Record keeping requirements

A driver of a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle must complete a local area record if they are driving within 100km of their base under standard hours. 

Drivers transporting primary produce within 160km of their base may be able to work under a work diary exemption. For more information, see Heavy vehicle fatigue management - primary producers.

The role of the record keeper is to maintain a detailed account of specific information about drivers of fatigue-regulated heavy vehicles. In turn, drivers must provide record keepers with required information. 

On this page

• Recording work and rest requirements
• Who is a record keeper?
• What is a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle?
• What records must I keep when undertaking local area work (up to 100km) on standard hours?
• What information am I required to record if I am doing local area work (up to 100km)?
• Local Area Record Template
• Unplanned work travel beyond 100km from your base
• Rounding work and rest time on a local area record
• Base location
  • How to update my base location if required 

Recording work and rest requirements

All drivers of a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle are required by the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) to comply with the work and rest limits set out in the law.

Drivers are not allowed to drive or work more than the maximum work hours, or rest less than the minimum rest hours, as determined for their selected hours option.

Drivers of fatigue-regulated heavy vehicles who are driving 100km or more from their base under standard hours, or driving any distance under BFM, AFM, ACA -Fatigue or exemption hours, are required by law to record the time spent working and resting in a National Driver Work Diary, which may be:

• National Driver Work Diary or
• Electronic Work Diary (EWD).

Drivers who travel up to 100km from their base (local area work) under standard Hours do not have to use a National Driver Work Diary but are still required to record work and rest information in a local area record and provide this to their record keeper.

A Distance Calculator to determine your 100km radius from base has been developed by the NTI.

Who is a record keeper?

A record keeper may be:

• the employer, if the driver is employed
• an accredited operator, if the driver is working under Basic Fatigue Management or Advanced Fatigue Management, or Alternative Compliance Accreditation (ACA) – Fatigue.
• the driver (as a self-employed or owner driver).

What is a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle?

A fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle is:

• a vehicle with a gross vehicle mass (GVM) over 12t
• a combination when the total of the GVM/gross combination mass (GCM) is over 12t
• buses with a GVM over 4.5t fitted to carry more than 12 adults (including the driver)
• a truck, or a combination including a truck, with a GVM of over 12t with a machine or implement attached.

What records must I keep when undertaking local area work (up to 100km) on standard hours?

Drivers operating under standard hours must keep a detailed written record of work and rest times in their own local area driving record. Drivers may record these details on a ‘daily run sheet’ or a similar document. Drivers can choose to use a National Driver Work Diary for local work if they wish to.

Note: Local area work is work relating to a journey where the driver will only drive within a 100km radius of their base. This refers to work classified as 100km work under the HVNL.

What information am I required to record if I am doing local area work (up to 100km)?

Drivers (who are not the record keeper) who are doing local area work (up to 100km from their base) must make local area records which include:

• dates on which the driver drives a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle
• registration number for each fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle the driver drives
• total of the driver’s work times and rest times on each day on which the driver drives a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle
• total of the driver’s work times and rest times for each week during which the driver drives a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle.

If a driver is also the record keeper, then the driver must record the above information and the following additional information:

• driver’s name and contact details
• driver’s current driver's licence number and the jurisdiction in which the licence was issued
• the location of the driver’s base and dates of any changes
• the driver’s rosters and trip schedules including dates of changeovers
• a copy of payment records relating to the driver, including timesheet records if the driver is paid according to time at work 

These records can be made in a National Driver Work Diary or in a trip or run sheet, such as the one linked below. 

Note: You may use a Written Work Diary (WWD) when undertaking local area work. However, even when using a WWD you are still bound by the local area (100km work) record-keeping requirements under the law, not the requirements that apply to drivers undertaking 100km+ work. This means some fields in the WWD that are mandatory for drivers undertaking 100km+ work may not need to be completed, and you may still need to complete other details that are optional for drivers undertaking 100km+ work (e.g. Total number of work and rest hours).

Local Area Record Template (DOCX, 30KB)

This template can be used to keep local area records.

These records:

• must be completed within 24 hours after the driver stops working on the relevant day
• must be submitted to the record keeper within 21 days of the relevant work day. 

The following information is for the record keeper of these records. All records must be:

• kept for three years after they are created
• kept at a location accessible to an authorised officer for audit or investigation purposes
• in a format that is readable, and reasonably assumed it will continue to be readable, in at least three years from the date of its creation.
• The location of a driver’s record is determined by the record keeper who notifies the driver; this is usually the driver’s base.

Unplanned work travel beyond 100km from your base

If you undertake unplanned work over 100km under Standard Hours, you must start to record the required details for the day in your work diary as soon as possible.

You must fill in your daily sheet from the start of the day (i.e. midnight), not just from the time you became aware you would be undertaking work over 100km from your base location.

Rounding work and rest time on a local area record

When working locally on a local area record, rounding times up or down is not required. Rounding times only applies when using a Written Work Diary (WWD) or an Electronic Work Diary (EWD).

Base location

Your base is the garaged address of the vehicle. Each time you change base (even if you are only swapping between the same two bases), record the new base and the date at the time you change.

How to update my base location if required 

You can update your base details on page 29 of the Written Work Diary, or on your EWD.

If you've completed all available lines on the Base, record location and accreditation number pages in your Work Diary, you can print the sheet below and keep it in your work diary.

• Base, record location and accreditation number supplementary page (PDF, 732KB)