From September 28 there will be tougher logbook and fatigue rules, and farmers moving grain, livestock or other farm commodities will face heavy penalties if they do not abide by the new laws.

New “work diaries” will be needed for all people behind the wheel of a vehicle weighing 12 tonnes or more.

A spokesman for the National Transport Commission said “simple steps” could be taken to ensure delivery deadlines allow the truck driver to work within the law.

However, because the new rules are not widely known yet, farmers will be expected to study up quickly before the harvest gets rolling.

And in NSW this will apply even if they are operating within 100 kilometres of their property – a new requirement not enforced before.

A NSW Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) spokeswoman said fatigue needs to be managed on all trips regardless of whether a driver is driving interstate or just within the State.

But the work diaries promise to turn the wheat harvest into “a fiddly operation”, says Eugowra, NSW, mixed farmer, Ray Townsend, “Glenavy”, who only needs to cart his grain 2.5km from his property to nearby silos.

When it comes to time spent on the job, he said there would soon be no distinction between work, such as loading or unloading, and driving time.

The 42-year-old who runs his property with his father, Tony, drives a “typical cockie’s truck” made in the early 1980s.

He said farmers driving anything similar with a gross weight of more than 12 tonnes must comply with the new driving-hour laws.

Farmers or other drivers wanting the flexibility to work up to 14 hours a day would need to be accredited by the RTA under the Basic Fatigue Management Scheme, which replaces the existing Transitional Fatigue Management Scheme.

Farmers who use outside truck drivers to carry grain, stock, wool or machinery on their behalf also have to be aware of the expanded chain-of-responsibility laws.

These means the owner of the farm produce could be penalised if they are linked to illegal trip schedules which caused driver fatigue.