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ANZSCO 7331Skill level 4Primary industries

Truck driver

Drive rigid, heavy-rigid and multi-combination trucks moving freight, livestock and bulk loads.

Registration: Heavy-Rigid, Heavy-Combination or Multi-Combination driver licence

Salary

Cited figures from Job Outlook and QILT. ExamExplained does not publish predictive earnings or projections.

FigureAUDSource
Full-time weekly earnings$1500Job Outlook (2025-06-01)

How far does this stretch in each city?

What a truck driver actually does

The day usually begins with a pre-start walk-around: tyres, lights, brake lines, load restraints and electronic work diary. Local distribution drivers run a metro route of 6 to 12 drops in a rigid or pantech, often loading at a warehouse before dawn and finishing mid-afternoon. Inter-capital linehaul drivers leave a depot in the early evening, drive a set leg of 800 to 1200 km overnight, sleep in the cab at a designated rest area, then return the next night. Bulk and livestock drivers in regional Australia run set commodity routes (grain to port, cattle to abattoir, fuel to mine sites) with loading and unloading at both ends. Mine-site and station haul drivers work two-week or four-week swings on roster. Fatigue rules set strict 12 to 14 hour daily limits and mandatory breaks. Time at loading docks, weighbridges and queues is a real chunk of the job. Pay sits at award or above with allowances for nights, weekends, long-haul kilometres and dangerous goods.

Typical tasks

  • Plan routes and complete pre-trip checks.
  • Manage fatigue and chain-of-responsibility.
  • Secure and unload freight safely.

Skills you'll use

  • Heavy-vehicle driving across rigid, semi, B-double and road-train configurations
  • Load restraint, chain-of-responsibility and dangerous-goods awareness
  • Pre-start mechanical checks and basic roadside repairs
  • Reading electronic work diaries and fatigue management plans
  • Routing, weight limits and bridge-formula compliance
  • Customer service at delivery sites including supermarkets, building sites and mines
  • Reversing in tight yards and coupling and uncoupling trailers
  • Patience and self-management on long solo legs

How to become one

  1. 1Hold a full car licence for at least 12 months (state-dependent) before going for a Light-Rigid or Medium-Rigid
  2. 2Step up to Heavy-Rigid (HR) for rigid trucks over 8 tonnes after another 12 months
  3. 3Move to Heavy-Combination (HC) for semi-trailers, then Multi-Combination (MC) for B-doubles and road trains after additional driving experience
  4. 4Complete a Certificate III in Driving Operations or accredited Heavy-Vehicle training if your employer wants it
  5. 5Get tickets for forklift, dangerous-goods, fatigue management, basic mining and dogman as the work requires
  6. 6Build a clean record with one operator (linehaul, livestock, fuel or bulk) before chasing premium long-haul or mine-site contracts

Where you can work

  • National linehaul and parcel operators
  • Supermarket and grocery distribution centres
  • Livestock transport companies running cattle, sheep and pigs
  • Fuel, gas and chemical bulk haulage
  • Mining contractors hauling ore, water and supplies on-site and to port
  • Grain, fertiliser and agricultural cartage in regional Australia
  • Council and civil contractors running tippers and water trucks
  • Self-employed owner-drivers contracting to a prime carrier

Career progression

Typical stages and salary bands. Salary figures are sourced from Job Outlook, QILT or industry bodies; brackets are 25th-75th percentile not absolute floors or ceilings.

  1. Local rigid driver
    0-3 years
    Typical roles: Local delivery driver, Pantech driver, Tipper driver
    Salary band: $60,000 - $80,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  2. Semi or B-double driver
    3-7 years
    Typical roles: HC linehaul driver, Bulk tanker driver, General freight driver
    Salary band: $80,000 - $110,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  3. Multi-combination and specialist
    7+ years
    Typical roles: Road-train driver, Livestock crate driver, Heavy-haulage driver, Mine-site haul driver
    Salary band: $100,000 - $140,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  4. Trainer or fleet supervisor
    10+ years
    Typical roles: Driver trainer or assessor, Fleet supervisor, Owner-driver operating a prime mover

Is this for you?

You might love this if

  • You like driving and don't mind your own company for long stretches
  • You're disciplined about fatigue, breaks and paperwork
  • You can stay calm in tight depots, congested ports and bad weather
  • You're handy enough to change a tyre and reset a brake at the side of the road
  • You're punctual and like ticking off jobs along a route
  • You're okay being away from home for nights or weeks at a time on long-haul or FIFO swings

This might not suit you if

  • You hate sitting for long hours
  • You can't follow strict fatigue, drug and alcohol rules
  • You need to be home every night with your family
  • You can't stand reverse-parking large vehicles in tight spaces
  • You're not comfortable carrying heavy responsibility - the chain-of-responsibility laws are real

Three ways in

Uni, TAFE and trade routes for truck driver. Not every career has all three; we only list pathways that actually lead to this occupation.

University

Bachelor degrees that lead to this career.

No direct undergraduate pathway. Consider postgraduate study after a related bachelor degree.

TAFE / VET

Nationally accredited Certificate and Diploma qualifications.

Apprenticeship trade

Earn while you learn through an Australian Apprenticeship.

Not an apprenticeship trade.

Sources

ExamExplained does not publish predictive salary figures. For current Australian earnings data check Job Outlook directly. Career classifications follow the ABS ANZSCO 2022 release.