Defending Drivers Charged with Logbook and Work Diary Offences
If you’ve been charged with a Logbook Breach or Work Diary Offence under the Heavy Vehicle National Law, you’re not alone.
At Highway Advocates, our experienced Truck Driver Lawyers represent truck drivers, owner-operators, and transport companies across NSW, QLD, VIC, SA, TAS and ACT who are facing NHVR investigations or court proceedings.
Logbook and fatigue-related offences are among the most common heavy vehicle prosecutions in Australia.
In 2026 even minor clerical errors or short rest-time miscalculations can result in significant fines, demerit points and impact your professional accreditation.
Understanding Logbook Offences and Work Diary Offences
Under the HVNL, truck drivers operating under fatigue-regulated schedules must record their work and rest times accurately in a National Driver Work Diary.
Failing to comply with these requirements can result in heavy penalties — particularly where false, misleading or multiple records are involved.
Common offences include:
- s 228 – Duty of driver to avoid driving while fatigued – $8,250 maximum and 3 demerit points
- s 325 – False or misleading entries in work diary – $13,730 maximum
- s 326 – Keeping two work diaries simultaneously – $13,730 maximum
- s 327 – Possession of purported work records – $13,730 maximum
- s 328 – False representation about work records – $13,730 maximum
- s 329 – Defacing or changing work records – $13,730 maximum
- s 330 – Making entries in someone else’s work records – $13,730 maximum
- s 331 – Destruction of particular work records – $13,730 maximum
- s 332 – Removing pages from written work diary – $13,730 maximum
Drivers may also be charged with fatigue breaches for:
- Working more than the maximum work time, or
- Resting for less than the minimum rest time
graded as minor, substantial, severe or critical risk breaches.
Why the NHVR Prosecutes Logbook Breaches
The NHVR enforces these laws to manage fatigue-related safety risks on Australian roads.
However, most Logbook Offences cases arise from human error. The logbook is complicated and confusing.
Common causes include:
- Misunderstanding rest breaks and work hour calculations
- Not immediately recording information in work diary, leading to incomplete or incorrect information
- Damaged or missing pages
- Confusing and inconsistent rules between Standard, Basic Fatigue Management (BFM), and Advanced Fatigue Management (AFM) schemes
Despite being administrative mistakes, prosecutors often treat these matters as serious compliance failures.
That’s why early advice from an experienced Transport Lawyer is essential.
Penalties for Logbook and Fatigue Offences
Penalties depend on the nature and severity of the breach.
Fatigue-related breaches
- Minor risk breach – $5,470 maximum
- Substantial risk breach – $8,250 maximum
- Severe risk breach – $13,730 and 3 demerit points
- Critical risk breach – $20,590 maximum and 4 demerit points
Work diary offences
- False or misleading entries, dual diaries or tampering – $13,730 maximum
- Failing to carry or produce a work diary – $8,250 maximum
- Driving while fatigued (s 228) – $8,250 maximum and 3 demerit points
Under the Chain of Responsibility (CoR), employers, schedulers, and operators can also be fined if they encourage or allow non-compliance with fatigue laws.
Why These Offences Matter
A Logbook Breach can have major consequences:
- Licence suspension or demerit accumulation
- Loss of employment or contracts
- Impact on accreditation
- Negative safety record with NHVR or Transport for NSW
For truck drivers, even one false or misleading entry can threaten years of clean driving and compliance history.
At Highway Advocates, we understand these pressures — we’ve defended hundreds of drivers in similar situations.
Our Defence Approach – Highway Advocates
At Highway Advocates, we take a practical, evidence-based approach to defending Logbook and Work Diary Offences.
How We Defend You
- Reviewing NHVR Evidence
Inspecting NHVR reports and Safe-T-Cam records for inconsistencies. - Analysing Logbooks
Identifying clerical errors and your explanation for the alleged offence. - Challenging Procedural Compliance
Ensuring enforcement officers acted lawfully and recorded evidence correctly. - Assessing Fatigue Risk
Demonstrating you weren’t fatigued or unsafe at the time. - Negotiation First, Defence Always
We negotiate to have your charges withdrawn or downgraded. - Litigation Experts
If the NHVR decides to push ahead with the charge, we fight for you in Court.
Our goal is simple: keeping you on the road where you belong.
Common Defence Scenarios We Handle
Our Transport Lawyers regularly achieve positive outcomes in cases involving:
- False or misleading entries in a logbook
- Safe-T-Cam data showing driver driving during a recorded rest break
- Driver torn out page from another work diary to place in their own
- Driver working during recorded rest break
- Driver more than the maximum hours permitted in a time period
- Driver rest less than the minimum hours permitted in a time period
By exposing factual or procedural weaknesses, we’ve had many Logbook Breach charges dismissed or finalised without conviction.
The Chain of Responsibility provisions mean drivers aren’t always solely at fault.
Schedulers, company owners, and consignors can also be investigated if they:
- Pressured a driver to continue driving whilst fatigued;
- Scheduled impossible delivery windows; or
- Failed to maintain proper fatigue-management systems.
Our Transport Lawyers regularly advise both drivers and companies on how to respond to Notices to Produce and manage NHVR compliance audits.
Addressing Chain of Responsibility issues early can protect your business and reduce your exposure to prosecution.
Develop Your Strategy Today
If you’ve been charged with a Logbook Breach, Work Diary Offence, or Fatigue Violation under the HVNL, don’t face it alone.
Our Heavy Vehicle Lawyers appear weekly across Australia, defending drivers against NHVR fatigue and logbook related offences.
Call 0488 01 01 01 for honest and frank legal advice.
We’ll review your charge, explain your options, and develop a tailored strategy to protect your licence and livelihood.