Haul Truck Driver Jobs in Australian Mining: Training, Licences and What to Expect

What a haul truck operator does

The national units describe the skills as operating, loading, hauling and dumping materials with a haul truck. SEEK describes dump truck operators as transporting materials such as dirt, rocks, sand and gravel from one site to another. On a mine, that is moving ore and waste between the pit, the crusher and the dump.

Both units also cover the routine around the driving. Their first elements are planning and preparing for the work, including confirming task requirements with site personnel and checking hazards, and conducting pre-operational checks such as prestart and start-up checks and a walkaround. SEEK says dump truck operators may be expected to work away from home, and the one mine ad we read below lists a DIDO roster of 8:6 and 7:7.

The trucks

There are two broad types, and the training splits along the same line:

• Articulated haul trucks. RIIMPO337 applies to both front and rear dumping articulated haul trucks.
• Rigid haul trucks. RIIMPO338 covers rigid haul trucks. Size varies a lot: RMS Training says it runs its rigid course on a CAT 773E (60 t) at a quarry in WA, while Komatsu lists the 930E-5 electric drive mining truck with a nominal payload of 290 metric tons.

Those two models are examples from a training provider and a manufacturer page, not a list of what any site runs. The ad or the site induction will name the trucks you will drive.

Training units and courses

The current units on training.gov.au are RIIMPO337 and RIIMPO338, both Release 1, with the documents generated on 2 September 2026. Both apply to those working in operational roles, list no pre-requisite units and cover coal mining, metalliferous mining, extractive and civil infrastructure sectors. They replace the older RIIMPO337E and RIIMPO338E codes, so you may still see the “E” versions on older certificates.

Courses are sold by private providers. As one example, RMS Training lists a rigid haul truck course with up to 6 hours of online pre-learning and a one day practical, with a minimum age of 18 and a C class licence required. Check the provider’s own page for current content and fees. Our dump truck ticket page has the unit codes and a provider comparison.

A unit on its own is not a job offer. SEEK says training is often provided on the job, and many sites run their own competency assessment on their own trucks, so we suggest asking the recruiter which ticket the role needs before you pay for a course.

Do you need an HR or MR licence?

HR and MR are road licence classes set by axles and weight. The WA Department of Transport says an MR licence covers vehicles with 2 axles and a GVM greater than 8,000 kg. The NSW Government defines HR vehicles as trucks and buses with a GVM more than 8 tonnes and 3 or more axles, and the NT page describes HR as the class for 3 or more axles over 8 tonnes.

Whether a mine requires one for a haul truck is less clear. Here is what we found:

• The units. RIIMPO337 and RIIMPO338 each state that no licensing, legislative or certification requirements apply to the unit at the time of publication.
• High risk work licences. WorkSafe Victoria says you do not need a high risk work licence to operate earthmoving equipment (for example an excavator). SafeWork NSW says high risk work licences are no longer required for earthmoving plant such as excavators, front end loaders and bulldozers. The WA high risk work licensing page does not name dump trucks or haul trucks. None of these pages names haul trucks as such.
• Job ads. A Ravenswood Gold haulage operator ad in Queensland asks for a current and valid driver licence, MR, HR, HC or MC as applicable, and lists haul trucks, articulated haul trucks and water trucks. SEEK says dump truck operators are required to hold an appropriate driver licence.

We did not find a regulator statement that a road licence class is, or is not, legally required to operate an off-road mine haul truck, so we cannot give you a rule. In practice the ad and the employer decide. Our MR licence and HR licence pages explain how to get each class if an ad asks for one.

Autonomous haulage

Some large miners run driverless haul trucks. We report what they publish and do not predict job numbers.

• Rio Tinto. Its Pilbara page says approximately 90% of its haul truck fleet across its Pilbara sites is autonomous, that the trucks use pre-defined GPS courses to navigate haul roads and intersections, and that an operations centre in Perth, 1,500 kilometres from the Pilbara, lets autonomous trucks, trains, plants and drills be run from one location.
• Fortescue. A release dated 13 July 2021 reported a total of 193 autonomous trucks in operation (79 at Solomon, 74 at Christmas Creek and 40 at Cloudbreak) and two billion tonnes moved. It said the transition included training and redeployment to new roles. Those counts are from 2021 and will have changed.
• Komatsu. Its 930E-5 page lists an Autonomous Haulage System retrofit for converting an existing fleet, and says a special features request is required for all AHS conversions.

What this means for you: autonomous and manned fleets exist at the same time. We suggest checking each ad for whether the role is on a manned fleet, and looking at roles that sit around autonomy (such as a remote operations centre) only where an employer advertises them.

Pay

SEEK’s Dump Truck Operator page shows an average of $120,000 to $140,000 a year, with a median of $130,000, based on pay disclosed in job ads (checked 10 October 2026). The Mining Industry Award is a separate legal minimum and many mines pay above it. We read the award as covering this role at roughly Level 1 to Level 3, but the award does not name the role at a level. Our dump truck operator salary page shows both measures side by side and explains why they differ. No source we checked publishes a roster specific to dump truck operators, so confirm the roster in the ad.

Getting started

We suggest this order, which is our advice rather than a rule:

1. Read two or three current ads for the sites you want. Note the truck type, the licence wording and the roster. The FIFO jobs board is a start.
2. Get the basics first. Our guide to mining jobs with no experience and how to get into mining cover tickets and first steps.
3. Ask the recruiter whether the role needs RIIMPO337 or RIIMPO338, or an HR or MR licence, before paying for any of them.
4. List every ticket with its date on your mining resume.

For the units themselves, see the official documents for RIIMPO337 and RIIMPO338.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

Last updated 10 October 2026. Facts on this page come from the sources below.

• training.gov.au: RIIMPO337 Conduct articulated haul truck operations (read 10 October 2026)
• training.gov.au: RIIMPO338 Conduct rigid haul truck operations (read 10 October 2026)
• WorkSafe Victoria: High risk work licence (read 10 October 2026)
• SafeWork NSW: Earthmoving plant in construction safety checklist (read 10 October 2026)
• WA Government: High risk work licensing (read 10 October 2026)
• WA Department of Transport: Medium rigid licence (MR) (read 10 October 2026)
• NSW Government: Getting a heavy vehicle licence (read 10 October 2026)
• NT Government: Heavy vehicle licence classes and conditions (read 10 October 2026)
• Ravenswood Gold haulage operator job ad on Employment Hero (read 10 October 2026)
• SEEK career advice: Dump Truck Operator salary (checked 10 October 2026)
• Rio Tinto: Pilbara operations (read 10 October 2026)
• Fortescue: autonomous haul fleet surpasses two billion tonnes, 13 July 2021 (read 10 October 2026)
• Komatsu: 930E-5 electric drive mining truck (read 10 October 2026)
• RMS Training: Dump truck ticket Perth (read 10 October 2026)

The unit descriptions come from the training.gov.au documents for RIIMPO337 and RIIMPO338. The licence points come from state regulator pages and from job ads, and no source we read states a road licence class rule for off-road mine haul trucks, so that part is left open on purpose. The Fortescue release is dated 13 July 2021, so its truck counts are old. The Rio Tinto and Komatsu pages are the companies’ own descriptions. SEEK figures are what employers disclose in ads, not a pay guarantee. Where we say “we suggest”, it is our advice, not a rule. Employers set their own requirements, so the job ad comes first.