Logbook Offences Under the Heavy Vehicle National Law: Quick Guide for Drivers & Operators

In this article

1. Logbook Rules Changed on 1 August 2026. Start Here
2. What Changed on 1 August 2026?
3. Who Needs a Work Diary?
4. The Most Common Logbook Offences
5. Logbook and Fatigue Penalties (1 August 2026 to 30 June 2027)
6. It’s Not Just the Driver: Chain of Responsibility
7. How to Avoid Logbook Offences
8. Frequently Asked Questions
9. Facing a Logbook or Fatigue Charge?

Logbook Rules Changed on 1 August 2026. Start Here

First published 30 December 2025. Updated 16 October 2026 for the amended Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL), which started on 1 August 2026. Penalties shown apply from 1 August 2026 to 30 June 2027.

If you drive a truck or bus in NSW, your work diary (logbook) can be checked at any time. The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) and NSW Police check work diaries at roadside stops and during audits of transport businesses.

The rules changed on 1 August 2026. Some penalties went down, but the penalty for a false or misleading entry doubled. This guide explains who needs a work diary, the most common offences, what they cost now, and how drivers and operators can protect themselves.

What Changed on 1 August 2026?

The amended HVNL started on 1 August 2026. The main changes for work diaries and fatigue are:

You can keep using your current written work diary until it runs out. Updated diaries are being rolled out from August 2026.

Who Needs a Work Diary?

Work diary rules apply to drivers of fatigue-regulated heavy vehicles. According to the NHVR, these are:

• a vehicle with a gross vehicle mass (GVM) of more than 12 tonnes
• a combination where the vehicles’ combined GVM is more than 12 tonnes
• a bus with a GVM over 4.5 tonnes that seats more than 12 adults, including the driver

Motorhomes and machinery built to work off-road are not included.

If you drive one of these vehicles, you must record your work and rest in a work diary if:

• you work under standard hours and will drive outside a 100 km radius of your base, or
• you work under BFM, AFM, Alternative Compliance Hours or an exemption, no matter how far you drive.

Drivers who only ever do local work (within 100 km) under standard hours don’t need a work diary. Their employer still has to keep records of their work and rest.

What goes in the work diary

• At the start of each day: your name, licence number, the vehicle’s number plate, the date and your base’s time zone.
• Every time you change between work and rest: the time, the place and the odometer reading.
• Where relevant: your base, record location, accreditation number, and any two-up or vehicle changes.
• At the end of the day: sign the daily sheet before you finish work.

You can use a written work diary or an approved electronic work diary (EWD).

The Most Common Logbook Offences

1. Not carrying or not filling in your work diary

You must carry your work diary records with you for 28 days after they are made. Missing entries, blank days, or not recording information as soon as you start work are common roadside offences. If you work under an accreditation or exemption, carry the documents that apply to you as well.

2. False or misleading entries

This is the offence the NHVR treats most seriously, and the maximum penalty doubled on 1 August 2026. It can include:

• recording rest you didn’t take
• changing times so a shift looks compliant
• filling in the diary later from memory
• changing, defacing or destroying work records

There is no on-the-spot fine for this offence. It goes to court.

3. Breaking the work and rest hour limits

A complete work diary doesn’t help if the hours themselves are over the limit. Breaches happen when you drive too long, don’t take the required rest, or work under the wrong hours option.

Under standard hours, a solo driver can work no more than 12 hours in any 24-hour period, and must have at least 7 continuous hours of stationary rest in that period.

Breaches are graded by risk: minor, substantial, severe or critical. Severe and critical breaches also carry demerit points.

4. Using more than one work diary

You must not use more than one written work diary at the same time, or record the same period in two diaries. This is a serious offence and often leads to an NHVR investigation.

5. Not keeping or handing over records

Give the yellow duplicate page to your record keeper (usually your employer) within 21 days. Your record keeper must keep a copy of each daily sheet for three years. Self-employed drivers keep their own copies at their record location for three years.

Logbook and Fatigue Penalties (1 August 2026 to 30 June 2027)

These are the maximum court penalties and on-the-spot fines published by the NHVR:

Hours breach figures are for solo drivers under standard hours and Alternative Compliance Hours. Lower maximums can still apply to some offences for drivers working under BFM or AFM accreditation approved before 1 August 2026.

It’s Not Just the Driver: Chain of Responsibility

Under the HVNL’s chain of responsibility (CoR), every business involved in a heavy vehicle’s transport activities has a primary duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of those activities. That includes managing driver fatigue and, since 1 August 2026, making sure drivers are fit to drive.

Parties in the chain include:

• employers and prime contractors of drivers
• vehicle operators and schedulers
• consignors and consignees
• packers, loading managers, loaders and unloaders

The NHVR looks at what you actually do, not your job title. Directors and senior managers also have a personal duty to exercise due diligence.

Primary duty penalties

Recent NSW cases

In the transport company case, the NHVR said the HVNL “operates based on what duties you perform, not the title you hold.”

How to Avoid Logbook Offences

1. Fill in your diary as you go. Record each change between work and rest at the time it happens, never later from memory.
2. Know your hours option. Check whether you are on standard hours, Alternative Compliance Hours, or a transitioned BFM or AFM accreditation, and the limits that apply.
3. Count time correctly. Count forward from the end of a rest break, in 15-minute blocks, using your base’s time zone.
4. Use one diary only. Never start a second diary while one is still in use.
5. Hand over and keep records. Give your record keeper the yellow pages within 21 days, and make sure three years of records are kept.
6. Don’t drive unfit. If you are fatigued, unwell or affected by medication, you have the right to decline or stop driving.
7. Operators: check your systems. Audit rosters, schedules and diaries against GPS and delivery records, and fix problems early.
8. Ask if unsure. Contact the NHVR on 13 NHVR (13 64 87) for general information.

Frequently Asked Questions

Facing a Logbook or Fatigue Charge?

A logbook fine can look minor, but false entry and critical breach charges go to court, and demerit points can put your licence at risk. Eric Navea is a heavy vehicle defence lawyer and a former Senior Prosecutor at the NHVR. He knows how these cases are built and when they escalate.

Eric will identify the immediate issues, important deadlines and the information needed to properly assess your position. Depending on your circumstances, you may have a defence, or there may be factors that can reduce the penalty with the right preparation.

Received a fine, a court notice or a letter from the NHVR? Speak with Eric before you respond.

Speak With Eric Before You Respond