The following information is guidance on the definition of ‘work’ and ‘work time’ under section 221 of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL).

Who is this advice for?

This is intended for:

• operators and drivers of fatigue-regulated heavy vehicles
• record keepers
• parties in the Chain of Responsibility (CoR).

What are my legal obligations?

The main purpose of Chapter 6 of the HVNL is to provide for the safe management of the fatigue of drivers of fatigue-regulated heavy vehicles while they are driving on a road. Safe management of driver fatigue helps to keep roads and the public safe. Drivers in the heavy vehicle transport industry who are affected by fatigue present a safety risk to themselves and to the public.

The HVNL specifies:

• A person must not drive a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle on a road while the person is impaired by fatigue.
• Each party in the Chain of Responsibility for a heavy vehicle has a shared responsibility for the safety of transport activities relating to the heavy vehicle.
• Each party in the Chain of Responsibility must ensure the party’s conduct does not directly or indirectly cause or encourage the driver of the heavy vehicle to contravene the HVNL, including by driving a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle while impaired by fatigue.
• A person must not ask, direct or require (directly or indirectly) the driver of a heavy vehicle or a party in the Chain of Responsibility to do or not do something the person knows, or ought reasonably to know, would have the effect of causing the driver to drive a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle while impaired by fatigue.

Drivers of fatigue-regulated heavy vehicles are not allowed to work more than the maximum work hours, or rest less than the minimum rest hours as set out by law or as approved by the Regulator.

There are record keeping requirements that drivers of fatigue-regulated heavy vehicles must also maintain in an approved National Driver Work Diary.

The law doesn’t define fatigue by what causes it, like how much sleep you had previously, but courts can still consider any relevant cause of fatigue in deciding whether the driver of a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle was impaired by fatigue.

This regulatory advice outlines ‘work’ and ‘work time’ under the HVNL. Separate obligations may apply under relevant Workplace Health and Safety legislation.

What is considered ‘work’ and ‘work time’ under the HVNL?

Work time for a driver of a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle means any time the driver spends undertaking work in relation to the vehicle.

Work, in relation to a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle, means:

• Driving the fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle.
• Instructing or supervising someone else driving the fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle.
• Performing another task relating to the use of a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle, including, for example:
  • inspecting, servicing, or repairing the heavy vehicle
  • loading or unloading the heavy vehicle
  • checking or handling the load
  • cleaning and refuelling the heavy vehicle
  • promoting or marketing its use, for example, orders for the transport of freight
  • helping or supervising someone to perform the above tasks
  • recording information required by law, for example, completing a work diary entry.
• Occupying the driver’s seat of a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle while the engine is running.

What is not considered ‘work’ under the HVNL?

Under the HVNL, not everything we think of as work counts as work. For example, if the task does not involve the use of a heavy vehicle, such as driving or completing a task related to the use of a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle, this is not ‘work’ and time spent doing the task is not ‘work time’.

Example scenarios that involve fatigue-regulated heavy vehicles when the activity is not considered ‘work’ under the HVNL:

• A drilling rig with a GVM over 12 tonne is classed as a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle. This is the case when it is being driven on a road and carrying workers to service a well site, as well as when the rig is being operated to complete well servicing operations with stabilisers fixed and in place, and is unable to be driven.

Work done by the driver operating the drilling rig is not ‘work’ for the purposes of Chapter 6 of the HVNL because it is not a task associated with the driving of the vehicle. Work time needs to be recorded for the driver for the time spent travelling to and from the well site but, not for the time spent servicing of the well.

• A truck with a GVM over 12 tonnes, that has a mounted elevated work platform, is a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle.

Once parked on site, the driver uses the elevated work platform to complete maintenance work on a power line. As there is no connection between the use of the elevated work platform and driving the vehicle, this is not considered work time.

• A ‘loader’ working at a depot, using a forklift to load pallets onto fatigue-regulated heavy vehicles, would not be required to record work and rest times if their only task is loading the fatigue-regulated heavy vehicles. This is because ‘work time’ is defined as time spent by the driver of a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle undertaking work in relation to the vehicle. Time spent by a driver of a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle loading the vehicle will be work time, but time spent by a person who is not the driver would not be considered work time.

What is a road under the HVNL?

Road means an area open to or used by the public that is developed for, or has as one of its uses, the driving or riding of motor vehicles.

In the HVNL, ‘road’ generally includes a ‘road-related area’. Road-related area means:

• Areas dividing a road
• Footpaths, shared paths, nature strips
• Road shoulders
• Bicycle paths or areas that are open to the public and designated for use by cyclists or animals
• Publicly accessible areas used for driving, riding, or parking vehicles Also, an area is a road or road-related area for the purposes of the HVNL is it is declared as a road or road-related area by a law of a participating jurisdiction

Fatigue management exemptions

To provide operators and drivers alternative methods to manage their work and rest hours, work diaries and record-keeping obligations there are fatigue management exemptions (permits and notices).