Logbook for Truck Drivers in Australia: Your Answer to All Queries

A logbook for truck drivers in Australia is officially called the National Driver Work Diary. It’s the legal record of your work and rest hours, and if you drive a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle outside your local area, you have to carry one and fill it in properly.

The rules changed on 1 August 2026, when the amended Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) came in. Some fields that used to catch drivers out are now optional, but the fines for serious breaches went up sharply. This guide covers who needs a logbook, what changed, how to fill it in, the mistakes that lead to fines, and when an electronic work diary (EWD) is the better option.

Logbook for truck drivers: the rules at a glance

What is a logbook for truck drivers?

Truckies have always called it a logbook, but the law calls it a work diary. The NHVR describes it as evidence of a driver’s work and rest hours. Police and NHVR officers check it at the roadside to make sure you’ve stayed within your hours and had enough rest.

You have two options. The first is the written work diary, the paper book you buy from the NHVR or a state road authority. The second is an EWD, an app or device that records the same information digitally. Both are legal, as long as the EWD is approved by the NHVR.

You’ll sometimes see the term ELD (electronic logging device). That’s the US and Canadian system, built for North American hours of service rules. An ELD isn’t legal for proving compliance in Australia, so make sure any electronic option you look at is an NHVR-approved EWD.

Who needs a work diary?

You need to carry a work diary if you drive a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle and any of these apply:

• You’re doing 100+ km work. That means driving more than 100 km from your base. The 100 km is measured in a straight line from your base, not by road distance.
• You’re working under fatigue-managed hours. That’s Basic Fatigue Management (BFM), Advanced Fatigue Management (AFM) or the new Alternative Compliance Hours (ACH) brought in on 1 August 2026.
• You did either of these in the last 28 days. Even if you’re back on local work, you still need to carry your diary until 28 days have passed.

A fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle is a truck over 12 t GVM, a combination over 12 t GCM, or a bus over 4.5 t built to carry more than 12 adults, including the driver.

If you only do local work under 100 km on standard hours, you don’t need to carry a work diary. Your employer or record keeper still has to keep records of your work and rest times, though, and your work and rest hours limits still apply.

WA and the NT aren’t covered by the HVNL. They have their own fatigue laws and record-keeping rules, so check with the local regulator if you work there.

Do MR truck drivers need a logbook?

Sometimes. It depends on the truck, not the licence. An MR licence covers rigid trucks over 8 t GVM, but the work diary rules only kick in above 12 t GVM. So if you drive an MR truck between 8 t and 12 t, you don’t need a work diary, even on long runs. If your MR truck is over 12 t GVM and you go more than 100 km from base, you do. Check the GVM on the compliance plate if you’re not sure.

What changed on 1 August 2026?

The amended HVNL made the written work diary simpler, but harsher on dishonesty. The main changes:

• Optional fields. Marking the day of the week, ticking standard hours and adding up daily work and rest totals are now optional. The National Road Freighters Association welcomed this, saying drivers should no longer be fined just for forgetting to tick a box.
• A new diary. The updated written work diary (version 1.4) includes Alternative Compliance Hours and the simpler daily sheet. Your old diary is still valid until it’s full, and the new rules apply to it too.
• Lost diaries. If you find a work diary you’d reported lost or stolen, you no longer have to return it to the NHVR.
• EWDs still work. Approved EWDs carry on as before, and the NHVR is updating the EWD specifications to make them easier for technology providers to build on.
• Higher fines. Penalties for the serious breaches roughly doubled. More on that below.

The NHVR’s information sheet on the changes walks through each field with examples.

How to fill in a written work diary

The diary itself has instructions and worked examples, but these are the basics for each daily sheet:

1. Fill in your details at the top: your name, licence number, the vehicle registration and your base.
2. Record your work and rest on the 24-hour grid, in 15-minute blocks. Draw the line as you go, not at the end of the shift.
3. Note the location each time you change from work to rest or back again.
4. Record your daily check time if you do one, and remember the check itself counts as work time.
5. Sign the page at the end of the day.

If your diary is lost, stolen, destroyed or full, tell the NHVR within two business days and use a supplementary record until you get a replacement.

Common logbook mistakes that lead to fines

Most logbook fines for truck drivers come from small recording mistakes, not deliberate cheating. These are the ones that catch drivers most often:

• Not recording the daily check as work time. Writing the check time in the top corner but not marking it as work on the grid. OwnerDriver reports that NSW police have charged drivers with a false or misleading entry for each page where they made this mistake.
• Filling it in later. Catching up at the end of the day from memory is how wrong times creep in.
• Wrong rest breaks. Recording a break shorter than you actually needed, or putting rest in the wrong 15-minute block.
• Missing locations. Leaving out where you changed from work to rest.
• Not carrying the last 28 days. Leaving older pages at home or at the depot.
• Two diaries at once. Keeping more than one diary is an offence in itself.

Heavy vehicle logbook fines for truck drivers in 2026

The amended HVNL changed 71 penalties. Fines for paperwork slips mostly went down, while those for serious and dishonest breaches went up. These are the maximum court penalties from 1 August 2026, as reported by Big Rigs from NHVR figures.

Roadside infringement notices are much lower than these maximums. But false entry charges are often laid per page, so a few weeks of bad entries can add up fast. Breaking the actual work and rest limits is a separate offence with its own penalties, which we cover in our guide to fatigue breaches.

Paper logbook or electronic work diary?

A paper logbook for truck drivers costs very little and works anywhere, but every entry depends on the driver getting the 15-minute blocks right. An EWD records your work and rest automatically, warns you before a breach, and makes it much harder to make the recording mistakes that lead to fines. For fleets, records go straight to the office, so there are no books to collect and check by hand.

You can switch between a written diary and an approved EWD, and the amended HVNL hasn’t changed that. If you’re weighing it up, we compare the two in detail in EWD vs paper logbook. The NHVR keeps a register of approved EWDs, so always check a product is on it.

Swap your logbook for MV Driver

Manage Vehicle’s electronic work diary, MV Driver, has been on the NHVR’s approved EWD register since 22 September 2026. Truck drivers record work and rest on their phone instead of a paper logbook, get alerts before a break is due, and don’t have to round to 15-minute blocks. Fleet managers see every driver’s hours in the same platform they use for tracking and compliance, so audits take far less digging.

Want to see it in action? Book a demo and we’ll show you how it fits your fleet.

Frequently asked questions

Who needs a work diary? Drivers of fatigue-regulated heavy vehicles (over 12 t GVM or GCM, or buses over 4.5 t carrying more than 12 adults) who do 100+ km work, or work under BFM, AFM or Alternative Compliance Hours. You also need to carry it for 28 days after doing either.

What are the fines for logbook errors? Under the amended HVNL, the maximum penalty is $13,310 for not carrying a work diary and $26,610 for false or misleading entries. Roadside infringement notices are lower, but charges can be laid for each wrong page.

Can I use an electronic work diary instead? Yes. An EWD approved by the NHVR is a legal replacement for the written work diary, and you can switch between the two. Check the product is on the NHVR’s approved EWD register.

Do I need a logbook for local work? Not if you stay within 100 km of your base (measured in a straight line) and work standard hours. Your employer still has to keep records of your work and rest times.

Do I need to buy the new work diary? No. Your current diary stays valid until it’s full, and the new rules, like the optional fields, already apply to it.

How long do I need to keep my logbook? Drivers must carry the current diary plus the last 28 days of records. The record keeper must keep work diary records for 3 years.