Individual AS 64698: fined $13,000, fatigue, 28 August 2026

Party

Party

Individual AS 64698. The NHVR publishes court outcomes without the defendant's name.

Type

Individual

Role

Role not stated

Reference

AS 64698

The proceeding

Decision

Convicted

Court

Brisbane Magistrates Court (Local or Magistrates)

Jurisdiction

Queensland

Hearing date

28 August 2026

Law

Heavy Vehicle National Law

Provisions

s 250(1)(a)

Offence

Fatigue

Charges

20

Facts

On 29 October 2025 a driver of a fatigue regulated heavy vehicle was intercepted in Etna Creek. A compliance check of his national driver work diary indicated he had been operating under BFM hours and had worked 14 hours in a 24 hour period on 20 occasions over a two month period. The driver produced BFM accreditation documents for a previous employer, however had since started working for a new employer. The driver was deemed to be operating under standard hours as they had not been inducted into the new employer’s BFM system. The driver was charged with 20 counts of solo driver work more than maximum standard time – critical risk. The court accepted the defendant’s remorse and good character references. It was accepted that they thought they could work 14 hours in a 24-hour period.

As reported by NHVR.

Penalty

Fine

$13,000

Fines under s 250(1)(a) on the register: $0 to $45,000, median $4,800 across 103 matters.

Educational point

Operators should be aware that ongoing cases such as this leads to a possible investigation into whether their operations are safe and possible prosecution for breaches of safety duties.

As reported by NHVR.

Comparable actions

Sources

• NHVR: Court outcomes (read 14 October 2026)