Road managers
Accessibility tools
On this page
- Glossary of key terms
- Rules for counting time
- Work and rest hours
- More information
Glossary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Standard hours | The maximum hours of work and minimum hours of rest that apply to all drivers of fatigue-regulated heavy vehicles who are not driving under BFM hours, AFM hours, ACH or exemption hours. |
| Basic Fatigue Management (BFM) | The maximum hours of work and minimum hours of rest that apply to drivers operating under a BFM accreditation. |
| Advanced Fatigue Management (AFM) | The maximum hours of work and minimum hours of rest that apply to drivers operating under an AFM accreditation. The hours of work and rest are stated on the copy of the AFM certificate, which the driver must carry in the vehicle. |
| Alternative Compliance Hours (ACH) | The maximum work times and minimum rest times that apply, for a period, to the driver of a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle operating under ACA – Fatigue. The hours of work and rest are stated on the copy of the accreditation certificate, which the driver must carry in the vehicle. |
| Alternative Compliance Accreditation – Fatigue (ACA - Fatigue) | Accreditation granted by the NHVR for fatigue management under the Heavy Vehicle Accreditation scheme that prescribes ACH for drivers of fatigue-regulated heavy vehicles. |
| Work and rest hours option or hours option | The work and rest hours a driver is working under – either standard hours, BFM hours, AFM hours, ACH or exemption hours. |
| Counting period | The window of time used to measure whether a driver has complied with their maximum work time and minimum rest time requirements under the Heavy Vehicle National Law. |
Rules for counting time
Drivers and other responsible parties in the supply chain are required by law to count work and rest times in a specific way. Understand the rules for counting work and rest times for fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle drivers.
How to count periods less than 24-hours — all drivers
Work periods of less than 24-hours must be counted forward from the end of any rest break.
How to count 24-hour periods or longer — by hours option
The rule for counting periods of 24 hours or longer depends on which hours option you are working under.
Counting periods for Standard Hours and Alternative Compliance Hours (ACH) is now simplified — one consistent rule applies across all period lengths.
What is work time and rest time
Work time
Work time includes all tasks to do with the operation of the fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle. For more information, see Definition of work and work time.
It doesn’t matter if any of these tasks occur on private property or on a road or road-related area; they are still classified as work.
Rest time
Any time that is not work time.
Standard hours and Alternative Compliance Hours (ACH)
For drivers operating under standard hours or ACH, all periods of 24-hours or longer - including 7, 14 and 28-day periods - must be counted forward from the end of the longest major rest break required under your hours option.
To find the longest major rest break, refer to the Rest column in the work and rest Table of Hours for your option. For ACH drivers, the longest major rest break is stated on your accreditation certificate for each counting period of 24 hours or longer.
Examples
- A standard hours solo driver would count a period of 7 days from the end of a rest break of 24 or more continuous hours.
- A standard hours solo driver would count a period of 14 days from the end of a night rest break.
If you have not taken the required rest break
Count from the end of any rest break.
Basic Fatigue Management (BFM)
For drivers operating under BFM, all periods of 24 hours or longer must be counted forward from the end of the relevant major rest break required under your BFM hours option.
To find the relevant major rest break, refer to the 'Rest column' in the BFM work and rest Table of Hours.
Example
- A BFM solo driver would count a period of 14 days from the end of a rest break of 24 or more continuous hours OR from the end of a night rest break.
If you have not taken the required rest break
Count from the end of any rest break.
Advanced Fatigue Management (AFM)
For drivers operating under AFM, all periods of 24 hours or longer must be counted forward from the end of the relevant major rest break required under your AFM hours option.
To find the relevant major rest break, refer to the work and rest hours table located on the accreditation certificate.
If you have not taken the required rest break
Count from the end of any rest break.
| Hours option | Counting periods of 24-hours or more | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Standard hours | End of the longest major rest break required in the period. | Rest column in the standard hours table. |
| ACH | End of the longest major rest break required in the period. | Stated on the ACH accreditation certificate. |
| BFM | End of the relevant major rest break required in the period. | Rest column in the BFM table. |
| AFM | End of the relevant major rest break required in the period. | Stated on the AFM accreditation certificate. |
Important note: You must count work and rest time for the whole 24-hour period following the end of a relevant major rest break for BFM or AFM; or from the end of the longest major rest break for standard hours or ACH. If you take another (subsequent) relevant/long major rest break during that 24-hour period, it does not reset the 24-hour period and you must continue counting work time for that 24-hour period after the break. You must count all work time before and after the subsequent relevant major rest break in that 24-hour period.
For example, if you started working at 6:00am and:
- worked 5¼ hrs (6:00am-11:15am) and then took a 15-minute break
- worked 2¼ hrs (11:30am–1:45pm) and then took a 90-minute break
- worked 4½ hrs (3:15–7:45pm) then took a 7-hour major rest break
then you have completed the maximum 12 hours work time in any 24-hour period at 7:45pm and may not commence working again until 6:00am the next day because that is when the 24-hour period you are counting finishes.
Note: When your 7-hour major rest break finishes at 2:45am, a new 24-hour counting period does not commence.
Long/night work time
Long/night work time means any work time that is:
- greater than 12 hours in a 24-hour period, or
- between midnight and 6am, according to the time zone of the driver's base.
Both long and night work must be counted together.
Under BFM, the 7-day counting period uses a long/night work time cap of 36 hours rather than a total work time cap. See the BFM Table of Hours for details.
Under ACH, whether a long/night work time limit applies, and what that limit is, depends on what is set out on the operator's ACH accreditation certificate. Drivers operating under ACH should refer to their certificate for the applicable requirements.
Counting work and rest time in written work diaries
When using a Written Work Diary (WWD), work time is counted in 15-minute periods.
Work time rounds up
Work time limits are maximum limits, so work time is always rounded up to the next 15-minute interval.
| Actual work time | Counted as |
|---|---|
| 6 minutes work | 15 minutes work time |
| 32 minutes work | 45 minutes of work time |
| 2 hours and 21 minutes of work | 2 hours and 30 minutes of work time |
Rest time rounds down
Rest time limits are minimum limits, so rest time is always rounded down to the last 15–minute interval.
| Actual rest time | Counted as |
|---|---|
| 12 minutes rest | 0 minutes of rest time |
| 44 minutes rest | 30 minutes of rest time |
| 6 hours and 40 minutes of rest | 6 hours and 30 minutes of rest time |
Time zones
Rules for recording time in different time zones
Both work time and rest time must be counted in 15-minute blocks relative to the time zone of your base (that is, your journey starting point).
For example:
- If you are based in Queensland and you drive into New South Wales during daylight savings time, record your work and rest hours in Queensland time.
For more information, see Managing fatigue work and rest requirements under Daylight Saving Time.
How to determine a 24-hour period for the purposes of counting time?
Work and rest requirements
In addition to the general duty to not drive a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle on a road while fatigued or unfit to drive, drivers must comply with maximum work and minimum rest limits.
Parties in the Chain of Responsibility (CoR) must do everything reasonably practicable to prevent drivers from exceeding these limits. This is similar to occupational health and safety laws and means that drivers must be allowed to stop if they are at risk of exceeding the limits and make alternative arrangements.
For additional information and guidance on fatigue in the heavy vehicle transport industry, as well as obligations under the HVNL for parties in the CoR, see Regulatory Advice – Fitness to drive: Fatigue.
Important note - New from 1 August 2026
The reformed HVNL introduces an explicit duty that drivers must not drive a heavy vehicle while impaired by fatigue or unfit to drive. This duty now applies to all heavy vehicles over 4.5 tonnes GVM. It applies regardless of whether a driver is within their work and rest hour limits.
A new hours option is available under the reformed HVNL through ACA–Fatigue accreditation, Alternative Compliance Hours (ACH). See the ACH section below.
Standard hours
Standard Hours apply to all drivers who do not hold ACA-Fatigue accreditation. There is no accreditation required to operate under Standard Hours as it is the default option for all fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle drivers.
Solo drivers
Download the Daily work and rest hours planner - Standard hours (solo drivers) (PDF, 24KB)
| in any period of | Maximum work time | Minimum rest required |
|---|---|---|
| 5 ½ hours | 5 ¼ hours work time | 15 continuous minutes rest time |
| 8 hours | 7 ½ hours work time | 30 minutes rest time in blocks of 15 continuous minutes |
| 11 hours | 10 hours work time | 60 minutes rest time in blocks of 15 continuous minutes |
| 24 hours | 12 hours work time | 7 continuous hours stationary rest time* |
| 7 days (168 hours) | 72 hours work time | 24 continuous hours stationary rest time |
| 14 days | 144 hours work time | 2 x night rest breaks** and 2 x night rest breaks taken on consecutive days |
*Stationary rest time is the time a driver spends out of a heavy vehicle or in an approved sleeper berth of a stationary heavy vehicle. **Night rest breaks are 7 continuous hours stationary rest time taken between the hours of 10pm on a day and 8am on the next day (using the time zone of the base of the driver) or a 24 continuous hours stationary rest break. | ||
Solo drivers in the bus and coach sector only
Solo drivers of fatigue-regulated buses may choose to operate under either the standard solo driver hours (above) or the bus and coach sector hours (below), but not both at the same time.
| In any period of | Maximum work time | Minimum rest time |
|---|---|---|
| 5 ½ hours | 5 ¼ hours work time | 15 continuous minutes rest time |
| 8 hours | 7 ½ hours work time | 30 minutes rest time in blocks of 15 continuous minutes |
| 11 hours | 10 hours work time | 60 minutes rest time in blocks of 15 continuous minutes |
| 24 hours | 12 hours work time | 7 continuous hours stationary rest time* |
| 7 days (168 hours) | 6 x night rest breaks** | |
| 28 days | 288 hours work time | 4 x 24 hours continuous hours stationary rest time |
*Stationary rest time is the time a driver spends out of a heavy vehicle or in an approved sleeper berth of a stationary heavy vehicle. **Night rest breaks are 7 continuous hours stationary rest time taken between the hours of 10pm on a day and 8am on the next day (using the time zone of the base of the driver) or a 24 continuous hours stationary rest break. | ||
Two-up drivers
Use of an approved sleeper berth for two-up drivers: The NHVR recommends only using a sleeper berth for continuous rest time (when the vehicle is moving) prior to a driver’s major rest break.
| In any period of | Maximum work time | Minimum rest required |
|---|---|---|
| 5 ½ hours | 5 ¼ hours work time | 15 continuous minutes rest time |
| 8 hours | 7 ½ hours work time | 30 minutes rest time in blocks of 15 continuous minutes |
| 11 hours | 10 hours work time | 60 minutes rest time in blocks of 15 continuous minutes |
| 24 hours | 12 hours work time | 5 continuous hours stationary rest time* or 5 hours continuous rest time in an approved sleeper berth while the vehicle is moving |
| 52 hours | 10 continuous hours stationary rest time | |
| 7 days | 60 hours work time | 24 continuous hours stationary rest time and 24 hours stationary rest time in blocks of at least 7 continuous hours of stationary rest time |
| 14 days | 120 hours work time | 2 x night rest breaks** and 2 x night rest breaks taken on consecutive days |
*Stationary rest time is the time a driver spends out of a heavy vehicle or in an approved sleeper berth of a stationary heavy vehicle. **Night rest breaks are 7 continuous hours stationary rest time taken between the hours of 10pm on a day and 8am on the next day (using the time zone of the base of the driver) or a 24 continuous hours stationary rest break. | ||
Basic Fatigue Management (BFM)
BFM was available as an accreditation module prior to the Heavy Vehicle National Law changing on 1 August 2026.
Operators currently holding BFM accreditation may continue to operate under its conditions until their accreditation expires, is cancelled, or they choose to transition to the Heavy Vehicle Accreditation (HVA) scheme.
BFM solo drivers
Download the BFM daily work and rest hours planner for solo drivers (PDF, 24KB)
| In any period of | Maximum work time | Minimum rest required |
|---|---|---|
| 6 ¼ hours | 6 hours work time | 15 continuous minutes rest time |
| 9 hours | 8 ½ hours work time | 30 minutes rest time in blocks of 15 continuous minutes |
| 12 hours | 11 hours work time | 60 minutes rest time in blocks of 15 continuous minutes |
| 24 hours | 14 hours work time | 7 continuous hours stationary rest time* |
| 7 days | 36 hours long/night work time** | No limit has been set |
| 14 days | 144 hours work time | 24 continuous hours stationary rest time taken after no more than 84 hours work time and 24 continuous hours stationary rest time and 2 x night rest breaks*** and 2 x night rest breaks taken on consecutive days. |
| *Stationary rest time is the time a driver spends out of a regulated heavy vehicle or in an approved sleeper berth of a stationary regulated heavy vehicle. **Long/night work time is any work time (outside of the period midnight to 6.00 am) that is in excess of 12 hours of work in a 24-hour period or any work time between midnight and 6 am (or the equivalent hours in the time zone of the base of a driver). ***Night rest breaks are 7 continuous hours stationary rest time taken between the hours of 10pm on a day and 8am on the next day (using the time zone of the base of the driver) or a 24 continuous hours stationary rest break. | ||
BFM two-up drivers
Use of an approved sleeper berth for two-up drivers: The NHVR recommends only using a sleeper berth for continuous rest time (when the vehicle is moving) prior to a driver’s major rest break.
| In any period of | Maximum work time | Minimum rest required |
|---|---|---|
| 24 hours | 14 hours work time | No limit has been set |
| 82 hours | No limit has been set | 10 continuous hours stationary rest time* |
| 7 days | 70 hours work time | 24 continuous hours stationary rest time and 24 hours stationary rest time in blocks of at least 7 continuous hours of stationary rest time |
| 14 days | 140 hours work time | 4 night rest breaks** |
| *Stationary rest time is the time a driver spends out of a regulated heavy vehicle or in an approved sleeper berth of a stationary regulated heavy vehicle. **Night rest breaks are 7 continuous hours stationary rest time taken between the hours of 10pm on a day and 8am on the next day (using the time zone of the base of the driver) or a 24 continuous hours stationary rest break. | ||
Advanced Fatigue Management (AFM)
Advanced Fatigue Management (AFM) was available as an accreditation module prior to the Heavy Vehicle National Law changing on 1 August 2026.
Operators with existing AFM accreditation may continue to operate under the conditions of their accreditation certificate until it expires, is cancelled, or they choose to transition to the Heavy Vehicle Accreditation (HVA) scheme.
The maximum work times and minimum rest times for AFM drivers are set out on the operator's AFM accreditation certificate. Drivers must carry a copy of the certificate in the vehicle at all times.
For more information, see Advanced Fatigue Management (AFM).
Alternative Compliance Hours (ACH)
Alternative Compliance Hours (ACH) describe the work and rest hours options available through Alternative Compliance Accreditation–Fatigue (ACA–Fatigue) under the reformed HVNL. This replaces the previous BFM and AFM accreditation pathway for new applicants.
ACH provides operators with work and rest hours that meet their specific operational needs, as an alternative to Standard Hours. The maximum work times and minimum rest times that apply are stated on the operator's ACA–Fatigue accreditation certificate. Drivers must carry a copy of the certificate in the vehicle at all times.
ACH requires ACA–Fatigue accreditation. Drivers cannot self-select ACH without the operator holding this accreditation.
For more information, see Alternative Compliance Accreditation–Fatigue (ACA–Fatigue).
Switching between work and rest options
Drivers may only operate under one hours option at a time. The requirements for switching depend on which option you are switching from.
Switching between standard hours and BFM
Drivers who change from standard hours to BFM any other option must not drive unless:
- they are fully compliant with all work and rest requirements of the new option, OR
- they have had 48 continuous hours of rest.
For more information, see the Swapping between standard hours and BFM fact sheet (PDF, 249KB)
Switching from AFM, ACH or exemption hours
Drivers who switch from AFM, ACH or exemption hours must not drive unless:
- they have had 48 continuous hours of rest.
There is no 'fully comply' alternative when leaving AFM, ACH or exemption hours. The 48-hour reset rest break is mandatory.
More information
Contact info@nhvr.gov.au for more information on fatigue management.