Transport of dangerous goods

Overview

The ACT Dangerous Goods (Road Transport) Act 2009 (the Act) and ACT Dangerous Goods (Road Transport) Regulation 2010 (the Regulation) set out requirements for the transport of dangerous goods by road in the ACT.

The Regulation gives effect to the Australian Code for the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road & Rail (the ADG Code) which sets out specific requirements for the transport of different classes of dangerous goods.

Additional or alternative requirements may apply under other ACT laws if the dangerous goods are:

  • Class 1 explosive substances (including fireworks, black powder and ammunition)
  • Class 5 oxidising substances (as security sensitive substances)
  • Class 6 toxic substances or potentially infectious material (as clinical waste)
  • Class 7 radioactive material
  • Class 9 environmentally hazardous substances (as asbestos, asbestos containing material or asbestos contaminated dust or debris)

If dangerous goods are being transported in the course of a business or undertaking, the associated risks must be managed in line with the safety duties of the person conducting the business or undertaking (PCBU) under the ACT Work Health and Safety Act 2011.

For further information about managing risks to health and safety, refer to the Managing safety page.

Roles and obligations

The Act identifies various roles in the transport of dangerous goods by road, including consignors, prime contractors, packers, loaders, drivers (including the relief driver in a two-up arrangement) and vehicle owners.

Each person who has a role in the transport of dangerous goods by road under the Act also has obligations under the Regulation to ensure that dangerous goods are transported in a manner complying with the legislation and the ADG Code.

If you are involved in the transport of dangerous goods by road in the ACT, it is your responsibility to be aware of and comply with these obligations.

You may commit an offence if the transport of the dangerous goods does not comply with a requirement set out in the legislation and/or the ADG Code and you should reasonably have known that the transport would not comply with that requirement.

These obligations apply in addition to your safety duties under the ACT Work Health and Safety Act 2011 as a PCBU, officer, worker or other person at the workplace.

For further information about these safety duties, refer to the Workplace rights and responsibilities page.

Involvement in the transport of dangerous goods

For the purposes of the Act and the Regulation, a person is involved in the transport of dangerous goods if their activities include one or more of the following:

  • Importing, or arranging for the importation of, dangerous goods into Australia
  • Packing dangerous goods for transport
  • Marking or labelling packages containing dangerous goods for transport
  • Placarding vehicles and packaging on or in which dangerous goods are transported
  • Consigning dangerous goods for transport including the preparation of transport documentation
  • Loading dangerous goods for transport or unloading dangerous goods that have been transported
  • Undertaking, or being responsible for, otherwise than as an employee or sub-contractor, the transport of dangerous goods
  • Driving a vehicle carrying dangerous goods
  • Being the consignee of dangerous goods transported
  • Being involved as a director, secretary or manager of a corporation, or other person who takes part in the management of a corporation, that takes part in one or more of the above activities.

Loads requiring dangerous goods licensed vehicles and drivers

Subject to the exemption for intermediate bulk containers (IBCs), the transport vehicle must be licensed under a dangerous goods vehicle licence if one or more of the receptacles containing the dangerous goods has a capacity of more than 500L or 500kg.

If the dangerous goods are carried in IBCs (rigid or flexible portable packaging designed for mechanical handling) which will be removed from the vehicle before being filled or emptied, a dangerous goods licensed vehicle is only required if the total quantity of dangerous goods in the load is more than 3,000L.

However, the packaging will only be recognised as an IBC if it meets all of the requirements set out in Section 17 of the Regulation.

Other requirements set out in the Regulation and the ADG Code may apply regardless of whether the vehicle must be licensed under the Regulation.

If the vehicle must be licensed under a dangerous goods vehicle licence, the driver of the vehicle (including the relief driver in a two-up arrangement) must hold a current and valid dangerous goods driver licence.

For further information about dangerous goods vehicle licences, refer to the Dangerous goods vehicle licensing page.

For further information about dangerous goods driver licences, refer to the Dangerous goods driver licensing page.

Loads requiring placarded vehicles

The transport vehicle must display placards if it is carrying a placard load, being a load which meets one or more criteria set out in Table 5.3 of the ADG Code.

Placard loads present a greater level of risk to health and safety in the event of an incident during transport than loads which do not meet any of the criteria set out in Table 5.3.

Displaying placards on the vehicle warns other road users of the type of dangerous goods being carried and provides additional information for emergency services in the event of an incident.

An emergency plan must be put in place for the transport of placard loads, and a telephone advisory service may be needed so that specialist advice about how to safely handle and contain the dangerous goods will be available in an emergency.

The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has developed guidance material and templates for use in developing a Transport Emergency Response Plan (TERP), which are available on the Preparing for transport incidents page of the NSW EPA website.

The Regulation also sets out other requirements specific to the transport of placard loads, and a failure to comply with requirements applying to all loads may carry a higher penalty if it involves the transport of a placard load, given the greater level of risk.

Loads requiring insured vehicles

A transport vehicle which will be used to carry a placard load must be insured for the transport of dangerous goods for an amount of at least $5,000,000 in relation to:

  • personal injury, death, property damage and other damage (except consequential economic loss) arising out of any fire, explosion, leakage or spillage of dangerous goods in or from the vehicle or any packaging transported in the vehicle; and
  • costs incurred by or on behalf of a Commonwealth, State or Territory government authority in a clean-up resulting from such a fire, explosion, leakage or spillage.

Dangerous situations

If an incident occurs during the transport of dangerous goods by road in the ACT and it creates a dangerous situation (as defined in the Act), WorkSafe ACT must be notified as soon as practicable.

This includes incidents occurring whilst the dangerous goods are being loaded onto, or unloaded from, the transport vehicle.

For information about making a notification to WorkSafe ACT, refer to the Notify WorkSafe ACT page.

WorkSafe ACT must also be given a copy of the prime contractor's written report about the incident and its likely cause(s), no later than 21 days after the day of the incident.

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