3.2 Work Diaries, Records and Chain of Responsibility
Key Takeaways
Standard-hours drivers travelling 100 km or more from base generally require a work diary; recent diary-required work and alternative-hours operations also affect the requirement.
Provide diary copies to the record keeper within 21 days; required fatigue records are retained for three years.
Chain of Responsibility depends on the transport roles performed, including operators, schedulers, consignors, consignees, packers, loaders and loading managers.
Decide whether a diary is required before departure
A National Driver Work Diary records work and rest for fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle driving. Under standard hours, travelling 100 km or more from the driver’s base generally triggers the diary requirement. Relevant diary-required work in the preceding 28 days also affects carriage and recording. Drivers using approved alternative hours, applicable transitional accreditation or some exemptions can require diaries regardless of distance.
The distance is a radius from base, not a total distance accumulated during the day. Several local deliveries totalling 180 km may remain within a 100 km radius. A single delivery crossing that radius may trigger the requirement even if the driver’s elapsed driving time is short. Identify the base correctly and check the furthest point of the route, including diversions.
Local operations still need records
A standard-hours driver operating locally does not obtain an exemption from fatigue limits simply because a written diary is not required. The operator or other record keeper must keep the required local fatigue records. These include the driver, work and rest information and other prescribed details. Special exemptions, such as some primary-production arrangements, have conditions; they are not a general permission for every agricultural delivery to ignore records.
| Operation | Recording decision |
|---|---|
| Standard hours entirely within the local radius | Check local record requirements and recent diary-required work |
| Standard hours reaching 100 km or more from base | Carry and use the required diary unless a valid exemption applies |
| Approved alternative hours | Follow the approval’s diary and evidence requirements |
| Route changes during the duty | Reassess the requirement before travelling outside the planned area |
| Approved Electronic Work Diary | Use the approved system; a generic phone app is not automatically an EWD |
Complete records accurately
Record the date, identity, base and required vehicle and location information, then record work and rest as instructed. Include non-driving work. Use the driver’s base time zone when travelling across zones. Make entries at the required times, not by reconstructing a convenient day at the end of the week. Sign or certify the required information and correct errors through the approved process without concealing the original record.
Written diary pages provide copies for the driver and record keeper. Do not assume a two-sheet arrangement or discard the driver’s record after handing in a copy. Provide the required daily copies to the record keeper within 21 days. Carry the current diary and required recent records, including the preceding 28-day period as applicable. Record keepers retain required records for three years and must make them available for authorised inspection.
A diary does not prove that the schedule was lawful merely because every box has writing in it. The work totals, break lengths, reference periods and actual tasks must also be correct. False entries, missing required information and non-production can create separate compliance problems. An operator should check records promptly enough to correct scheduling practices, rather than wait for a roadside investigation.
Lost, stolen or destroyed diary
NHVR provides a supplementary-record process when a diary is lost, stolen or destroyed. Report it within the required two business days and obtain a replacement. Supplementary records can be used for the specified limited period, normally up to seven business days, while the replacement is arranged. Retain and transfer the required information. Do not invent either an unlimited grace period or a blanket rule that every affected driver must immediately cease all lawful driving despite the approved process.
Chain of Responsibility
Chain of Responsibility (CoR) recognises that heavy vehicle safety is influenced by transport decisions beyond the driver. Relevant roles include employers, prime contractors, operators, schedulers, consignors, consignees, packers, loaders, unloaders and loading managers. The primary duty requires parties to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the safety of their transport activities. Executives have their own due-diligence obligations.
A person is a CoR party because of a role they perform. A driver is not automatically a named CoR party solely from driving, but can be one when also performing another role such as operator or loader. The driver still has direct driving obligations. Do not infer that every business in the chain is automatically guilty of every breach; duties, conduct and the statutory requirements must be assessed.
Consider a customer insisting on unloading only after a delay that leaves no lawful return schedule. The scheduler should revise the duty, arrange another driver or provide rest; the customer should avoid practices that encourage unsafe continuation. The driver should report the problem and refuse an unsafe trip. A demand to 'make up time' by speeding or misrecording rest is not a solution.
CoR also covers mass, dimensions, loading, vehicle standards and other safety risks. A consignor’s inaccurate weight declaration can create axle overload. A loader can make a vehicle unstable by placing heavy items high. An operator can create risk by ignoring repeated brake defects. The practical lesson is to communicate accurate information and correct the transport plan before the vehicle moves.
Key decisions
Determine the recording requirement from the operation, maintain accurate work and rest evidence, and address unsafe pressures through the responsible transport roles.
Official sources
NHVR record keeping; work diary FAQs; Chain of Responsibility. Sources checked 10 October 2026.
A local standard-hours driver does not need a written work diary for a particular trip. What remains required?
No work or rest limits apply within 100 km
Compliance with fatigue limits and the applicable local fatigue records
Only driving time must be counted
The operator can replace rest with an informal note
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.