Product Overview

Summary: This Heavy Vehicle Recovery Safe Operating Procedure sets out clear, step‑by‑step requirements for safely recovering trucks, buses and plant on Australian roads and worksites. It focuses on controlling high‑risk activities such as working roadside, using recovery equipment and stabilising loads, helping you protect workers, the public and your business while meeting WHS and road transport obligations.

Heavy vehicle recovery is one of the highest‑risk tasks in the transport and logistics sector, combining roadside traffic hazards, unstable loads, heavy lifting and often time‑critical pressure to reopen roads or restart operations. Without a structured procedure, operators can be exposed to struck‑by incidents, vehicle rollovers, equipment failure and serious musculoskeletal injuries. This Heavy Vehicle Recovery Safe Operating Procedure provides a clear, repeatable method for planning and executing recoveries on public roads, depots, yards and remote worksites across Australia.

The SOP guides your team from the initial call‑out and risk assessment through to scene control, vehicle stabilisation, selection and use of winches, chains and lifting gear, and safe clearance of the site. It embeds WHS duties, traffic management requirements and communication protocols with police, road authorities and other emergency services. By implementing this procedure, businesses can demonstrate due diligence, standardise training, and significantly reduce the likelihood of serious incidents, equipment damage and prolonged downtime when heavy vehicles break down, roll over or become bogged.

Key Benefits

• Reduce the risk of serious injury or fatality during heavy vehicle recovery operations through structured hazard controls.
• Ensure consistent, compliant recovery practices aligned with Australian WHS and road transport requirements.
• Minimise damage to vehicles, loads and recovery equipment by specifying correct rigging, lifting and winching techniques.
• Improve coordination with emergency services, road authorities and site management for faster, safer incident resolution.
• Support competency‑based training and onboarding with a clear, step‑by‑step reference for operators and supervisors.

Who is this for?

• Heavy Vehicle Recovery Operators
• Tow Truck Drivers
• Fleet Managers
• Transport and Logistics Managers
• Workshop Managers
• Site Supervisors
• WHS Managers and Advisors
• Emergency Response Coordinators
• Civil Construction Supervisors
• Mining and Quarry Operations Managers

Hazards Addressed

• Struck‑by incidents from passing traffic during roadside recovery
• Vehicle rollaway or rollover during recovery or towing
• Failure of winches, slings, chains or tow points under load
• Crushing and pinch‑point injuries when connecting or disconnecting recovery gear
• Unstable or shifting loads, including tankers and high centre‑of‑gravity vehicles
• Working near live traffic in low visibility, night or adverse weather conditions
• Slips, trips and falls on uneven, soft or contaminated ground
• Manual handling injuries when positioning chocks, chains and equipment
• Exposure to hazardous substances such as fuel, oils and battery acid following an incident
• Psychosocial stress and fatigue associated with emergency and after‑hours call‑outs

Included Sections

• 1.0 Purpose and Scope
• 2.0 Definitions and Applicable Vehicles
• 3.0 Roles, Responsibilities and Competency Requirements
• 4.0 Pre‑Recovery Planning and Call‑Out Information
• 5.0 Site Arrival, Scene Assessment and Risk Assessment (JSA/SWMS)
• 6.0 Traffic Management and Exclusion Zones
• 7.0 Vehicle Stabilisation and Load Assessment
• 8.0 Selection and Inspection of Recovery Equipment
• 9.0 Step‑by‑Step Heavy Vehicle Recovery Procedure
• 10.0 Winching, Lifting and Rigging Requirements
• 11.0 Communication Protocols with Emergency Services and Road Authorities
• 12.0 Environmental Protection and Spill Response
• 13.0 Post‑Recovery Inspection, Debrief and Documentation
• 14.0 Training, Competency and Refresher Requirements
• 15.0 Monitoring, Review and Continuous Improvement

Legislation & References

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) and corresponding state and territory WHS Acts
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 and equivalent state and territory regulations
• Safe Work Australia – Code of Practice: Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace
• Safe Work Australia – Code of Practice: Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces
• Safe Work Australia – Code of Practice: Traffic Management in Workplaces (where adopted or referenced by jurisdictions)
• AS/NZS 4024 series: Safety of machinery (for winches and powered recovery equipment)
• AS/NZS 4380: Cargo restraint systems – Transport webbing and components
• AS/NZS 1891 series: Industrial fall‑arrest systems and devices (where recovery requires work at height)
• Austroads Guidelines for Heavy Vehicle Operations and Roadside Safety (as applicable)
• State and territory Tow Truck and Heavy Vehicle Recovery regulations and licensing requirements