Work diary changes in 2026: what's optional now, what still counts, and where EWDs stand

The updated written work diary makes three daily-sheet fields optional, you can keep using your current diary until it is full, the NHVR does not list who must keep a diary among the changes, and existing approved electronic work diaries stay approved.

By our count, the NHVR lists five changes to the written work diary: three daily-sheet fields are now optional, the diary now includes Alternative Compliance Hours (ACH), and drivers no longer have to return a found lost or stolen diary. None of them is who has to carry one. Against those five, the NHVR does not list its rules on who must use a work diary among the changes. If you run an approved electronic work diary, the NHVR says there are no immediate changes for drivers, operators or record keepers.

That tally is ours. We set the changes the NHVR lists on its HVNL page against its work diary and EWD pages and counted what moved.

Logistics Industry News's short version for drivers and the people who schedule them is this. Keep using the diary you have. Get the time and place of every stop right. Make sure everyone knows the lost-diary steps before they need them.

What changed in the 2026 work diary, and what didn't

Changed

Day of the week: now optional
Marking standard hours: now optional
Work and rest totals: now optional
Alternative Compliance Hours (ACH) included; ACH replaces BFM and AFM
No longer required to return a lost or stolen diary to the NHVR if it is found or returned

Source: NHVR, about the HVNL

Unchanged

Who must use a diary: not among the changes the NHVR lists; standard hours drivers working more than 100 km from base, or who did 100+ km standard hours work in the last 28 days; BFM, AFM, ACH or exemption hours drivers at any distance; local standard hours work needs a local area record
Lost, stolen, destroyed or completed diary: notify the NHVR within 2 business days
Existing approved EWD systems: remain approved, no immediate changes

Sources: NHVR, work diary, record keeping requirements, electronic work diary

The amended Heavy Vehicle National Law commenced on 1 August 2026. Our overview of what changed on 1 August 2026 covers the whole package. This piece covers only the work diary.

The three fields that are now optional on the written work diary daily sheet are marking the day of the week, marking standard hours, and recording work and rest totals.

"Optional" is the right word. You can still fill those boxes in. You just no longer have to. The NHVR says the changes remove some mandatory entries that are no longer essential for demonstrating compliance, while still prioritising the data that manages fatigue.

The other change on the page is about fatigue schemes. The updated diary includes ACH, and ACH replaces Basic Fatigue Management (BFM) and Advanced Fatigue Management (AFM).

Do I need to buy the new national driver work diary?

You do not have to buy the new diary now: the NHVR says drivers can keep using their current WWD until it is full.

Updated diaries are coming through gradually from August 2026 as existing stock runs down. The same NHVR page says this also applies to drivers moving to ACH from BFM or AFM. If that is you, the diary already in your cab is still the one to use until it is full.

When you do need a new one, the NHVR lists the written work diary at $31 at many locations (checked November 2026). Examples on that page include Service NSW centres, Service SA centres and Access Canberra.

Who still has to carry an NHVR work diary

Driving a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle?
Working under BFM, AFM, ACH (via ACA-Fatigue) or exemption hours?
Yes
Work diary required, even within 100 km of base
No (standard hours)
Working more than 100 km from base?
Yes
Work diary required
No
A work diary is not required for local work under standard hours, but a local area record is. A driver who did 100+ km standard hours work in the last 28 days must still carry a diary (NHVR record keeping requirements).

The NHVR does not list this rule among the 2026 law changes.

Sources: NHVR, work diary, record keeping requirements

The NHVR does not list this rule among the 2026 changes. The NHVR's work diary page says drivers of fatigue-regulated heavy vehicles under standard hours who work more than 100 km from base must use a work diary.

Drivers working under BFM, AFM, ACH (through ACA-Fatigue) or exemption hours must also use one. That group needs a diary even within 100 km of base.

The distance only does any work for standard hours drivers. Once a driver is on any other set of hours, the 100 km line stops mattering.

What the NHVR looks at on a daily sheet

Illustrative layout, not the official sheet

What the NHVR says it looks at: accuracy of the time and location

Optional now: day of the week
Optional now: marking standard hours
Optional now: work and rest totals

Optional means you may still fill them in.

Sources: NHVR, news, 14 July 2026, about the HVNL

A spelling slip on its own is not what counts: the NHVR's Manager of Fatigue and Human Factors said it looks at the accuracy of the time and location, and a couple of small errors are not a concern.

If it's indiscernible as to where you've stopped, that's when we might have a problem.

The NHVR's Manager of Fatigue and Human Factors, describing when an entry becomes a problem, NHVR news, 14 July 2026.

Source: NHVR, news, 14 July 2026

In the same NHVR article he said: "If it's indiscernible as to where you've stopped, that's when we might have a problem."

A white right-hand-drive prime mover with a blue curtainsider trailer parked in a gravel highway rest area in late-afternoon light, eucalypts behind, a picnic table and a bin in front, the driver's door open and a man seen from behind stretching beside the cab.

So the useful habit is a plain one. Write the time and the place of each change between work and rest so that someone who has never driven that road could find it. A town name, a named rest area or a recognisable landmark does the job. A scrawl that only you can read does not.

None of this makes a diary fine-proof. It does tell you where to spend the care.

Lost, stolen or full: the supplementary work diary steps

Day diary is lost, stolen, destroyed or completed

Business daysWithin 2 business days
Notify the NHVR
Business daysUp to 7 business days
Maximum use of supplementary records, so have a new diary by then
Calendar daysWithin 21 days
Give a copy of each supplementary daily record to your record keeper
Calendar days28 days
Keep a copy of each supplementary daily record in the vehicle

Found within 2 business days and not yet notified: resume using it on your next work day.

Source: NHVR, work diary

If your diary is lost, stolen, destroyed or completed, the NHVR's work diary page says to notify the NHVR within two business days. Until you have a replacement, you keep a supplementary work diary record.

Three time limits apply to supplementary records, all on the NHVR work diary page:

Keep a copy of each daily record in the vehicle for 28 days.
Give a copy to your record keeper within 21 days.
Use supplementary records for a maximum of seven business days, so have a new diary by then.

A diary that turns up again has its own steps on that page. If it is found within two business days and you have not yet notified the NHVR, you may resume using it on your next work day. If it turns up after a new diary was issued, write CANCELLED across each unused daily sheet in the old one. The same work diary page also tells you to notify the NHVR via the approved form if it is recovered within 28 days.

One thing has changed, and it sits on a different NHVR page. The NHVR's HVNL page says drivers are no longer required to return a lost or stolen WWD to the NHVR if it is found or returned. That covers handing the diary back. It does not, on its face, cancel the notification steps above. If the two pages seem to pull in different directions for your situation, ask the NHVR before you act.

Notify the NHVR within 2 business days (lost, stolen, destroyed or completed diary)
Use a supplementary work diary record until you have a replacement
Keep a copy of each supplementary daily record in the vehicle for 28 days
Give a copy to your record keeper within 21 days
Use supplementary records for no more than 7 business days
Found within 2 business days and not yet notified: resume using it on your next work day
Found after a new diary was issued: write CANCELLED across each unused daily sheet in the old diary
Recovered within 28 days: notify the NHVR via the approved form (NHVR work diary page)
Separately, the NHVR's HVNL page says you no longer have to return a found lost or stolen diary to the NHVR

Sources: NHVR, work diary, about the HVNL

Electronic work diary users: what has and hasn't changed

Question	NHVR EWD page	HVIA (8 Sep 2026, industry body)
Is my existing approved EWD still approved?	Yes; no immediate changes; no requirement to replace an existing approved system	HVIA (8 Sep 2026, industry body): not covered
What is Gen 2.0?	A framework developed with Transport Certification Australia: a new EWD System Specification plus stronger testing and governance (announced)	A distinct program, not linked to the HVNL changes
Do I have to move to Gen 2.0?	NHVR EWD page: not covered	Transition will be voluntary
Are EWD obligations different from the written diary?	No, they are the same	HVIA (8 Sep 2026, industry body): not covered
Do drivers or operators apply to use an approved EWD?	No; only technology providers apply	HVIA (8 Sep 2026, industry body): not covered
Is training needed?	Yes, appropriate training on the EWD they use	HVIA (8 Sep 2026, industry body): not covered

Sources: NHVR, electronic work diary; HVIA, To EWD or not to EWD

On the NHVR's EWD page, existing approved EWD systems remain approved. It also says there is no requirement to replace an existing approved system.

The obligations do not get lighter with a screen. The NHVR says EWD obligations for drivers, operators, record keepers and authorised officers are the same as for the written diary. Drivers and operators do not apply to use an already-approved EWD, because only technology providers apply. Drivers and operators do need appropriate training on the EWD they use.

The NHVR and Transport Certification Australia have announced a Generation 2.0 EWD framework: a new EWD System Specification plus stronger testing and governance. Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia, an industry body, says Gen 2.0 is a distinct program, not linked to the HVNL changes, and that transition will be voluntary.

Two NHVR sources sound different here, so read them side by side. In the NHVR's July 2026 article, its fatigue manager said changes to EWD specifications and interface are part of HVNL implementation. The NHVR's own EWD page says there are no immediate changes for drivers, operators or record keepers using an approved EWD. Our reading is that change is coming to the specification, not to the system already in your cab.

If you are weighing paper against electronic, HVIA's view is that EWDs can record to the last minute rather than 15-minute blocks and can warn before a rule is broken. That is an industry body's opinion, not a ruling. If you are choosing a system, start from the NHVR's electronic work diary page rather than a sales brochure.

What operators and schedulers should ask drivers and carriers

Which hours is each driver on: standard hours, BFM, AFM or ACH? (decides whether a diary is needed within 100 km of base)
If BFM or AFM: when does the accreditation expire, and what is the plan? HVIA says it cannot be amended or renewed after 1 August 2026
If moving to ACA-Fatigue: is General Safety Accreditation in place first? (HVIA)
Does every driver know to notify the NHVR within 2 business days if a diary is lost, stolen, destroyed or completed?
Does your record keeper know supplementary copies are due within 21 days?
EWD users: has each driver had appropriate training on the EWD they use?

Sources: NHVR, work diary, electronic work diary; HVIA, To EWD or not to EWD

If you run drivers or hire carriers, the work diary is one of the places your chain of responsibility shows up day to day. The first question decides everything else: which hours is each driver working under? A standard hours driver on short local runs and a BFM driver on the same run have different diary obligations, because the BFM driver needs one even within 100 km of base.

For carriers still on BFM or AFM, HVIA says a valid accreditation can continue until it expires, until the operator amends or transitions it, or until the NHVR cancels it. HVIA also says existing BFM and AFM accreditations cannot be amended or renewed after 1 August. Moving to ACA-Fatigue requires General Safety Accreditation first, and applications under the new scheme could be lodged from 1 August 2026. Ask when each accreditation expires and what the plan is before that date arrives.

Then ask about the lost-diary steps. A driver who knows to notify the NHVR within two business days and start a supplementary record is a driver who keeps working legally. A driver who doesn't know may simply guess.

One more duty arrived with the same law change, and it reaches beyond the diary. The NHVR says the new Unfit to Drive duty applies to anyone who drives a heavy vehicle, not only fatigue-regulated drivers. The same 1 August commencement also reset mass limits, which we covered in Euro VI trucks and the extra mass allowance.

The 2026 work diary figures in one place

Written work diary$31 at many locations(checked November 2026)Source: NHVR, work diary
Notify the NHVR of a lost, stolen, destroyed or completed diaryWithin 2 business daysSource: NHVR, work diary
Supplementary recordsMaximum 7 business daysSource: NHVR, work diary
Keep supplementary copy in vehicle28 daysSource: NHVR, work diary
Give supplementary copy to record keeperWithin 21 daysSource: NHVR, work diary
Standard hours diary thresholdMore than 100 km from base(BFM, AFM, ACH and exemption hours drivers need a diary at any distance)Source: NHVR, work diary

Every figure on that card comes from the NHVR work diary page. The diary costs $31 at many locations (checked November 2026). You notify the NHVR within two business days if a diary is lost, stolen, destroyed or completed. Supplementary records last a maximum of seven business days. You keep a copy in the vehicle for 28 days and give one to your record keeper within 21 days. The diary threshold for standard hours drivers is work more than 100 km from base, and drivers on BFM, AFM, ACH or exemption hours need one at any distance.

Your next step

Put the lost-diary checklist in every cab and every scheduler's inbox this week. It is the part of the diary rules people only look up once something has already gone wrong.

If there is a work diary or fatigue question your team keeps tripping over, tell Logistics Industry News through our contact page. Reader questions shape what we explain next.