the same transport activity, and each must discharge its duty independently.
|
CoR Party |
D&A-Relevant Duty |
Practical Example |
|
Employer / Operator |
Implement and maintain a drug and alcohol management plan with active testing |
Conducting pre-start breath alcohol testing at depot entry points |
|
Scheduler |
Avoid scheduling practices that create conditions for impairment |
Not setting departure windows that leave no time for pre-start testing |
|
Consignor / Consignee |
Avoid imposing loading or delivery conditions that pressure drivers |
Not requiring turnaround times that incentivise stimulant use |
|
Executive Officer |
Exercise due diligence to verify the business has adequate D&A systems (section 26D) |
Reviewing testing records and DAMP implementation status at board level |
|
Driver |
Take reasonable care for their own fitness for duty |
Presenting for testing and not operating a vehicle while impaired |
Executives carry personal due diligence obligations under section 26D. This duty requires them to acquire and maintain current knowledge of safety matters, allocate adequate resources and verify that processes are actually in place and functioning. How fitness for duty is defined under Australian safety frameworks for heavy vehicle operations provides additional context on the obligations that underpin drug and alcohol testing requirements.
The HVNL applies in all Australian states and territories except Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Vehicles registered in those jurisdictions must comply when operating in participating states.
Building a Drug and Alcohol Management Plan That Satisfies CoR Requirements
A compliant Drug and Alcohol Management Plan must go beyond a statement of intent. It must document the operational framework through which the organisation actively manages impairment risk. Core components include:
A clear policy statement naming the substances covered and the testing circumstances under which testing applies (pre-employment, random, for-cause and post-incident). Defined testing methods and the Australian Standards they must comply with: AS 3547:2019 for breath alcohol testing, AS/NZS 4760:2019 for oral fluid drug testing and AS/NZS 4308:2008 for urine drug testing. Chain-of-custody procedures for specimen handling and result documentation. A structured response process for non-negative results that includes investigation, support pathways and return-to-work protocols. Communication and training requirements for all workers and supervisors. A scheduled review cycle.
A DAMP built solely around punitive consequences is increasingly difficult to defend. Fair Work decisions and WHS guidance both point toward integrated support as a duty-of-care obligation. Operators building a drug and alcohol policy that meets transport industry requirements should treat the plan as a living operational document, not a set-and-forget compliance exercise. Understanding why a program built on punitive responses alone produces weaker compliance outcomes helps operators design plans that deliver sustainable results.
Victoria operates under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004, which diverges from the Model WHS Act in structure and terminology. Operators with Victorian operations should verify that their DAMP reflects VIC-specific requirements.
Meeting the "Reasonably Practicable" Standard for D&A Risk Management
The HVNL does not prescribe specific drug and alcohol testing requirements. It requires operators to do what is reasonably practicable to manage identified safety risks. The NHVR and courts assess this by considering the likelihood and severity of harm from impairment, what the operator knew or ought to have known about the risk, the availability and suitability of control measures and the cost of implementation relative to the risk.
Drug and alcohol testing is widely recognised as a primary control measure for impairment risk in transport operations. An operator who does not test when testing is available, proportionate and operationally feasible will find it difficult to demonstrate that its risk management measures are adequate. The direct and indirect financial costs of an impairment-related incident in the workplace reinforce why the investment in testing infrastructure is proportionate to the risk it manages.
What Testing Equipment Meets the Standard for Defensible Compliance
Testing equipment must carry current Australian Standards certification to produce results with evidentiary weight. Breathalysers must be certified to AS 3547:2019. Oral fluid drug test kits must comply with AS/NZS 4760:2019. The evidentiary value of a test result depends not only on the device but on how the test is administered and documented.
The Soberlive FRX wall-mounted breathalyser generates AS 3547:2019 certified results with facial recognition identity verification, automated time-stamping and real-time data sync to the Andalink cloud platform. For field operations and mobile depots where wall-mounted installation is not feasible, the Prodigy S portable breathalyser provides AS 3547:2019 certified testing with an internal memory capacity of 10,000 records. Oral fluid drug testing using the DrugSense DSO8 Plus V3 and OraScan Saliva Drug Test Cassette V5 complements breath alcohol testing as part of a comprehensive DAMP. Andatech's NATA-accredited Melbourne calibration centre supports calibration currency, a critical component of evidentiary defensibility.
Building an Audit Trail That Demonstrates Active Compliance
Testing records that are incomplete, inconsistent or inaccessible undermine the compliance position they are meant to support. The NHVR expects operators to demonstrate that their drug and alcohol program is actively implemented and consistently applied. This means producing records showing who was tested, when, by what method, with what result, using what device and what action followed a non-negative result.
The Andalink cloud data management platform converts individual test records into a centralised, searchable compliance database. Real-time data sync from Soberlive FRX units and compatible portable devices creates a continuous record across sites and shifts. Exception alerting notifies managers when a test exceeds the set threshold. CSV export supports audit preparation. Andatech's ISO 27001:2022 certification provides assurance that testing data is managed under internationally recognised information security standards.
How the NHVR Approaches Enforcement
The NHVR applies a graduated enforcement approach proportionate to breach severity and compliance history. Responses range from education and guidance for operators making good-faith efforts, through formal warnings and infringement notices, to prosecution for serious or repeated breaches. Maximum court-imposed penalties for primary duty breaches can reach approximately $3.9 million for businesses and more than $300,000 for individuals, with imprisonment of up to five years for the most serious offences. These figures are indexed annually in line with the Consumer Price Index. The HVNL Amendment Bill 2025, passed by Queensland Parliament with changes commencing mid-2026, will introduce further amendments to the CoR framework.
An operator with a documented, actively implemented drug and alcohol program is in a fundamentally different enforcement position to one that cannot demonstrate any active measures.
Actions Operators Should Take Now
- Review the existing DAMP against the component requirements outlined above
- Audit current testing equipment for AS certification currency and calibration status
- Assess whether existing testing records would withstand regulatory scrutiny
- Implement or upgrade to a centralised data management system that produces a searchable, exportable audit trail
- Brief executive officers on their personal due diligence obligations under section 26D
- Train supervisors on testing administration, chain-of-custody procedures and escalation protocols for non-negative results
- Schedule a DAMP review cycle (at minimum annually or following any regulatory change, incident or workforce restructure)
This article provides general guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. Operators should seek professional legal counsel for advice specific to their circumstances.
Talk to Andatech about your CoR compliance program
Andatech works with heavy vehicle operators across Australia to build drug and alcohol testing programs that satisfy Chain of Responsibility requirements. Contact the team to discuss configuring the Soberlive FRX wall-mounted breathalyser, OraScan 3000 Analyser and Andalink data management platform for your operations.
