Road Transport (Long Distance Operations) Award

Coverage is trip based. A driver can move into or out of this award depending on the operation being performed at the time.

• Check each operation against the award definitions, not just the employee's usual title or the kind of truck being used.
• An interstate operation must exceed 200 kilometres for the single journey.
• A return journey must exceed 500 kilometres and involve the movement of livestock or materials.

Long distance roster compliance is a fatigue and payroll issue at the same time, so recorded duty time matters as much as scheduled driving time.

• Ordinary hours average 38 per week over a period of not more than 28 days.
• Where fatigue management rules apply, hours of work must comply with those rules.
• Where they do not apply, the award sets fallback limits on fortnightly hours, daily hours, meal breaks and time off duty.
• Duty time runs from when the employee is rostered or registers for duty, whichever is later, until the employee is effectively released from duty.

Classification does more than set the base rate. It also drives the guaranteed minimum payment structure that is central to this award.

• Employees are classified by grade, and grades 1 and 2 are not used under this award.
• Full time and part time employees are entitled to a guaranteed minimum fortnightly payment based on the classification under which they are working.
• That guarantee depends on the employee being ready, willing and available to perform covered duties.

The payroll picture is wider than kilometres driven. RDOs, on call time and travel with the vehicle can all change the outcome.

• Full time employees accrue rostered days off under the award and those RDOs need to be managed on the roster.
• After the guaranteed fortnightly payment has already been earned, on call time in the second week is paid on an hourly basis in addition to that guarantee.
• Travel by sea or rail with a vehicle on a long distance operation is dealt with separately and cannot be ignored just because the vehicle is not on the road at that time.

This award is easy to underpay or overpay if payroll treats every allowance as either fully absorbed or always separate.

• The award requires allowances to be paid where the entitlement arises and separately identified.
• Some items are built into the award rates, while other allowances remain separately payable in specific circumstances such as temporary transfer from local driving or certain specialist work.
• Payroll needs a clear rule for what is already absorbed and what is not.

Labour supply arrangements do not change the core coverage test. The work itself still has to be classified and paid correctly.

• On hire labour and group training arrangements can still be covered when the hosted work is genuine long distance transport work.
• Using a labour model does not remove the need to apply the award's hours and pay rules to the work actually being performed.

PR799280, PR799319, PR799476

The current consolidated award incorporates these recent variation determinations. Use the consolidated wording when checking any affected clause, schedule, rate or allowance.

Affected: 16 - Minimum rates, 18 - Allowances, Schedule A - Summary of Hourly Rates of Pay, Schedule B - Summary of Monetary Allowances, Schedule C - Supported Wage System