Food Delivery Drivers Need To Be Inducted

For some time now, there has been a steady stream of News reports where food delivery riders in our major cities have been involved in accidents with buses, trams, cars, and pedestrians. The majority of these drivers and riders are foreigners who are on temporary visas and are working for companies that are themselves often managed by foreigners. This doesn’t excuse food delivery companies from adhering to our health and safety laws. Our laws apply to every business, no matter how big or small.

Injuries and Fatalities

Talk to bus drivers, tram drivers, and anyone whose job involves having to drive in our major cities. There have been many incidents where these food delivery people have been injured or killed. It’s also a health and safety matter for the people who were unfortunate enough to have become unwilling participants in the chain of events leading to these tragedies.

It’s a problem.

In the case of food delivery drivers who do home deliveries using cars and vans, drivers are often young people or retired people. Young people may have no experience with WHS laws, and retirees who have been out of the workforce for a long time may not have current knowledge.

Changes to the law

The good news is that in the newly released NSW WHS Regulation 2025, the hazards and risks of food delivery drivers are fully acknowledged and intelligently addressed for what they are with new requirements implemented. These requirements apply to drivers in our cities, and drivers in our suburbs.

The new Regulation has clarified existing requirements and added additional requirements in keeping with the overarching purpose of WHS law which is for businesses to provide a WHS management system that ensures the safety of its workforce. The new Regulation puts more accountability on food delivery companies to do the right thing.

New Legal requirements

The new information and requirements can be found in Chapter 4 Hazardous work, Part 4.10 Food delivery riders.

In summary:

Clauses 184N – 184S require that food delivery booking providers must provide and ensure food delivery drivers and riders have completed food delivery induction training. No rider or driver may perform a food delivery without first having done this training. Delivery companies must provide hi-vis and appropriate PPE to the riders and drivers to mitigate risks from not being seen by motorists, pedestrians, or public transport services. Delivery vehicles include electric scooters. Providers must keep records of training given and completed. Every business has an overarching duty to provide safe systems of work for its employees, no matter their residency status.

Standard of Training

Clause 72 of the WHS Regulation states that businesses “… must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the information, training and instruction provided under this clause is provided in a way that is readily understandable by any person to whom it is provided.”

As WHS Professionals, we cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that the majority of food delivery riders in our major cities are foreign students who are undertaking this kind of work while they are studying. Their services help the wheels of business keep turning. It is important that these people are given due consideration and are trained to a level that meets this requirement. The same applies to students and retirees who do food deliveries in cars and other vehicles in our suburbs.

As the new Regulation is not even a week old, Courtenell is compiling from this new information and long-established WHS requirements new material suitable to provide induction training for food delivery drivers and riders that aligns with the health and safety requirements of the WHS Act and new WHS Regulation.

If you are interested in organizing training of this nature, please contact Courtenell at 02 9552 2066 or email your regular Courtenell technical expert.