National Heavy Vehicle New South Wales Great Western Highway Road Closure at Victoria Pass Work and Rest Hours Exemption 2026 (No.1)

Administered by Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts

Legislation au C2026G00176 In force Gazette

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HEAVY VEHICLE NATIONAL LAW

National Heavy Vehicle New South Wales Great Western Highway Road Closure at Victoria Pass Work and Rest Hours Exemption 2026 (No.1)

  1.        Purpose

 

  1.       To exempt drivers of fatigue regulated heavy vehicles from the requirements of Part 6.3 of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) regarding work and rest hours during a period of time when impacted by the Great Western Highway road closure at Victoria Pass.

Note: Nothing in this exemption relieves the driver of a fatigue regulated heavy vehicle from the duty to avoid driving while fatigued, pursuant to section 228 of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL).

 

This Notice does not provide an exemption from work diary or record keeping requirements under requirements under Part 6.4 of the HVNL, or from any safety duty that may apply under Chapter 1A of the HVNL.

  1.        Authorising Provisions

 

  1.       This Notice is issued under the following provisions of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL):

 

  1.       section 266 - Regulator’s power to exempt class of drivers from particular maximum work requirements and minimum rest requirements

 

  1.        Title

 

This Notice may be cited as the National Heavy Vehicle New South Wales Great Western Highway Road Closure at Victoria Pass Work and Rest Hours Exemption (No.1).

 

  1.        Commencement

 

This Notice commences on 30 March 2026.

  1.        Expiry

 

This Notice expires on 30 June 2026.

  1.        Definitions

 

Unless stated otherwise, words and expressions used in this Notice have the same meaning as in the HVNL and its regulations

 

  1.        Application – Class of Driver

 

  1.       This Notice applies to solo drivers of a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle operating under Standard Hours, Basic Fatigue Management (BFM) or Advanced Fatigue Management (AFM) work and rest options under part 6.3 of the Heavy Vehicle National Law.

 

  1.       This Notice applies to drivers of fatigue-regulated heavy vehicles who, in the course of conducting transport operations on a particular day, would normally use the Great Western Highway at Victoria Pass, and instead must use:
    1.        For westbound routes: Chifley Road and Darling Causeway; and/or
    2.       For eastbound routes: Harley Avenue, Darling Causeway, and Chifley Road; and/or
    3.        For through traffic: Golden Highway or Hume Highway
    4.       The aforementioned detour has been incorporated into the route for transport operations, and if complying with Standard, BFM, or AFM work and rest hours, the detour would place an unreasonable restriction on operations.

 

  1.        Conditions – Maximum Work Time

 

  1.       An eligible driver operating under Standard Hours must comply with the following work and rest hours requirements set out in Schedule 1 Table 1 of this Notice.

 

  1.       An eligible driver operating under BFM or AFM must comply with the following work and rest hours requirements set out in Schedule 1 Table 2 of this Notice.

 

  1.       When changing from Table 1 back to Standard Hours, the driver must be compliant with all work and rest requirements of Standard Hours, and have had at least 48 hours continuous stationary rest.

 

  1.       When changing from Table 2 back to BFM or AFM hours, the driver must be compliant with all work and rest requirements under the work and rest option (BFM or AFM) they are changing to, and must have had at least 48 hours continuous stationary rest.

 

  1.        Conditions – Record keeping

 

  1.       An eligible driver using a work diary must record the exemption in the comments section on the daily page, noting the time and detour used while transiting the Great Western Highway.

 

  1.       An eligible driver must give the record to their record keeper within 21 days of the record having been created.

 

  1.       Record keepers must keep these documents on file for 3 years under the HVNL.

 


Schedule 1 Work and rest hours options

Pursuant to section 7, an eligible driver must comply with the work and rest hours options provided in the following table.

 

Table 1 Work and Rest Hours – solo driver of a fatigue regulated heavy vehicle

 

In any period of…

…a driver must not work for more than…

…a driver must not rest for less than…

4 ¼ hours

4 hours

15 continuous minutes

12 hours

11 hours

60 minutes rest in blocks of at least 15 continuous minutes

24 hours

14 hours

10 hours which includes

9 continuous hours stationary rest1

7 days

(168 hours)

76 hours

92 hours which includes

3 x night rest breaks2

AND

24 hours continuous stationary rest1

14 days

(336 hours)

150 hours

186 hours which includes

6 x night rest breaks2

AND

30 hours continuous stationary rest1,3

1 Stationary rest time is the time a driver spends out of a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle or in an approved sleeper berth of a stationary fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle.

2 Night rest breaks are 9 continuous hours stationary rest time taken to include the hours between midnight and 06:00 (using the time zone of the base of the driver).

3 Includes the periods between midnight to 06:00 on a day and midnight to 06:00 on the following day (using the time zone of the base of the driver).

 

Table 2 Work and Rest Hours – solo driver of a fatigue regulated heavy vehicle

In any period of…

…a driver must not work for more than…

…a driver must not rest for less than…

4 ¼ hours

4 hours

15 continuous minutes

12 hours

11 hours

60 minutes rest in blocks of at least 15 continuous minutes

24 hours

15 ½ hours

8 ½ hours which includes

7 continuous hours stationary rest1

7 days

(168 hours)

78 hours

90 hours which includes

3 x night rest breaks2

AND

24 hours continuous stationary rest1

14 days

(336 hours)

154 hours

182 hours which includes

6 x night rest breaks2

AND

30 hours continuous stationary rest1,3

1 Stationary rest time is the time a driver spends out of a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle or in an approved sleeper berth of a stationary fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle.

2 Night rest breaks are 7 continuous hours stationary rest time taken to include the hours between midnight and 06:00 (using the time zone of the base of the driver).

3 Includes the periods between midnight to 06:00 on a day and midnight to 06:00 on the following day (using the time zone of the base of the driver).

 

 

Paul Daly

Director Strategic Policy

National Heavy Vehicle Regulator

 

Overview

The **National Heavy Vehicle New South Wales Great Western Highway Road Closure at Victoria Pass Work and Rest Hours Exemption (No.1) 2026** was enacted to address the operational challenges faced by drivers of fatigue-regulated heavy vehicles due to the road closure at Victoria Pass on the Great Western Highway. This exemption was introduced to provide a temporary relief for drivers who would otherwise be subject to stringent work and rest hour regulations under Part 6.3 of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL). The exemption was issued by the relevant legislature and aims to ensure the smooth continuation of transport operations without imposing unreasonable restrictions on drivers. It is important to note that this exemption does not relieve drivers of their duty to avoid driving while fatigued or from the requirements of maintaining work diaries or other safety duties. The exemption is in effect from 30 March 2026 until 30 June 2026, providing a clear timeframe for its application.

Scope and Application

The National Heavy Vehicle New South Wales Great Western Highway Road Closure at Victoria Pass Work and Rest Hours Exemption (No.1) applies to solo drivers of fatigue-regulated heavy vehicles operating under Standard Hours, Basic Fatigue Management (BFM), or Advanced Fatigue Management (AFM) work and rest options. Specifically, it applies to drivers who, in the course of transport operations on a particular day, would normally use the Great Western Highway at Victoria Pass but must instead use detour routes including Chifley Road and Darling Causeway for westbound routes, Harley Avenue, Darling Causeway, and Chifley Road for eastbound routes, and Golden Highway or Hume Highway for through traffic. This exemption was issued under section 266 of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) to address the impracticalities of maintaining standard work and rest hours due to the road closure. The exemption does not relieve drivers from their duty to avoid driving while fatigued, nor does it exempt them from work diary or record-keeping requirements, or from any safety duties under the HVNL. The exemption is effective from 30 March 2026 and expires on 30 June 2026.

Key Provisions

The main operative sections of the National Heavy Vehicle New South Wales Great Western Highway Road Closure at Victoria Pass Work and Rest Hours Exemption (No. 1) focus on providing exemptions for drivers of fatigue-regulated heavy vehicles from the work and rest hours requirements of Part 6.3 of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) during a specified period of road closure. Specifically, section 4 of the Notice applies to solo drivers of fatigue-regulated heavy vehicles operating under Standard Hours, Basic Fatigue Management (BFM), or Advanced Fatigue Management (AFM) work and rest options who must take detours due to the road closure. The exemption applies to those drivers who, on a particular day, would normally use the Great Western Highway at Victoria Pass but must instead use alternative routes, as detailed in section 5. The Notice outlines specific work and rest hour requirements for eligible drivers in Schedule 1, Table 1 (for Standard Hours) and Table 2 (for BFM and AFM), with detailed conditions regarding maximum work times and rest periods. The obligations and requirements imposed by this Notice include adherence to the specified work and rest hours as outlined in the Notice's Schedule 1, Table 1 and Table 2. Eligible drivers must ensure they comply with the maximum work times and minimum rest periods when operating under Standard Hours or BFM/AFM, respectively. Additionally, drivers must record the exemption in their work diaries, noting the time and detour used while transiting the affected area, and provide these records to their record keeper within 21 days of creation. Record keepers, in turn, must retain these documents for three years, as required under the HVNL. The Notice does not relieve drivers from their duty to avoid driving while fatigued, pursuant to section 228 of the HVNL, nor does it exempt them from work diary or record-keeping requirements under Part 6.4 of the HVNL or from any safety duties under Chapter 1A of the HVNL. Breaches of these obligations could result in penalties and legal consequences under the HVNL, although specific penalties are not detailed in the Notice itself. Non-compliance with work and rest hour requirements, failure to keep accurate records, or not providing records to the record keeper within the stipulated timeframe may lead to enforcement actions under the relevant sections of the HVNL.

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.