Australia Heavy Vehicle National Law Safety Management System Standard 2026 5.2: System coordination: safety responsibilities and accountabilities defined to the extent necessary for coordinated management of public risk, activities coordinated where risks or controls span roles, teams or functions, and coordination arrangements that avoid gaps, duplication and conflicting action

What does 5.2 require?

The SMS coordinates safety-related activity across the organisation, with responsibilities and accountabilities defined as far as is needed to manage public risk well, so that safety actions and decisions line up and reinforce each other where several parts of the business contribute to the same risk; no structure, governance model or coordination mechanism is prescribed and arrangements are proportionate. Three things are looked for. Safety responsibilities and accountabilities are defined far enough to support coordinated management of public risk across the relevant parts of the organisation. Where a risk or control spans several roles, teams or functions, activity is coordinated so that responsibilities are clear and actions align. And the coordination arrangements let public risks be identified, managed and responded to effectively, without gaps, duplication or conflicting action.