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Accident liability spread across the supply chain

The new Chain of Responsibility (CoR) laws mean companies consigning, packing, loading and receiving goods, in addition to those operating transport companies could be liable for penalties of up to $300,000 for individuals and $3 million for corporations.
UC Logistics Managing Director Urszula Kelly has commented that, while most people know of cases where truck drivers have broken rules to meet deadlines, under the recent changes to legislation, liability for accidents now rests with all parties along the supply chain not just drivers.
Kelly added that she fears many organisations still don’t even know they could be liable for the huge penalties, despite the new legislation taking effect in Western Australia in April 2015 and significant legislation changes being implemented in other states mid-2018.
She said that though Main Roads WA had done a lot of work pushing the changes to the transport industry, not enough had been done to inform vendors, suppliers and clients.
“Consignors and consignees are unaware that new CoR laws apply to them and they may even hold the false belief that they apply only to transport providers,” she said.
“But all these businesses along the chain needs to assess their responsibilities under the legislation and take steps to comply.
“This means taking a risk management approach to the introduction of the legislation by assessing staff training requirements, making new policies and workplace practices, perhaps seeking legal advice and telling customers about the changes and the impact it may have on them.”
Ashley Smith, Chief Operating Officer, Pilbara Access, added that education around the new chain of responsibility laws hasn’t filtered down to all those affected.
He said he had a broad awareness of the changes but largely thought they applied to the transport companies engaged to move goods on their behalf.
“Sourcing relevant information to inform our staff of their obligations and responsibilities has been challenging at best, with information sourced from websites, client guidelines, and old fashioned common sense,” Smith said.
“I recommend every business take the time to make sure all their staff are educated.
Kelly said UC Logistics felt a responsibility not only to its clients and suppliers, but everyone in the industry and was investing heavily in educating all parties.
“We have online videos, fact sheets and in-house training and in June we are launch a new software that will be capable of regularly remaindering clients of their responsibilities.
“We are taking our responsibility very seriously, investing time and money to make sure everyone gets home safe at night.”
 

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