Following consultation that closed in September 2025, the revised Master Code of Practice has been updated to align with the amended HVNL — a key benchmark for demonstrating reasonably practicable risk management.
The revised Master Code of Practice has been finalised following a public consultation period that closed in September 2025. Jointly developed by the Australian Trucking Association and the Australian Logistics Council, and registered by the NHVR, the Master Code remains the industry’s most comprehensive registered industry code of practice — and the 2026 revision brings it into line with the amended Heavy Vehicle National Law.
What changed in the revision
The revised Code updates its risk management guidance to reflect the amended law’s outcomes-based approach, including alignment with the Safety Management System Standard 2026 and the restructured mass, dimension and loading provisions. Guidance on fatigue, speed, vehicle standards and load restraint has been refreshed, and the Code now more clearly maps its recommended controls to the primary duty under section 26C of the HVNL.
Why the Master Code matters legally
A registered industry code of practice can be used as evidence of what is known about hazards and risks, and about what constitutes reasonably practicable risk management. In practical terms, if an operator’s controls fall short of what the Master Code recommends, they should be prepared to explain why their alternative approach manages the risk at least as effectively. Following the Code is not mandatory — but ignoring it without good reason is a difficult position to defend.
What operators should do
Operators and other chain of responsibility parties should compare their current risk registers, procedures and training against the revised Code and document the comparison. Where the Code identifies a hazard or control the business has not considered, that gap should be assessed and either closed or a justified alternative recorded. ALCS can support this benchmarking exercise as part of a broader compliance review under the amended law.