Important notice – 1 August 2026: From 1 August 2026, BFM and AFM will be replaced by Alternative Compliance Hours (ACH) under the new Heavy Vehicle Accreditation (HVA) scheme. Existing NHVAS operators have up to three years to transition. Operators with upcoming renewals should check the NHVR’s transition arrangements to understand how their accreditation will be affected. The content in this guide reflects the current BFM framework and remains relevant for operators currently accredited or transitioning. Check the NHVR website for the latest accreditation requirements before applying or renewing.
An NHVR fatigue investigation is driven by paperwork. Auditors can issue a notice requiring operators to provide three years of driver schedules, trip records, timesheets and work diary records. Drivers must also carry their current work diary plus the previous 28 days of entries in the cab.
Basic Fatigue Management is the NHVAS module that allows operators to work extended hours beyond Standard Hours. For operators running overnight routes or multi stop schedules, the 12 hour daily limit under Standard Hours is not always practical. BFM accreditation allows those operators to access an extra two hours.
This article covers what BFM actually requires including exact hour limits, record keeping obligations, breach penalties and when operators should consider AFM.
Note: HVNL and BFM apply in QLD, NSW, VIC, SA, TAS and ACT. Western Australia and the Northern Territory use separate fatigue management rules with different requirements.
What is Basic Fatigue Management?
The Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) fatigue rules apply to a fatigue regulated heavy vehicle. This includes:
Light commercial vehicles and rigid trucks under 12 tonnes are not covered by these rules.
For vehicles covered by the rules, the HVNL sets three fatigue management options. Standard Hours is the default option and applies the strictest limits, with no accreditation required.
Basic Fatigue Management (BFM) is the middle tier under the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme (NHVAS). It requires a formal application, an entry audit, an initial compliance audit 6 to 7 months after approval, ongoing compliance audits before accreditation expires and a documented fatigue management system.
In return, operators get an extra two hours per day and the operational flexibility to use them.
Advanced Fatigue Management (AFM) goes a step further. It sets operating hours tailored to the business that is approved through an NHVR safety case and operations manual and designed around the operator’s specific risk profile.
Most linehaul fleets start with BFM to access extended operating windows, then develop the scheduling discipline to stay within those higher limits.
BFM Work and Rest Hour Limits
Here are the current NHVR requirements for BFM solo drivers. The long and night work cap that applies alongside these limits is explained below.
The 14 hour daily maximum is the key difference from Standard Hours, which caps at 12 hours.
For a driver running Sydney to Melbourne on the Hume Highway with late loading at one end and a tight delivery window at the other, those extra two hours can be the difference between completing the run solo or needing a relay at Tarcutta.
In most linehaul operations, the daily limit is not the main challenge. The real constraint is the 36 hour long and night work cap.
Under BFM, long and night work includes any time worked beyond 12 hours in a 24 hour period, as well as any work between midnight and 6am in the driver’s base time zone.
Drivers cannot exceed 36 hours of this type of work in any rolling 7 day period. Once the limit is reached, scheduling must pause any further long or night work until the rolling total drops below 36.
The two rules are separate but both contribute to the same long and night work total. Working between midnight and 6am counts towards that total, even if the driver is under 12 hours for the day. Working more than 12 hours in a day also counts towards the same total, even if no overnight work is involved. Both are added together and counted over the last 7 days, which is always being updated.
It is calculated using a 7 day window that always looks at the previous 7 days from today. The total updates every day as new work is added and older days drop out of the count. It does not reset on a certain day each week.
What Counts as Work Time?
Work time under HVNL is not limited to driving alone and includes a range of other tasks carried out as part of operating a heavy vehicle. It also includes:
Night Rest Breaks Are a Separate Requirement
Drivers must take at least 7 continuous hours of stationary rest within every 24 hour period. This daily rest can be taken at any time of day, but it does not count as a night rest break.
The night rest break has its own requirements and must include 7 continuous hours of stationary rest between 10pm and 8am in the time zone of the driver’s base or depot.
Within any 14 day period, a BFM solo driver must take 4 night rest breaks, with at least 2 taken on consecutive days. A continuous 24 hour stationary rest period that includes the 10pm to 8am window is also counted as a night rest break.
Split Rest Breaks Under BFM
HVNL section 255 allows a limited defence where a BFM driver cannot complete a full 7 hour continuous rest break. In this case, the rest may be split into 6 continuous hours followed by 2 continuous hours within the same 24 hour period.
This is only allowed if the split is not planned in advance and the driver has already had a full 7 hour continuous rest in the previous 24 hours. If split rests are used regularly across a fleet or built into scheduling, NHVAS auditors may treat this as not complying with the rules.
Record Keeping Under BFM
One key difference in BFM record keeping compared to Standard Hours is that there is no 100km local area exemption.
Under Standard Hours, drivers working entirely within 100km of their base may not need to keep a written work diary. BFM removes this exemption completely, meaning a work diary is required whenever a driver is operating under BFM hours or has done so in the previous 28 days. The 100km local area rule only applies under Standard Hours.
These records must be kept for three years from the date they are created. Failing to keep accurate or complete records is an offence under HVNL Chapter 6 Part 6.4 (record keeping and work diary requirements) and is treated separately from any fatigue breach.
A digital work diary is allowed only if it is listed on the NHVR’s electronic work diary register and the driver has been trained to use it. Software that only tracks hours but is not on that register does not meet the legal work diary requirement.
Saphyroo currently supports the broader fatigue compliance process by providing operational visibility, fatigue record keeping and compliance evidence management, while also progressing through the NHVR approval process for its electronic work diary (EWD) platform.
Knowing When to Move from BFM to AFM
For most linehaul and freight operations, BFM is sufficient. It becomes limiting when scheduling consistently reaches its upper limits. The most common sign is regular overnight work steadily consuming the 36 hour long and night work cap, forcing schedulers to repeatedly restructure rosters around it. At that point, the administrative effort required for AFM may be worth considering.
From 1 August 2026, both BFM and AFM will be replaced by Alternative Compliance Hours under the new HVA scheme. Operators currently accredited under BFM or AFM will have up to three years to transition, however all renewals from commencement will be assessed under the new framework. Operators with renewals due in late 2026 or 2027 should confirm their transition timeline with the NHVR before renewing.
If a driver moves from BFM back to Standard Hours while they are outside Standard Hours limits, they must complete a 48 hour continuous reset rest break before operating again.
What Happens When Drivers Breach BFM Hours?
Under the HVNL, fatigue breaches are classified by how serious they are. The figures below are taken from the NHVR penalties and infringements schedule, which is indexed and updated annually on 1 July. The amounts shown reflect the 2025/26 schedule, verified in May 2026.
These are the penalties that apply to drivers under the HVNL. However, changes made to the HVNL in October 2018 introduced a primary safety duty under section 26C. This duty applies across the entire supply chain under Chain of Responsibility laws, meaning everyone involved in the transport task must take reasonable steps to make sure it is carried out safely.
This does not require knowledge of a specific breach to create responsibility, as the obligation instead focuses on having systems in place that identify and reduce fatigue risk before it becomes an issue.
Managing BFM Compliance Across Your Fleet
A common mistake operators make is treating BFM as a one off licensing exercise and then managing it like Standard Hours. Once accreditation is in place and drivers are issued their units, day to day operations often continue as usual without any real change. In many cases this approach appears to work in practice, until an NHVR audit takes place.
Competency requirements are a key part of BFM accreditation. Drivers must complete TLIF0005, which covers how to apply fatigue risk management in day to day work. Schedulers must complete TLIF0006, which covers how to manage and administer fatigue risk systems when planning work. These are mandatory accreditation requirements, not optional extras and both are checked during NHVAS audits.
Beyond training, the real challenge is having clear, up to date visibility of hours as work is happening. For example, knowing on a Wednesday afternoon that a driver has already reached 33 hours of long and night work and cannot be rostered again on Thursday is what effective BFM management is meant to achieve.
Paper diaries do not provide this level of visibility, and spreadsheets only do if they are being updated accurately and in real time.
Centralising driver hours alongside live driver location data allows schedulers to make decisions based on where drivers actually are, rather than where a roster assumes they are.
What Happens if Your BFM Accreditation Is Suspended?
If the NHVR suspends your BFM accreditation due to audit non conformances, system failures or serious breach findings, all drivers immediately revert to Standard Hours.
Any driver who is outside Standard Hours limits at that point must take a 48 hour continuous reset rest break before returning to work. For fleets operating on overnight corridors, this can temporarily disrupt parts of the operation until affected drivers have completed their reset break.
During investigations, the NHVR will look for consistent records across driver and operator copies, evidence of active scheduling and hour management before any incident and a current NHVAS management system. Having compliant looking records alone is not sufficient to meet primary duty obligations.
Is BFM Right for Your Operation?
If your fleet runs metro day shifts, Standard Hours will usually cover your needs and moving to BFM is unlikely to add value if the hour limits are not the main constraint.
If your operation runs overnight corridors or regularly uses variable schedules that push past 12 hours, BFM is the appropriate tier. It does come with added requirements, including a management system, competency training and NHVAS audits, but it also provides flexibility that Standard Hours does not allow.
If schedulers are consistently rebuilding rosters around the 36 hour long and night work cap, it may be time to consider AFM.
If your operation sits between Standard Hours and AFM, BFM is often the right fit when it is properly managed. If it is not, it can quickly become a compliance risk during audit.
