New health and safety guide for NSW road freight transport industry launched

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New Health and Safety Guide for NSW Road Freight Transport Industry Launched

SafeWork NSW has released a new health and safety guide for the road freight transport industry, giving operators and supply chain businesses practical direction on managing risk within vehicle-related work. The guide addresses a sector that continues to record disproportionately high rates of serious injury and fatality across Australia.

SafeWork NSW Executive Director of Compliance and Dispute Resolution Tony Williams stated that NSW and interstate regulators were widely consulted on the guide's content, ensuring national consistency for road freight transport businesses operating across state borders.

Why the Guide Matters for Transport Operators

"The transport industry is an essential service provider for all Australians but unfortunately records a high rate of fatalities and serious injuries, with major claims for injuries around 50 per cent greater than the average employment sector," Mr Williams said.

"The Guide provides transport operators and supply chain businesses with practical and tailored work health and safety information relating to working in and around vehicles."

Key Risk Areas Covered

The guide's scope spans several critical hazard categories relevant to daily road freight operations, including:

• Loading and unloading procedures
• Traffic management on and around worksites
• Working at heights
• Vehicle immobilisation
• Hazardous manual tasks
• Psychosocial hazards affecting worker wellbeing

"Risks covered include loading and unloading, traffic management, working at heights, immobilisation and hazardous manual tasks as well as health risks from psychosocial hazards," Mr Williams explained.

Building Skills to Protect Workers

"This is a comprehensive resource for the transport industry that will help build skills and knowledge to protect workers from serious harm. It highlights the importance of embedding road safety within the workplace by focusing on improving work health and safety systems and practices, responding to changes in technology, injury recovery, and learning from incidents that occur."

Businesses reviewing their current practices against this new guide may also benefit from a broader occupational safety and health overview to understand how sector-specific guidance fits within wider compliance obligations.

Supporting a Growing NSW Economy

"The Guide, having received a commitment from industry and being supported by SafeWork NSW, promotes a safer road freight transport industry to meet the demands of the growing NSW economy," Mr Williams said.

Operators seeking further practical tools can also consult a road freight transport checklist designed to complement regulatory guidance with day-to-day compliance actions.

Related Resources for Transport and Logistics Businesses

For businesses building out broader safety documentation, a work health and safety manual can help formalise policies referenced within the new guide. Transport-delivery operators may also find value in a dedicated occupational safety and health management system for transport-delivery services.

New business owners establishing safety frameworks from scratch can refer to this down-to-earth guide to health and safety for new business owners in Australia, while NSW-based operators should stay informed on regulatory developments through updates on new inspectors promoting health and safety in NSW workplaces.

The full story can be found here.

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