Selling a transport business in Queensland

The law governing heavy vehicles over 4.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass, being the schedule to the Heavy Vehicle National Law Act 2012 (Qld). Queensland is the host jurisdiction and other participating states and territories apply the Queensland law. It commenced on 10 February 2014 in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria, and has not commenced in Western Australia or the Northern Territory.

The regulator administering the Heavy Vehicle National Law and the five national regulations covering fatigue management, general matters, mass, dimension and loading, registration, and vehicle standards. The NHVR began delivering heavy vehicle regulatory and enforcement services in Queensland on 20 April 2024, taking over from Transport and Main Roads.

The outgoing accreditation scheme, with four modules: Mass Management, Maintenance Management, Basic Fatigue Management and Advanced Fatigue Management. The NHVAS Business Rules and Standards state at section 4(3) that an accreditation cannot be transferred between individuals or legal entities.

The incoming scheme under the amended HVNL, which commenced on 1 August 2026. It has four tiers: General Safety Accreditation, GSA Maintenance Assurance Program, Alternative Compliance Accreditation Fatigue, and Alternative Compliance Accreditation Mass. Entry is based on a whole-of-business Safety Management System audit rather than the narrower NHVAS module audits.

The framework an operator must evidence to enter the HVA scheme, with five components: Leadership and Commitment; Risk Management; People; Assurance, Monitoring and Improvement; and Safety Systems. The NHVR states it must be fit-for-purpose, simple and demonstrably effective, and scalable from a single owner driver to a large fleet.

The HVNL concept that ten parties share responsibility for heavy vehicle safety: employer, prime contractor, operator, scheduler, consignor, consignee, packer, loading manager, loader and unloader. Each is a function rather than a job title, and one business can occupy several at once.

The duty on each party in the chain to ensure the safety of transport activities, so far as is reasonably practicable. Parties must ensure their heavy vehicle activities eliminate or minimise public risks, and do not cause or encourage a driver or another person to break the law. The provision is cited as section 26C in NHVR guidance.

The personal duty on an executive of a legal entity, cited as section 26D in NHVR guidance. The executive must gain and maintain knowledge of safe transport activities, and understand the hazards and risks. The executive must ensure the entity has resources and processes to eliminate or minimise those risks, and verify that they are provided, used and effective.

A vehicle with gross vehicle mass over 12 tonnes, a combination whose total gross vehicle mass exceeds 12 tonnes, or a bus over 4.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass seating more than 12 adults including the driver. Under standard hours a solo driver may work a maximum of 12 hours in a 24-hour period, with 7 continuous hours of stationary rest.

A category created by the Closing Loopholes reforms, which commenced on 26 August 2024. The person must work in the road transport industry and be party to a services contract as an individual, a director or family member of a director, a trustee or a partner. The person must perform all or the greater part of the work personally, and must not be an employee or an employee-like worker. Minimum Standards Orders made by the Fair Work Commission are legally binding on the parties they cover.