As of 1st of October some of the rules around work time and logbooks are changing considerably. These changes will affect most transport companies at some level. Below is a summary of the changes and when they take affect.
Key Changes
Work time and logbooks
- From 1st October 2007, instead of recording ‘on-duty’ time and ‘driving hours’ separately, all time spent working must be recorded as ‘work time’.
- Drivers must take a break of at least 30 minutes after 5.5 hours of ‘work time’, regardless of what kind of work they were doing.
- In any 24 hour period drivers can work a maximum of 13 hours then have to take a break of at least 10 hours.
- Drivers can still work up to 70 hours before they must take a break of at least 24 hours.
- Failure to produce a logbook can result in a fine of up to $2,000/individual, $10,000/company, and 35 demerit points.
Chain of Responsibility
Employers or those that control drivers can face fines of up to $25,000 if they knew, or should have known, that a driver under their control did, or was likely to, breach work time provisions.
Key Dates
- 1st October 2007 - 2 new logbook formats released (general and taxi), and all work time provisions become law.
- 1st April 2008 - All existing logbook exemptions expire.
- 1st July 2008 - Only new format logbooks may be used.
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