When should you use a work diary?

You must use the work diary if you are working:

• in NSW or Tas (regardless of the distance travelled); or
• more than 100km from your base (200km in Qld); or
• under Basic Fatigue Management (BFM) or Advanced Fatigue Management (AFM) (you must carry a copy of the operator’s BFM or AFM accreditation certificate at all times); or
• under a work/rest hours exemption (you must carry a copy of the work/rest hours exemption at all times).

Drivers required to use a work diary must keep a work diary in the vehicle which contains records of your work and rest time within the last 28 day period. If you travel in WA or the ACT for less than 7 days you must continue to use the work diary.

You must only ever record information at any one time in a single work diary. This includes electronic work diaries. However, if you used a paper work diary for part of the previous 28 days you need to keep that paper work diary in the vehicle for compliance purposes.

Each daily sheet (marked ORIGINAL) must remain in the work diary. Each daily sheet has two copies. You must give the first copy (marked DUPLICATE) to the person you are currently working for as soon as possible or within 21 days of the date recorded on the daily sheet.

You should keep the second copy (also marked DUPLICATE) in the work diary unless you have worked for two separate employers within the same 24 hour period. In this case give a copy to each employer. Otherwise retain the second copy in the work diary unless it is requested by an authorised enforcement officer who may remove it.

If you are self-employed you must keep copies of your work diaries and daily sheets for 3 years for audit purposes. If you are an employed driver, your employer must keep these copies for 3 years.

If you are stopped by an authorised officer or a police officer for a roadside inspection, you must produce your work diary for inspection. The officer may ground you for 24 hours if you do not. The officer may remove a duplicate of each work diary daily sheet from your work diary if required. You can ask the officer to make a note in your work diary if you have been stopped for more than 5 minutes.

If you have nearly filled up your work diary, you can get a new one by applying in person to a road agency. The road agency will cancel the unused pages in your work diary.

If your work diary is lost, stolen, destroyed or filled up before you can get a new work diary you must report this in writing to a road agency within 2 business days. You have a maximum of 7 business days to get a new work diary.

Until you are issued with a new work diary, you must continue to record all work and rest time in a supplementary record. This must contain the same information as you would record in your work diary.

Any supplementary record must be treated the same way as your work diary. You must keep a copy of each daily supplementary record in the vehicle for 28 days after it is made and give a copy to your employer within 21 days, who must store it for 3 years.

If your lost work diary is returned to you after you have been issued with a new one you must immediately cancel any unused daily sheets in the old work diary by writing CANCELLED across each unused page and notify the road agency as soon as possible.

It is important to always use a blue or black ballpoint pen and record all entries legibly. Make sure you apply enough pressure so your entries are transferred and clearly recorded on the duplicate sheets. You must complete a daily sheet for the full 24 hours of each day during which you are the driver of a heavy vehicle or bus.

You must start a new daily sheet every time you change work/rest options, if you change to a driver base located in a different time zone or you start working for a different employer. If your shift is recorded over more than one daily sheet you should leave the balance of the work and rest timelines blank.

On each daily sheet you must record:

• your full name, licence number, date, State or Territory of your base, State or Territory your licence was issued and the day of the week;
• whether you are a Solo or Two-up driver, the work/rest option you are working under (and your operator’s BFM or AFM accreditation number if you are working under BFM or AFM) and if you are working under a work/rest hours exemption;
• the location (rest area, truck stop, suburb or town) of where you are when you start work, have a work/rest break and when you stop work (including when you change from a Solo to Two-up driver or vice versa);
• the odometer reading of the vehicle when you start and stop work including all work/rest changes;
• the number plate of the vehicle you are operating when you start and stop work including all work/rest changes; and if you change vehicles in that 24 hour period;
• the time spent working Solo and/or Two-up and resting by drawing a line in the appropriate rows along the 24 hour timeline; 
• the total time spent in 24 hours working Solo and/or Two-up and resting in appropriate boxes at the end of each timeline (if you use more than one daily sheet in 24 hours, record the total time spent in that 24 hour period on the last daily sheet);
• if applicable, the Two-up driver’s full name, work diary number (if it is a written work diary), driver’s licence number and State or Territory their work diary was issued; and
• the signatures of both the driver and Two-up driver (if applicable) at the bottom of every daily sheet.

A driver must keep an accurate work record in their possession. Severe penalties apply to drivers who:

• record information in a work diary that they know, or ought to know, is false or misleading;
• have more than one written work diary (other than a filled-up work diary);
• record information for the same period in more than one work diary;
• deface or change a work record they know, or ought to know, is correct;
• pretend they have made a work record or made an entry in a work record when this is not the case;
• make an entry in someone else’s work record (unless otherwise permitted, e.g. a police officer making an annotation or a two-up driver’s counter-signature);
• destroy a work record before the end of the period for which they are required to be kept (the law requires records to remain readable and easily understood as evidence); and tamper with the operation of an electronic work diary.

If a driver becomes aware or suspects the vehicle’s electronic work diary or odometer is faulty, the driver must report the problem to his or her record keeper (e.g. supervisor) as soon as possible. The record keeper must ensure the electronic work diary is examined and returned to working order as soon as possible. Vehicle owners must ensure faulty odometers are operating correctly.

Work Diary Daily Sheet Sample Page  - June 2008 (48.48 KB)

HVDF_How to Use Your New Work Dairy_Aug08  (1.15 MB) 

 

Disclaimer

 

This website does not constitute legal advice. Details are subject to amendment. Check your local legislation or contact your local road authority if you want more information.