How do Electronic Work Diaries (EWDs) work under the HVNL?
Short answer
An Electronic Work Diary is an NHVR-approved electronic system that a driver can choose to use instead of a written work diary to record required work and rest information.
Plain English
An Electronic Work Diary, or EWD, is an electronic device or system approved by the NHVR to monitor and record work and rest times. It is a voluntary alternative for a driver who would otherwise use a written work diary; only an approved EWD can satisfy the electronic work-diary requirements.
The driver must use the EWD according to its approval conditions and remains responsible for accurate records and fatigue compliance. If it is filled up, lost, destroyed, not working or malfunctioning, the driver must make supplementary records. Notification, replacement and repair duties depend on whether the driver or another person is the record keeper.
What this means operationally
Before deployment, confirm that the exact product has current NHVR approval, train drivers and record keepers, make required information available, and maintain a documented failure procedure. Supplementary records must contain the required information; the driver keeps them for 28 days and the record keeper generally keeps them for at least three years.
Who it applies to
Drivers of fatigue-regulated heavy vehicles who are required to keep a work diary, together with their operators, employers and record keepers.
Example
A driver records work and rest in an approved EWD and can present the required information during a roadside inspection. If the system malfunctions, the driver starts a supplementary record and, where another person is the record keeper, notifies that person within two business days.
Exceptions and traps
A generic telematics, rostering or fleet-management application is not an EWD unless the NHVR has approved that system. Supplementary records are temporary: for an unavailable EWD they cease when a working written or electronic diary is obtained, the existing system is restored, or seven business days expire—whichever occurs first.
What changed
From 1 August 2026, amendments updated parts of the work-diary notification and record framework. They did not make EWDs compulsory and did not allow unapproved telematics to replace an approved written or electronic work diary.
Previous rule
EWDs have been available as a voluntary alternative since the first NHVR approvals took effect on 1 December 2020. Before then, drivers relying on a national work diary used written diaries and supplementary records when required.
Legal foundation
Heavy Vehicle National Law Ch 6 Pt 6.4, especially ss 304–305, 307 and 309–313, and the electronic recording system approval provisions; Heavy Vehicle (Fatigue Management) National Regulation 2013
Sources & primary documents
- www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/whole/html/inforce/current/act-2012-hvnlq
- www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/whole/html/inforce/current/sl-2013-0078
- www.nhvr.gov.au/safety-accreditation-compliance/fatigue-management/electronic-work-diary
- www.nhvr.gov.au/safety-accreditation-compliance/fatigue-management/work-diary
WWTG verification: Queensland legislation, NHVR
Frequently asked questions
Is an EWD mandatory?
No. It is a voluntary alternative to an approved written work diary.
Can any telematics app be used as an EWD?
No. The exact electronic system must be approved by the NHVR.
What happens if an EWD fails?
The driver must make supplementary records and comply with the applicable notification, replacement and repair requirements.
How long are supplementary records kept?
The driver keeps them for 28 days and the record keeper generally keeps them for at least three years; their temporary use is normally limited to no more than seven business days.
Does an EWD remove responsibility for fatigue compliance?
No. Drivers, record keepers, operators and other duty holders retain their legal responsibilities.