Australia currently has almost 28,000 truck driving positions sitting vacant across its vast network of highways. By 2029, that number could end up at 78,000 unfilled roles. This is about much more than just job vacancies, with these statistics representing a frank warning of what industry leaders are calling a "ticking timebomb" for road safety.
When you're driving alongside a 40-tonne truck on Queensland's Bruce Highway at night, you probably assume the driver has years of experience, has undergone comprehensive training and is well-rested, but the reality behind that assumption is changing fast.
Australia's desperate scramble to fill empty truck cabs has brought up some uncomfortable questions about the delicate balance between keeping freight moving and keeping everyone safe.
Why Truck Drivers Matter More Than You Think
Around three quarters of Australia's domestic freight travels by road, and for Queensland’s sprawling regional communities and resource-rich remote areas, that figure climbs even higher.
The Australian road freight task is projected to grow by 77% between 2020 and 2050, with more goods, more deliveries and more pressure being put on a workforce that’s already being pushed to its limit. Supply chains are like the circulatory system of the economy, and right now it’s operating with dangerously low blood pressure.
The main issue is that freight demand is surging while the pool of qualified drivers continues to shrink. The people who keep supermarket shelves stocked, construction sites supplied and businesses running are disappearing from the workforce faster than they can be replaced.
Fast-Track Licensing: Speed Over Substance?
Driving a heavy vehicle in Australia requires specific licences for the different classes: MR for medium rigid trucks, HR for heavy rigid, HC for heavy combinations and MC for multi-combination vehicles like road trains. Each requires passing a range of medical checks, knowledge tests and practical assessments.
It’s also a requirement to hold a lower-class licence for 12 months before upgrading, but the thousands of vacant positions have resulted in significant pressure to streamline these requirements and get more drivers behind the wheel as quickly as possible.
You probably wouldn’t want surgery from someone who'd taken a weekend crash course, and the comparison isn't so far-fetched when you consider the complexity of manoeuvring a 53-metre road train through remote highways in adverse weather conditions.
Industry advocates want to change the requirements for getting these licenses, preferring competency-based systems focused on real-world skills instead of arbitrary time requirements.
This may sound reasonable at first, but "competency" means reduced training hours and watered-down skill requirements when things are rushed through, which might fill seats more quickly but also puts inexperienced drivers in tough situations they're not prepared to handle.
It’s a narrow tightrope: genuine competency-based assessment could improve safety, but only if it's implemented properly rather than used as cover for cutting corners.
The Ageing Fleet: When Experience Walks Out the Door
Here's a sobering statistic: 47% of Australian truck drivers are over 55 years old, while only 5.2% are under 25. By 2029, more than 1-in-5 current drivers will have retired.
The age gap crisis isn't just about numbers. It's about the loss of institutional knowledge that can't be taught in a classroom, like how to read weather patterns and the subtle differences between breaking a loaded and unloaded trailer.
Older drivers show significantly higher job stability, with only 5.3% turnover in the 45-54 age bracket. But recruitment of young drivers remains stubbornly low thanks to licensing barriers, the industry’s poor reputation and limited mentorship pathways.
Without experienced drivers to guide rookies through their first winter haul and teach them the subtle nuances of the job, the entire industry loses something irreplaceable.
Fatigue: The Invisible Killer
Australian heavy vehicle drivers operate under strict mandates for maximum working hours, minimum rest breaks and fatigue management. In theory, these protections should prevent exhausted drivers from getting behind the wheel, but fatigue is linked to up to 20% of heavy vehicle accidents.
Take drivers of refrigerated loads as an example. They’re supposed to take regular breaks based on clear regulations about rest periods, but when a client needs their seafood delivered before lunch service (and when missing that window means losing future contracts) truckers will keep going despite tiredness and wavering concentration.
Around 20% of five truck drivers under 35 report suffering severe psychological stress. The pressure isn't just physical, it's the constant mental load of tight deadlines, financial insecurity and a workplace culture that often rewards "toughness" over safety.
Despite clear fatigue management regulations, enforcement varies wildly. Some operators genuinely prioritise safety, but many create environments in which drivers feel compelled to push through exhaustion to keep their jobs. The consequences of this show up in crash statistics and coroner's reports.
International Drivers: Ready or Not
With domestic recruitment struggling, the industry is increasingly looking overseas to fill vacant positions. International drivers offer a potential solution to the numbers problem, but rapid onboarding creates new safety concerns.
Imagine arriving in Australia after working as a driver in Europe or Asia. The rules of the road might be drastically different, the distances are vast and the signage uses different symbols and measurements.
International drivers must have their overseas licences recognised and complete local assessments on Australian road rules, but the quality and thoroughness of these programs varies significantly. Language barriers compound the problem, particularly in emergency situations where split-second communication matters.
This isn't about questioning the capability of international drivers, it's about acknowledging that effective onboarding takes time, resources and comprehensive training that many operators simply aren't providing in their rush to fill positions.
The False Economy of Low Wages
Australian truck drivers earn between $60,000 and $85,000 annually on average, with interstate drivers making as much as $135,000. Those figures sound reasonable until you factor in the actual working conditions, time spent away from family and the physical demands of the job.
Wages suppression has several side-effects: less experienced candidates enter the workpool, existing drivers feel pressured to work longer hours to make ends meet and the most skilled workers end up leaving for better opportunities. Safety becomes a luxury when meeting basic expenses requires cutting corners.
This leads to a false economy where the money saved on driver wages gets dwarfed by the costs of accidents, like medical expenses, insurance claims, vehicle repairs, legal fees, lost productivity and public liability payouts. Compensation from a single serious accident can run into the millions of dollars.
Work health and safety laws set clear standards for pay, conditions and employer obligations. But economic pressure creates environments where safety margins shrink. You can't penny-pinch your way to road safety.
Also read: Australian Truck Accident and Injury Trends and Statistics
Two Different Worlds: Rural vs Urban
The safety challenges faced by a driver on Sydney's M4 motorway during peak hours look nothing like those of someone hauling cattle across western Queensland.
In remote, rural areas the distances are longer, the isolation is profound and help might be hours away in the event something goes wrong.
There are higher rates of heavy vehicle accidents and fatalities in Queensland compared to urban centres. Fatigue becomes more dangerous when the nearest rest area is 200 kilometres behind you and the next one is 150 kilometres ahead. If a truck develops brake problems on a remote highway, with no mobile signal, no passing traffic and temperatures pushing 40 degrees, it might take a long time for help to arrive.
Urban environments also have dangerous hazards, with truck drivers facing congestion, impatient motorists, complex navigation and near-constant decision-making, although the proximity of support services, shorter distances between stops and better infrastructure create different safety dynamics.
State and national road safety laws apply uniformly regardless of location, but the practical realities of enforcement and support infrastructure vary dramatically between settings. A one-size-fits-all approach to training and safety standards would likely fail to address these fundamentally different environments truck drivers have to operate in.
Moving Beyond Crisis: What Actually Works
The good news is that there are solutions to these problems, they just require commitment, investment and a long term outlook.
It’s important to enhance training programs so they focus on competency rather than box-ticking exercises in order to make a measurable difference. Mentoring programs which pair experienced drivers with enthusiastic newcomers can help transfer invaluable legacy knowledge before it disappears with retiring drivers.
Technology will also play a key role, with telematics systems, fatigue monitoring and real-time tracking able to help identify problems before they become disasters. But technology must support drivers, not just watch over their shoulders. When monitoring systems are used punitively rather than as safety tools, drivers will find workarounds that defeat the purpose.
It’s also important to improve working conditions for truck drivers. Competitive wages, realistic scheduling, genuine rest periods and mental health support don't just attract better candidates, they create environments in which safety becomes paramount.
When regulations are enforced consistently and fairly, behaviour changes and the floor is raised for the entire industry.
The Road Ahead
Australia's truck driver shortage is more than just an economic problem or a logistics headache, it's a safety crisis which affects every driver on every highway in the country.
Fatigue, inexperience and pressure to keep driving represent systemic failures that create environments where safety becomes optional. Every time corners are cut on training, license processes are rushed, wages are suppressed and rest requirements aren’t enforced, a collective choice about acceptable risk is made on the behalf of every Australian who uses the road.
This isn't someone else's problem to solve. Policymakers need to prioritise safety over expedience, operators need to invest in training and conditions rather than race to the bottom on costs and the Australian public needs to accept that the cheap freight isn't actually cheap when the financial, physical and emotional costs of accidents are taken into account.
