Hawkins Transport fined A$60,000 for breaching the safety order meant to fix its fleet

On October 9, 2026, Hawkins Transport was sentenced in Townsville Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to eight offences breaching a court-ordered Supervisory Intervention Order. The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator said seven involved failing to present heavy vehicles for required safety inspections — 38 vehicles in all — and the eighth was failing to provide copies of defect notices. The case began with 37 charges carrying a $2.5 million maximum and ended on eight with a $590,000 maximum; no conviction was recorded and the fine was $60,000.

The 12-month supervisory order had been imposed in November 2024, after the Normanton-based operator was convicted and fined $55,000 for failing to ensure its fleet was adequately maintained, serviced and repaired. That investigation followed a 2022 crash in Charters Towers involving one of its heavy vehicles with a potentially dangerous braking system, with defects also found on its trailer. The NHVR said the court imposed the order after considering the operator was, or was likely to become, a systemic or persistent offender under the Heavy Vehicle National Law.

The breaches compounded an expensive year. Prohibition notices issued on August 14, 2026 grounded the fleet for 12 days; the company put the associated losses above $2.3 million, booked an August loss of about $320,000 against a budgeted $1 million profit, and saw 17 drivers resign. The regulator's record was stark: of 108 first inspections completed by October 7, 92 failed — 85.2 per cent — with 11 major defects across 32 components, six known crashes in 2026, and 111 defect notices (35 major) from January 2025 to August 2026.

A$60,000 fine on eight charges, after losses above $2.3M and 17 driver resignations from a 12-day grounding of the fleet.

The company missed the order's core obligations: 38 vehicles were never presented for the required safety inspections, and defect notices were not handed over.

Its lawyer attributed the failures to staff turnover and logistics across remote Queensland depots; the company accepted compliance was inadequate but denied disregarding the order.

The underlying maintenance record was poor — the NHVR counted 111 defect notices (35 major) between January 2025 and August 2026 and an 85.2 per cent first-inspection failure rate.

The court had already classified the operator as a likely systemic or persistent offender, so each miss inside the order became its own charge.

A supervision order raises the stakes instead of lowering the bar: missing its inspection and reporting steps turns one maintenance case into repeat offences a court fines again.

The prohibition notices were lifted on August 26, 2026, on the eve of a Supreme Court hearing, letting the fleet resume after 12 days; the company then had eight weeks to get its trucks and trailers inspected. Boss Bradley Hawkins asked the regulator to work with the company rather than 'waving fines around', disputing parts of the inspection process. Since February 2026 the firm has added a full-time compliance officer, engaged ComplyAssist to build a Safety Management System, and is rolling out digital pre-start checks. About 30 trucks were running, limited by driver shortages.