Defendant · no NHVR reference: fined $21,600, fatigue, 14 November 2018
Party
- Party
- Defendant · no NHVR reference. The NHVR publishes court outcomes without the defendant's name.
- Role
- Role not stated
The proceeding
- Decision
- Convicted
- Court
- Port Adelaide Magistrates Court (Local or Magistrates)
- Jurisdiction
- South Australia
- Hearing date
- 14 November 2018
- Law
- Heavy Vehicle National Law
- Provisions
- s 229 HVNL (pre 1, s 10
- Offence
- Fatigue
- Charges
- 18
- Incident
- Property damage
Facts
An Adelaide based trucking company was prosecuted for two offences against s 229 of the HVNL (pre 1 October 2018 offending). An investigation into the company was commenced after one of its drivers was involved in a collision. The trucks operated by the company were fitted with GPS and GPS data was readily available to the company. The company failed to access the GPS data or cross-check GPS records with drivers’ work diaries. Had the company accessed the GPS data it would have been alerted to indications that two drivers were committing extreme breaches of the fatigue regulations of the HVNL. Section 229 does not require proof that a driver was in fact driving fatigued – it is simply a failure to take reasonable steps to ensure that a person does not drive on the road while impaired by fatigue. Thus in failing to cross-check GPS with work diaries for these two drivers – which would have been a reasonable step – the company committed two offences against s 229 of the HVNL. As the defendant was a company, the operation of s 596 meant that the maximum penalty for each of the two offences was $55,000 dollars (5 times the $11,000 maximum penalty for an s 229 offence). The Magistrate reduced the proposed a fine of $36,000 by 40% in recognition of the pleas of guilty on the first occasion the matter was in Court. This resulted in a global fine of $21,600 plus victims of crime levies and prosecutors fees.
As reported by NHVR.
Penalty
- Fine
- $21,600
Fines under s 10 on the register: $3,000 to $21,600, median $12,300 across 2 matters.
What the record would have shown
Each driver's work and rest hours set against the work diary before the run, with who checked and when. How the record works →
Comparable actions
| Defendant | Offence | Jurisdiction | Decision | Date | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Punjab Roadtrains Pty Ltd | Fatigue | VIC | Prohibition notice; prohibition order | Date not stated | View the record of Punjab Roadtrains Pty Ltd, Date not stated |
| Southern Cross Freight Lines Pty Ltd | Fatigue | Not stated | Prohibition notice; prohibition order | Date not stated | View the record of Southern Cross Freight Lines Pty Ltd, Date not stated |
| Capital Lines and Signs Pty Ltd | Primary duty | NSW | Convicted, fined $38,000 | 11 November 2024 | View the record of Capital Lines and Signs Pty Ltd, 11 November 2024 |
| Profect Construction Pty Ltd | Primary duty | NSW | Convicted, fined $45,000 | 4 November 2025 | View the record of Profect Construction Pty Ltd, 4 November 2025 |
| Karl O’Sullivan | Other | NSW | Convicted, fined $7,500 | 1 May 2024 | View the record of Karl O’Sullivan, 1 May 2024 |
Sources
- NHVR: Court outcomes (read 14 October 2026)
Something here wrong? Report an error and name the source that shows it.
Register entry ea-0901919e3c5d, as at 14 October 2026. How the register is built.