Law vs logistics: Aligning freight driver work and rest requirements to ease Australia's EV freight transition

In June 2025, Gothenburg, Sweden hosted the 38^th International Electric Vehicle Symposium & Exhibition (EVS38) – a global event to promote Electric Vehicles (EVs) and sustainable transport technologies, bringing together industry leaders, policymakers, and stakeholders, with 70 countries involved.

As part of its charging and fuelling infrastructure exhibition, EVS 38 showcased multiple prime movers, including from major OEMs IVECO, Scania, Volvo, and Daimler – highlighting the emergence of a "dominant design". This design is characterised by a "fairly standard cab-over design with 500 kWh of batteries and a Megawatt Charging System (MCS) charging port capable of 750 kW".

Further, the dominant design showcased at EVS38 complements Europe's driver rest regulations: for example, Scania's latest prime mover boasts a maximum range of 510km with a gross train weight of 42 tonnes using a 560kWh battery. This can be 80% charged in 30 minutes.

This article examines the compatibility of this dominant design with Australia's current regulations under the Heavy Vehicle (Fatigue Management) National Regulation, which are administered and enforced by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR). The article also considers how Australia can better align its EV freight energy transition with pioneers in the industry, particularly Europe, and to ensure that EV freight can compete effectively with internal combustion engine (ICE) freight while protecting drivers.

The roadblock: rest breaks created for a different era

Australia's laws and regulatory frameworks governing driver rest breaks may be hindering the progression of our energy transition. Currently, under the fatigue management work and rest requirements contained in the Fatigue Management Regulations, fatigue-regulated heavy vehicle drivers are required to take a 15 continuous minutes rest break after completing a 5.5 hour work time driving period. This requirement is designed to prioritise safety for drivers, other road users, and the broader community by mitigating the risk of fatigue-related incidents.  

Fatigue Management Regulations impose the following standard hour rest breaks for solo drivers:

Further, notwithstanding where operators have Basic Fatigue Management (BFM) accreditation – which provides greater flexibility in determining drivers' work and rest schedules – the NHVR continues to regulate using blocks of 15 continuous minutes of rest time.

As it stands, the NHVR-mandated rest breaks do not align with EV truck charging times (for dominant designs), which require an average of 45 minutes of charging time to replenish a prime mover battery. This misalignment may have major impacts on Australia's energy transition and the commercial viability of EV freight in Australia. Under the current 15-minute rest break, EV freight drivers may be unable to fully recharge their EV trucks, leading to operational inefficiencies, such as delivery targets and deadlines. This, in turn, could disrupt commercial operations of freight companies, hence causing a lagging transition from ICE to EV freight vehicles and impeding the broader adoption or development of EV freight solutions in Australia.

Consequently, Australia's current regulatory framework under the NHVR may be hindering Australia's progress towards achieving net zero.

European rules aim to align driver rest rules with vehicle charging profiles

While both Europe and China are pioneering the electrification of road freight, Europe serves as a model approach for nations such as Australia in adopting comprehensive interconnected energy transition policies, making significant investment in charging infrastructure, and fostering strong collaboration between governments and industry to accelerate the energy transition.

Europe's regulation of driver rest breaks are starkly different to Australia's approach: drivers are generally required to rest for 45 minutes for every five hours of driving, three times longer than in Australia. 

The European Commission regulates driver rest times as follows:

Source: European Commission Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 and Driving time and rest periods

Consequently, Europe's regulated driver work and rest breaks are appropriately aligned with EV charging times, supporting the energy transition in the freight sector. The requirement of 45 minute rest breaks after 4.5 hours of driving ensures European drivers have sufficient time to recharge their vehicles during mandated breaks, minimising downtime.

This alignment not only ensures compliance with safety and fatigue management standards, but also maximises operational efficiency for freight companies seeking to electrify their fleet. By ensuring that driver rest regulations are aligned with emerging charging capabilities, such as 30 minutes for 80% charge demonstrated by the Scania prime, Europe has established a framework that facilitates the transition to EV freight, whilst also positioning the region as a global pioneer in sustainable freight transport. In contrast, Australia's lack of alignment between rest regulations and EV charging times creates a competitive disadvantage for EV freight providers, making it harder to transition away from ICE freight trucks.

By contrast, as a smaller, customer market, in which Australian companies will predominantly draw on the dominant design of EV freight vehicles rather than produce customised alternatives at scale, it will likely be more challenging for Australian freight companies to electrify for a combination of linked operational, financial and regulatory compliance reasons. This disparity is exacerbated when factoring in the vast distances required to be travelled in Australia, where long-haul freight routes are not currently required to be substantially broken up in a working day by extended driver rest breaks. In addition to these operational, financial, and regulatory factors, any consideration of changes to driver rest rules must also account for the critical importance of maintaining safety for drivers and other road users.

The way forward: fixing the disconnect

Amending Australia’s driver rest regulations to align with the charging requirements of EVs would promote decarbonisation of the road freight industry. Alignment would not only support the normative safety rationale underpinning the NHVR's rest rules, but would also be practically justified by the operational realities of operating EV freight vehicles, such as charging dwell time requirements. Europe’s success in synchronising rest breaks with EV charging times demonstrates how such reforms can advance both safety and sustainability, and without similar alignment, Australia risks falling behind in the global transition to net zero. Without similar European reforms, Australia face greater challenges for EV freight providers to compete with ICE freight trucks, potentially undermining its net zero emissions targets.

In conjunction with any regulatory reform, Australia should also continue to invest in fast-charging infrastructure to facilitate long-distance travel, which is central to freight logistics, and continue to explore innovative solutions such as battery swapping.

Regardless of the approach taken, it is crucial that Australia reform its driver rest regulations and develop effective charging infrastructure to facilitate the adoption of EV freight. By doing so, Australia can ensure that its energy transition is not only operationally and commercially viable but also aligned with its commitment to safety and its broader goal of achieving net zero.