Load restraint in Australia: what the NHVR publishes

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It describes pages published by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) and does not teach how to restrain a load. The NHVR pages are about heavy vehicles, which the NHVR defines on its law page as vehicles over 4.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass.

Which law applies where

The NHVR says it administers one set of laws for heavy vehicles over 4.5 tonnes: the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) and five sets of regulations. The HVNL started on February 10, 2014 in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria, each of which passed a law that adopts or copies it. The page says the HVNL has not commenced in Western Australia or the Northern Territory, but applies equally to vehicles from those places when they cross into a state or territory where it does apply. It also says the HVNL changed on August 1, 2026, with reforms that include changes to mass, dimension and loading provisions. See the NHVR page on the Heavy Vehicle National Law and Regulations.

Loading requirements for the Northern Territory and Western Australia are on separate pages that the NHVR loading page points to.

The loading requirements

The NHVR loading requirements page says a heavy vehicle must be loaded in three ways. The load placement must not make the vehicle unsafe or unstable, the load must not be likely to fall or be dislodged, and an appropriate system must restrain the load. It lists what goes wrong when loads fail: objects falling onto other vehicles or pedestrians, drivers swerving to avoid fallen items, spillage making other vehicles skid, and loads crashing into the cabin in emergency braking.

The page adds three points about what the law does and does not say:

• The HVNL does not set how to restrain specific types of load. It describes the outcome a restraint system must achieve, which the NHVR says leaves flexibility as long as the outcome is met.
• The HVNL does not set a minimum standard for restraint equipment such as straps and chains, and the NHVR calls it advisable to use equipment that meets the Australian Standards.
• The NHVR gives general guidance on using the Load Restraint Guide and the loading requirements, but says it does not give specific information or engineering advice on creating a restraint system. It describes a qualified person as a professional engineer registered with a professional registration body.

The wording above is from the NHVR loading requirements page.

Who shares the duty

The NHVR regulatory advice on loading and load restraint explains the Chain of Responsibility. It says section 26C of the HVNL gives each party in the chain a primary duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of its transport activities relating to the heavy vehicle. Section 26A makes safety a shared responsibility of each party, and section 26D requires executives of a business in the chain to exercise due diligence. The page says a business stays a party in the chain even when its transport activities are contracted or subcontracted.

A separate rule sits in section 111. It says no person may drive, or permit another person to drive, a heavy vehicle on a road that does not meet the loading requirements. The advice lists who could be treated as having permitted that: the person who loaded the vehicle or applied the restraint, the person who prepared or packed the load, and the person who allowed the vehicle onto the road. It says the loading requirements are set out in Schedule 7 of the Heavy Vehicle (Mass, Dimension and Loading) National Regulation. See the NHVR regulatory advice on loading and load restraint.

The Load Restraint Guide

The NHVR Load Restraint Guide page describes the guide as best practice load restraint systems that meet the loading requirements and performance standards, with technical information, diagrams and worked examples. It also says the guide is an information guide only and is not a legal document. The page names the 2025 edition, which it calls Edition 4, and says the changes are relatively minor and that the 2018 version remains valid for use. It adds that the National Transport Commission manages a separate Load Restraint Guide for light vehicles, defined as any car, ute, van, truck or trailer up to 4.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass. See the NHVR Load Restraint Guide page.

At a glance

Sources

• National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, Load Restraint Guide, read October 9, 2026
• National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, loading requirements, read October 9, 2026
• National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, Heavy Vehicle National Law and Regulations, read October 9, 2026
• National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, regulatory advice on loading and load restraint, read October 9, 2026