Tow Truck Driver

A tow truck driver operates specialist recovery vehicles to retrieve, transport, and position disabled, damaged, or illegally parked vehicles on Australian roads. They assess accident scenes and mechanical failures, attach vehicles safely using chains, straps, or winches, and navigate traffic while managing heavy loads according to Heavy Vehicle National Law and local council regulations.

Operate tow truck controls including winch systems, hydraulic lifts, and boom arms to recover vehicles from roadside, ditches, or accident scenes. Assess vehicle condition and recovery site hazards before commencing recovery operations to determine appropriate equipment and techniques. Attach recovery equipment such as chains, straps, or snatch blocks to disabled or damaged vehicles using correct load distribution and securing methods. Navigate tow truck through traffic and difficult terrain whilst managing the weight and balance of loaded vehicles, adhering to fatigue management requirements under Heavy Vehicle National Law. Complete accident scene documentation including photographs, damage assessments, and incident reports for insurance and fleet management purposes. Communicate with dispatch, police, roadside assistance services, and vehicle owners via radio and mobile phone to coordinate recovery operations. Perform daily vehicle inspections and maintenance on the tow truck including checking brake systems, hydraulic fluid, winch function, and safety equipment in accordance with roadworthiness standards. Position vehicles at repair workshops, auctions, or impound facilities following customer or authorising authority instructions, including reversing with precision.

The standard entry pathway requires a Certificate II or III (ABS skill level 4). Specific qualification requirements vary by employer and state. Some employers may accept equivalent experience. Check yourcareer.gov.au for available courses and dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/free-tafe for subsidised training options.

You'll be on-call for nights, weekends, and public holidays doing physically demanding work in all weather. Recovery scenes can involve serious accidents with injured people. The job has real safety risks (winch failures, traffic, unstable loads) and you're liable if something goes wrong. Pay is modest for the hours and danger.

Most jobs are in major metro areas where traffic density and accident rates drive demand. Regional and rural areas have fewer positions. Recovery work follows population and highways. Some remote work is impossible here: you go where the broken-down cars are.

Published for ANZSCO unit group 7331, the wider group this job sits in, not for this job on its own.

This is the median for full-time employees who are not managers and are paid at the adult rate, before tax and salary sacrifice. It is a guide to what the work pays, not a wage rate.

Source: ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.

• Active Listeningcore
• Adhere to transportation work schedulecore
• Attention to Detailcore
• Conflict De-escalationcore
• Customer Needs Assessmentcore
• Delivery Schedulingcore
• Dispatch Documentationcore
• Driver and Courier Liaisoncore
• Empathy and Emotional Intelligencecore
• Incident Reportingcore
• Policy and Procedure Adherencecore
• Problem Solvingcore
• Risk Identificationcore
• Time Management and Prioritisationcore
• Verbal Communicationcore
• Adaptability and Flexibility
• Basic Arithmetic and Numerical Accuracy
• Data Entry and Accuracy
• Invoicing and Billing Administration
• Regulatory and Legislative Awareness
• Telephone Etiquette
• Workload Self-Management

• ABS OSCA 2024, occupation definition and task statements
• ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
• ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on usual place of residence (Custom Report). OSCA Experimental Estimates.

Role data is drawn from official Australian Government sources, and each figure names where it comes from. Where a role is not in the ABS classification, the page shows no government figures for it. Data may not reflect every local variation.

Where our numbers come from.

Last updated: 30 October 2026