Work diary offences, NHVR fines and court for truck drivers and transport operators across NSW
The NHVR treats the National Driver Work Diary as evidence of a driver's work and rest hours, and the law requires everything recorded in it to be accurate and complete.
A missing or incorrect entry can lead to an infringement notice, a fatigue investigation or a Court Attendance Notice. It can also lead the NHVR to look at the business behind the driver.
Whether you've received an infringement notice, a warning, a Notice to Produce or a Court Attendance Notice, Eric can explain your options and what to do next.
Work diary rules apply to drivers of fatigue-regulated heavy vehicles. These include:
You must use a work diary if you work under standard hours and go more than 100km from your base. If you work under Basic Fatigue Management (BFM), Advanced Fatigue Management (AFM), Alternative Compliance Hours (ACH) or exemption hours, you need a work diary regardless of distance.
A work diary can be a written work diary or an approved Electronic Work Diary. Drivers on standard hours who stay within 100km of base use a local area record instead.
Read more about fatigue offencesLogbook matters usually involve one or more of the following:
Driving without your work diary, or without the last 28 days of records, when the law requires you to carry it.
Not recording the required details on a daily sheet, or not recording them at the right time.
Recording something you know, or ought reasonably to know, is false or misleading, such as a rest break you didn't take.
Every work diary has a unique number, and a cancelled diary must not be used, even if it still has blank pages.
Not notifying the NHVR in time, or not keeping a proper supplementary record, after a diary is lost, stolen, destroyed or full.
Employers and self-employed drivers not keeping copies of daily sheets for three years.
False entry allegations are among the most serious logbook matters. The NHVR's own guidance describes a driver who recorded breaks he didn't take and then insisted the entries were correct. He received a Court Attendance Notice for false or misleading information, on top of fines for work and rest offences.
The NHVR can check work diaries against other evidence. In one published case, its investigators analysed work diaries alongside fuel records, GPS data and vehicle sightings, and the company was convicted of a Chain of Responsibility offence.
If you're being asked about your entries, get advice before you answer.
If you find a lost diary after a new one has been issued, write CANCELLED across every unused daily sheet in the old diary.
Notify the NHVR within two business days.
Use a supplementary work diary record until you have a replacement. It must capture everything you would normally record.
Keep a copy of each supplementary record in the vehicle for 28 days, and give a copy to your record keeper within 21 days.
Get a replacement diary within seven business days. A supplementary record can't be used for longer than that.
An Electronic Work Diary listed on the NHVR's EWD register can be used instead of a written work diary, and drivers and businesses don't need to apply to use one. The same work and rest rules still apply.
Courts have also used EWDs as part of sentencing. In one NHVR case, a driver facing six fatigue charges was ordered to use an approved EWD and report the records to the NHVR, with the fine suspended while he complied.
Changes to the Heavy Vehicle National Law and Regulations that started on 1 August 2026 changed how information is recorded in the written work diary. The NHVR has transitional arrangements in place, so some old and new rules run side by side for a fixed period.
If you've been charged with a work diary offence, which rules applied on the day of the alleged offence matters. Eric checks this as part of reviewing your matter.
For an employed driver, the employer is the record keeper and must keep a copy of each daily sheet for three years. Those records can be requested by the NHVR.
A pattern of work diary problems can turn into a Chain of Responsibility investigation. In the NHVR case above, systemic problems with fatigue management and work diaries across four drivers led to the company being charged under section 26C.
The NHVR may:
Officers may examine:
The NHVR may require production of:
The NHVR may review:
Serious matters can proceed directly to prosecution.
Common mistakes include:
Early advice protects your position before the matter escalates.
If you're facing a logbook or work diary offence, Eric can help with:
Eric Navea is a former Senior Prosecutor with the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator. He knows how work diary evidence is examined, how logbook matters are assessed for prosecution, and where a prosecution case may be weak.
Court representation is at the core of the practice. Eric appears for truck drivers, owner-drivers, transport operators, logistics companies, directors and executives, and he runs every matter himself, from the first call to the final hearing.
Fine reduced from $2,250 to $350.
$2,250 in total fines.
$1,000 fine.
Case outcomes depend on the individual facts and circumstances of each matter. Past results do not guarantee or predict future outcomes.
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Yes. The NHVR describes the National Driver Work Diary, also known as a logbook, as evidence of a driver’s work and rest hours. It can be a written work diary or an approved Electronic Work Diary, and it must be completed correctly under the Heavy Vehicle National Law.
If you drive a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle, you need a work diary when you work under standard hours more than 100km from your base, or when you work under Basic Fatigue Management, Advanced Fatigue Management, Alternative Compliance Hours or exemption hours at any distance. If you work under standard hours within 100km of your base, you complete a local area record instead.
A vehicle with a gross vehicle mass (GVM) over 12 tonnes, a combination with a total GVM over 12 tonnes, or a bus with a GVM over 4.5 tonnes that seats more than 12 adults, including the driver.
You must carry your work diary records with you for 28 days after each record is made whenever you drive a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle, and give copies to your record keeper within 21 days. Your work diary stays with you even if you change vehicles, employers or contracts.
Notify the NHVR within two business days. Until you have a replacement, use a supplementary work diary record that captures everything you would normally record, keep a copy of it in the vehicle for 28 days, and give a copy to your record keeper within 21 days. You must have a new written work diary within seven business days.
If you find it within two business days and you haven’t notified the NHVR yet, you can resume using it on your next work day. If you find it after a new diary has been issued, write CANCELLED across every unused daily sheet in the old diary, and notify the NHVR if it’s recovered within 28 days. Never use a cancelled work diary.
Changes to the Heavy Vehicle National Law and Regulations from 1 August 2026 changed how information is recorded in the written work diary. The NHVR has transitional arrangements in place, so some old and new rules run side by side for a fixed period. If you’ve been charged, which rules applied on the day of the alleged offence matters.
Yes. The NHVR uses GPS and number-plate camera data to identify work diary entries that may be false. If you’re being asked about your entries, get advice before you answer.
An infringement notice lets you pay the penalty or elect to have the matter decided by a Court, and you can also ask the NHVR to review it. Each option has consequences, so get advice before you pay, especially if you think the notice is wrong.
Possibly. A driver’s employer, and anyone who schedules a driver’s work and rest hours, is a party in the Chain of Responsibility with a duty to ensure the safety of its transport activities, so far as is reasonably practicable. Logbook problems can lead the NHVR to look at the business as well as the driver.
A logbook offence can quickly become a fatigue investigation, a Chain of Responsibility issue or a court prosecution. If you’ve received an NHVR infringement notice, a work diary breach allegation, a Notice to Produce, a Court Attendance Notice or an investigation letter, get advice before you respond.
Eric acts for truck drivers, owner-drivers, transport operators, directors and logistics businesses across NSW. Send through what you’ve received and Eric will be in touch about next steps.
Call Eric 0401 937 269This page is general information only and does not replace legal advice about your specific matter.
This page is general information only and does not replace legal advice about your specific matter. It was last reviewed in October 2026. The NHVR may update the law, penalties and policies from time to time, so check the NHVR's official publications at nhvr.gov.au.
