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 only: median full-time weekly earnings for the ANZSCO unit group Truck Drivers (7331) from Your Career (Jobs and Skills Australia), and where available the QILT graduate starting salary for the matching study area.
| Figure | AUD | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Median full-time weekly earnings | $1780 | Your Career (2026-09-23) |
Jobs, demand and who does this work
Figures for the ANZSCO occupation Truck Driver (General) (733111), the closest official match for truck driver, from Your Career (Jobs and Skills Australia data, sourced 2026-09-23).
- People employed
- 148,400
- Future demand
- Stable
- Work full-time
- 84%
- Average full-time hours
- 50 a week
- Women
- 4%
- Median age
- 48
Where the jobs are (share of workers)
| NSW | 29.2% |
| VIC | 24.6% |
| QLD | 22.6% |
| WA | 12.7% |
| SA | 7% |
| TAS | 2.5% |
| ACT | 0.7% |
| NT | 0.7% |
Highest qualification held by workers
| Postgraduate qualification | 1.3% |
| Bachelor degree | 3.6% |
| Diploma or advanced diploma | 6% |
| Certificate I-IV | 24.8% |
| Year 12 | 16.9% |
| Below Year 12 | 42.3% |
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
- 1Hold a full car licence for at least 12 months (state-dependent) before going for a Light-Rigid or Medium-Rigid
- 2Step up to Heavy-Rigid (HR) for rigid trucks over 8 tonnes after another 12 months
- 3Move to Heavy-Combination (HC) for semi-trailers, then Multi-Combination (MC) for B-doubles and road trains after additional driving experience
- 4Complete a Certificate III in Driving Operations or accredited Heavy-Vehicle training if your employer wants it
- 5Get tickets for forklift, dangerous-goods, fatigue management, basic mining and dogman as the work requires
- 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 roles. Years of experience are a rough guide; pay at each stage depends on the employer, award or agreement.
- Local rigid driver0-3 yearsTypical roles: Local delivery driver, Pantech driver, Tipper driver
- Semi or B-double driver3-7 yearsTypical roles: HC linehaul driver, Bulk tanker driver, General freight driver
- Multi-combination and specialist7+ yearsTypical roles: Road-train driver, Livestock crate driver, Heavy-haulage driver, Mine-site haul driver
- Trainer or fleet supervisor10+ yearsTypical 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
Ways in
Uni and TAFE routes for truck driver. 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.
Sources
ExamExplained does not publish predictive salary figures. For current Australian earnings data check Your Career (yourcareer.gov.au) directly. Career classifications follow the ABS ANZSCO 2022 release.