Logistics Services Agreement in Australia: Template and Key Clauses (2026)

A logistics services agreement in Australia sets out how a provider will carry, store, handle and deliver a customer's goods. The money in the deal is in the service levels, but the risk is in the liability, insurance and consumer-law clauses. Australia does not have one single road-carriage code the way Europe uses CMR, so the contract itself does most of the work, and the Australian Consumer Law sits over the top and limits what a provider can exclude. This guide sets out the governing law, the key clauses and a working skeleton. It is general information, not legal advice; confirm a live deal with an Australian lawyer. ## What law governs a logistics agreement in Australia? There is no single national statute for carriage of goods by road. The relationship is built mainly on the contract plus the general law, with several statutes layered on top: - Australian Consumer Law (ACL), which is Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), regulated by the ACCC. It implies consumer guarantees into supplies of goods and services and controls unfair contract terms in standard-form contracts.

• Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) more broadly, for misleading conduct and unfair terms.
• Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1991 (Cth) where goods move by sea, and the Heavy Vehicle National Law for interstate road freight in participating states and territories.
• Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles where the provider handles personal information.
• GST under the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (Cth), currently ten per cent, which the contract should address in pricing. ## Key clauses to get right - Scope of services: collection, line haul, warehousing, handling, customs, last-mile delivery and any value-added services. List what is in and what is out.
• Service levels and KPIs: pick-up and delivery windows, on-time rates, damage and loss rates, stock accuracy for warehousing, and the remedy when a target is missed.
• Liability and limitation: the commercial heart of the agreement. State the basis of liability for loss or damage, any per-consignment or per-kilogram cap, and exclusions for consequential loss. These limits are enforceable between businesses but cannot override the consumer guarantees where they apply.
• Insurance: who insures the goods in transit and in store, carrier's liability cover, public liability and the required limits. Make clear that carrier liability and goods-in-transit cover are different things.
• Dangerous goods: declaration, classification and handling under the Australian Dangerous Goods Code, and the consequences of an undeclared dangerous consignment.
• Title, risk and lien: when risk passes, and the provider's lien over goods for unpaid charges.
• Subcontracting: whether the provider may subcontract carriage and how liability flows through subcontractors.
• Price, GST and review: rates, fuel and surcharge mechanisms, GST treatment, and how prices change.
• Term, termination and transition: notice, breach, insolvency, and an exit plan so goods and data move cleanly to a new provider.
• Data protection: handling of personal information under the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles. ## Australia-specific points that matter The biggest trap is assuming a limitation of liability clause will always hold. Between two businesses, well-drafted caps and exclusions are generally effective, and the ACL expressly allows a supplier to limit liability for a breach of certain guarantees to re-supply or the cost of re-supply, except where that would not be fair and reasonable. But the consumer guarantees cannot be contracted out of where the customer is a consumer, which under the ACL can include business customers acquiring goods or services under a threshold amount. So the identity of the customer, not just the clause wording, decides how far a cap goes. Standard-form logistics contracts are also exposed to the unfair contract terms regime. Since late 2023 the regime carries civil penalties, so a provider cannot rely on one-sided terms such as unlimited unilateral variation without risk. Draft variation, limitation and termination terms so they are balanced and clearly justified by a legitimate interest. Finally, be precise about insurance. A carrier's liability policy responds to the carrier's legal liability, which is capped by the contract; it is not the same as goods-in-transit cover that pays the value of the goods. Spell out which party carries which cover so a loss does not fall into a gap. ## A simple drafting skeleton 1. Parties and date

2. Definitions (goods, consignment, services, KPIs)
3. Scope of logistics services
4. Service levels and performance measures
5. Charges, surcharges and GST
6. Liability, limitation and exclusions
7. Insurance obligations
8. Dangerous and prohibited goods
9. Title, risk and lien
10. Subcontracting and assignment
11. Confidentiality and privacy
12. Term, termination and transition out
13. Dispute resolution and governing law (an Australian state or territory)
14. Signatures ## Common mistakes to avoid - Treating a liability cap as absolute when the customer is a consumer and the ACL guarantees apply.

• Confusing carrier's liability cover with goods-in-transit insurance and leaving a gap.
• Using one-sided standard terms that now risk penalties under the unfair contract terms regime.
• Leaving dangerous goods declaration and handling undefined.
• Forgetting a transition-out plan, so an exit traps goods and data with the outgoing provider. ## Keeping logistics contracts under control If you run logistics across several sites or carriers, the hard part is not one contract. It is tracking which liability caps apply, which insurance obligations each provider owes, when each term renews and which KPI regime governs which lane. That work, drafting from a tuned template, flagging one-sided or risky clauses, tracking renewals and keeping versions straight, is what an AI contract workspace can hold in one place. Adira is built for this, with per-clause risk review, plain-English clause editing and a live activity timeline; it is one AI workspace tuned to your company and built on Claude. It is India-first today with other jurisdictions on its roadmap, so verify local depth before relying on it for Australian law. More at Adira. The law above stands on its own. ## Bottom line An Australian logistics agreement lives or dies on its liability, insurance and consumer-law clauses. Limitation clauses work between businesses but cannot defeat the consumer guarantees, and one-sided standard terms now carry penalties. Decide who insures the goods, cap liability clearly, define dangerous goods and build an exit plan, and get Australian advice before signing a real deal.