Driver Hiring Documents Checklist: Licence, Work Diary, Records

A driver hiring documents checklist for an Australian heavy vehicle operator is a set of comparisons, not a pile of papers. The licence class is compared with the vehicle combination, the medical and identity details with the application, and the driver details held in your fatigue records with what the licence says. A file is ready when each comparison has been run and dated.

This article is for information only and is not legal advice. Status as of November 2026. Driver licensing is run by state and territory road agencies, while the Heavy Vehicle National Law applies in most jurisdictions; check your own state or territory.

The comparisons that decide whether a driver file is usable

Each document comes from a different issuer, and none validates the others. The licence comes from a state or territory road agency, the work diary or electronic record from the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) system or an approved provider, and your own records from you. Table 1 is the spine of the file.

The rest of this article takes each row, then covers recurring checks.

The heavy vehicle licence: class, conditions, state

The licence shows the class and conditions at issue; Australian heavy vehicle classes run from LR through MC, each covering a heavier or more complex vehicle. Which class is required for a given vehicle is set by state and territory licensing rules, so check the agency's class table rather than assuming a national equivalence. We did not confirm a national employer-facing licence register; the evidence you hold is the licence itself, seen in the original, dated and recorded.

Cross-checks:

• Class against the combination. A driver licensed for a rigid vehicle is not licensed for a combination unless the class says so.
• Date class was obtained against stated experience. A class held for a few weeks conflicts with a resume of several years on combinations.
• Conditions. Compare each with the work.
• State against residence. A licence from another state is not a problem in itself, but the application should explain it.

Our guide to grey fleet licence checks applies the same comparison to staff driving their own vehicles.

Work diary and electronic records: what the operator keeps

For an employed driver, the employer is the record keeper, and the record keeper must maintain a detailed account of specific information about each driver of a fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle, kept for three years and accessible to an authorised officer. That is set out on the NHVR's record keeping requirements page. Check the page for the exact list of driver details your records must carry, because the identifying details you hold at hiring (name, licence number) are what those records are built on.

For the hiring file this creates concrete comparisons:

1. Licence number on the file against the number in your fatigue records. They must be identical; a typo here propagates into every record.
2. Name in the electronic work diary account against the licence. A different name is a data issue to fix on day one.
3. Prior diary against stated employment dates. If the applicant brings an old diary, check that the entries sit inside the periods of employment they declare.
4. Lost or replaced diaries. Ask what happened to the previous one and note when it was reported.

Contracting out the paperwork does not remove your duty to hold consistent records: the operator remains answerable for what the record keeper holds. Keep the hiring file and the fatigue records aligned on the same identifying details, so an authorised officer who audits one can match it to the other.

Medical fitness and identity

Medical standards for commercial drivers are set nationally and administered by state licensing agencies, and the evidence you hold should show a date. Record the date of the last assessment and the next one due from the driver's own paperwork and the agency's instructions; compare the due date with the dispatch date. Record the outcome (current or not current) and not the clinical detail.

For identity, compare the licence photo, name and date of birth with a photo ID shown live, and note that a licence is only one piece of evidence. If your onboarding also checks right to work, handle that as a separate step: visa entitlement sits with the Department of Home Affairs and is not shown on a driver licence.

Privacy: the Privacy Act 1988 and the APPs

Licence images, medical outcomes and diary entries are personal information, and organisations covered by the Privacy Act 1988 must handle them under the Australian Privacy Principles. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner sets out the principles on collection, use, security and disposal. Small businesses are often exempt from the Act, with exceptions, so confirm your status. A sensible default is to collect only what the job needs, restrict access, and retain according to a written policy.

What each check proves and what it does not

A field comparison shows consistency; it does not establish that a document is genuine. Keep that limit in the procedure.

For the wider picture, see the industry verification guide and our transport and logistics document compliance article.

Questions fleet managers keep asking

"Is a photocopy of the licence enough?" It records what was presented, not the current state. Keep it with the date you saw the original.

"The driver says the new diary is on order. Can he start?" Only if you can meet your record-keeping duty from the first shift. Note what you saw and when.

"Who keeps the file for an agency driver?" The agency does, but you remain responsible for the vehicle on the road. Ask for the same dated results.

A working sequence

1. Collect the application, licence (both sides), photo ID, medical evidence, previous diary and consent forms.
2. Extract the fields: legal name, date of birth, licence number and state, class and conditions, expiry dates.
3. Run the comparisons from Table 1 and mark each match, mismatch or not available.
4. Set reminders for licence expiry, medical due dates and the next licence sighting.
5. Store the file under your retention policy, with access limited to those who need it.

Steps 2 and 3 are the repetitive ones. CheckFile's transport and logistics solution extracts the fields from uploaded documents and compares them with each other and with the dates you set, so a reviewer sees only the mismatches. The comparison covers fields and dates; it does not certify that a document is authentic. See how we handle documents and pricing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What documents should be on file before a driver's first trip?

Photo ID, licence with a suitable heavy vehicle class, medical evidence, previous diary or records, and signed consent. Compare the key fields with each other.

Does Australia use a tachograph card?

No. Fatigue-regulated drivers use a National Driver Work Diary or an approved electronic work diary, and the operator keeps the related records.

Who is the record keeper for an employed driver?

The employer, according to the NHVR. Records are kept for three years and must be accessible to an authorised officer.

How often should we re-check a licence?

No single interval fits every operator. Set one in your risk policy, apply it to everyone, and re-check sooner after any incident.