Fatigue and work diaries
Drivers of trucks over 12 tonnes, and buses over 4.5 tonnes with more than 12 seats, are fatigue-regulated: their work and rest hours are capped, most must keep a work diary, and their operator must keep the records and act on breaches. The operator's duty is as real as the driver's.
The three fatigue levels
- Standard hours apply by default. As a guide, a solo driver may work at most 12 hours in a 24-hour period and must take at least 7 continuous hours of stationary rest; shorter rest breaks are required inside the work day. The full tables are on the NHVR pages below.
- Basic Fatigue Management (BFM) allows up to 14-hour work days in exchange for NHVAS accreditation, with rostering and record systems audited.
- Advanced Fatigue Management (AFM) trades prescriptive hours for a risk-managed regime the operator designs and the NHVR approves.
Whatever the level, counting is unforgiving: time counts in 15-minute blocks, and rest only counts when it meets the definition.
Work diaries
Drivers must complete a work diary when working more than 100 kilometres from base, and under BFM or AFM regardless of distance. The written diary is the default; an approved electronic work diary may replace it and can warn a driver before a breach rather than only log it afterwards.
What the operator must hold
The rules put duties squarely on the operator, not just the driver:
- Rosters and schedules that allow compliant driving in the first place.
- Copies of work and rest records, retained for at least three years.
- Reports showing that work diaries are monitored and breaches lead to action.
- Training and policies that show fatigue is managed, not assumed.
That last category is where paper systems fail quietly: the information exists but nobody reviews it, and an investigation finds a folder of unreviewed breaches. A digital work diary trail with automatic exceptions turns the same information into a defence. What IntelliTrac captures: CoR and fatigue evidence.
This guide is general information, not legal advice, and the hour figures above are a guide only; confirm the current tables on the NHVR pages below.
The fatigue management self-check
- We know which of our vehicles and drivers are fatigue-regulated.
- Schedules are checked against maximum work and minimum rest before they are issued.
- Every regulated driver keeps a work diary, written or electronic.
- Work and rest records come back to us and are retained for three years.
- Someone is responsible for reviewing records for breaches, and reviews are logged.
- Breaches trigger documented follow-up, not just a note.
- Drivers are trained on their obligations and can decline unsafe schedules.
Official sources
Last updated 10 July 2026. General information, not tax or legal advice.