The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) and the trucking industry are today mourning the loss of Professor Michael Coper AO, Chair of the TruckSafe Industry Accreditation Council and former Dean of the Australian National University College of Law. 

The ATA represents the 50,000 businesses and 200,000 people in the Australian trucking industry.  

“The ATA, TruckSafe and the industry are deeply saddened by the loss of Michael Coper,” ATA Chair Geoff Crouch said today. 

Professor Coper’s connection to the transport industry began in the mid-1980s when he joined the NSW Road Freight Transport Industry Council as the legal member. 

In 1988, Prof Coper was then appointed as the lawyer member of the Inter-State Commission, producing several reports on the efficiency of interstate transport. One of the Council’s recommendations led to the establishment of the National Road Transport Commission (now the National Transport Commission). 

In 1996, Prof Coper was appointed as Chair of the TruckSafe Industry Accreditation Council, playing a key role in delivering positive outcomes for trucking businesses, helping to manage risk and boost safety. 

In 2018, Prof Coper was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia for distinguished service to legal education and transport safety. 

“This prestigious honour recognised Michael’s passion to improve the trucking industry in the interest of everyone who makes a living from it and who is served by it. In other words – all Australians,” TruckSafe Chair Ferdie Kroon said. 

“We will remember Michael as a great advocate of safety within the transport industry,” he said.