A heavy vehicle inspection checklist is the record of a driver or workshop going round a truck before it goes on the road: the papers, the cab, the air brakes, steering and suspension, every tyre and wheel nut, the lamps, the coupling and whatever is on the trailer. This one is written for Australian rigid trucks, prime movers and combinations, and ends with a defect log and a plain fit-for-road answer. You can fill it in here and download the PDF without an account — or speak while you walk round, and the document writes itself.
What this check is, and what it is not
This is an operator's own inspection: the daily or pre-trip check a driver does, or the periodic check a workshop or fleet controller does between services. It is a record that somebody looked, what they found, and what was done about it.
It is not a roadworthiness certificate, a registration inspection, or an NHVR or state authority inspection, and filling it in does not make a vehicle compliant with the Heavy Vehicle National Law or any state rule. Those inspections are done by authorised officers or approved inspection stations to their own procedures. What a well-kept record of your own checks does do is show the reasonable steps an operator took — which matters under chain of responsibility, where everyone who controls the transport task has a duty to keep it safe.
Air brakes first
Most of the checks that stop a heavy vehicle being driven are in the brakes. Before anything else, let the air build and listen: pressure should climb in a normal time and the governor should cut out in range; the low-air warning should come on when you pump the pressure down; with the engine off and the brakes held on, pressure should hold. Drain the tanks of water, and look along the air lines and suzies for chafing.
The checklist keeps these as separate items so that a failure points at one thing — a leak, a warning that did not sound, a park brake that would not hold — rather than a general "brakes not right".
Couplings, trailers and the load
Answer Yes to the trailer question and the coupling section appears: fifth wheel jaws closed round the kingpin and the release handle locked, a tug test done, a pin coupling and its safety chains on a dog trailer, the air and electrical lines connected and clear of the deck, landing legs fully up, and the trailer's own brakes, lamps, tyres and deck.
Load restraint has a section of its own because it is where most roadside defects on otherwise sound trucks come from. The NHVR's Load Restraint Guide sets out the performance a restraint system has to achieve; the checks here ask whether the load is held to that standard, whether straps, chains and dunnage are in good condition, whether gates and sides are closed, and whether the vehicle is within its mass and dimension limits.
Defects and the fit-for-road call
Each item not OK becomes a finding in the report. Log every defect with where it is and how serious it is, then make the call: fit for road, fit with minor defects reported, or not fit — do not drive until repaired. Brakes, steering, tyres, coupling and load restraint defects are almost always the last kind.
Common questions
How often should a heavy vehicle be inspected?
A driver should do a walk-round check at the start of every shift and whenever the combination changes — a new trailer, a new load. Fleets usually add a deeper workshop inspection on a time or kilometre interval, alongside the servicing schedule and any accreditation scheme they belong to.
Does this checklist replace a roadworthy or an NHVR inspection?
No. Registration, roadworthy and authority inspections are done by approved inspectors and authorised officers to their own standards. This form records your own inspection, which is good practice and good evidence, but it is not a certificate of anything.
What tyre tread depth does a heavy vehicle need?
Tread must stay above the wear indicators across the tyre — 1.5 mm is the figure most commonly quoted as the legal minimum in Australia. Many fleets replace well before that, especially on steer tyres. Check the current vehicle standards for your vehicle.
Do I need to fill in the trailer section for a rigid truck?
Only if it is towing. Answer No to the trailer question and the coupling and trailer checks fold away and are left out of the score.
Who should sign the inspection?
The person who did it, always. Many operators also have a fleet controller or workshop supervisor countersign, especially when the result is anything other than fit for road, so there is a record of who decided what happened next.