# Site Diary (/docs/form-guides/building/national/national-site-diary)



A site diary is the daily record of who was on site, what work happened, and what affected the day. Fill one diary per site per day, while the crew, conditions, delays, and deliveries are still easy to confirm. Sign it, check the PDF, and keep it with the job file.

This is a Tradie Forms designed record, not a government form. It records the day. It does not replace a JSA, Take 5, incident report, variation notice, or any contract notice the job also requires.

<RelatedForm slug="national-jsa">
  Need to break a task into steps, hazards, risk ratings, and controls before work starts? Use
</RelatedForm>

<RelatedForm slug="national-take-5">
  Need a short safety check before starting the task? Use
</RelatedForm>

<Callout type="warn" className="docs-callout-warn my-4">
  A diary entry can support the job record, but it does not replace a notice required by your contract or a full incident or hazard report. Send those separately when they apply.
</Callout>

<span id="before-you-start" />

## Before you start [#before-you-start]

Have the day's real details ready. Do not rebuild them from memory at the end of the week.

<GatherList>
  <Gather title="The site and diary date">
    The site name, lot, address, or project reference the crew and client already use.
  </Gather>

  <Gather title="Who attended">
    Names, company or trade, and approximate start and finish times for people on site.
  </Gather>

  <Gather title="Work completed">
    The actual work done today, including areas, stages, or systems that make the note useful later.
  </Gather>

  <Gather title="Delays and conditions">
    Weather, access, late deliveries, unavailable plant, instructions, or other events that affected work.
  </Gather>

  <Gather title="Visitors and deliveries">
    Inspectors, engineers, clients, suppliers, and major deliveries worth keeping with the daily record.
  </Gather>

  <Gather title="Safety cross-references">
    The separate incident or hazard record number when something happened today.
  </Gather>
</GatherList>

<span id="site" />

## Site [#site]

Business, supervisor, site, date, weather, and conditions for this diary.

<Fields>
  <Field name="Business Logo (Shown top right on the downloaded diary)" type="Photo" requirement="optional">
    Upload your business logo if you want it on the finished PDF.
  </Field>

  <Field name="Business Name" type="Text" requirement="required">
    Your trading name as the client or principal contractor should recognise it.
  </Field>

  <Field name="Supervisor" type="Text" requirement="required">
    The person responsible for the site record that day.
  </Field>

  <Field name="Site or Address" type="Text" requirement="required">
    Use the project name, lot, or address the job file already uses, for example `Lot 14, Riverbank Estate`.
  </Field>

  <Field name="Diary Date" type="Date" requirement="required">
    The day covered by this record. Use **Today** or **Yesterday** on site. Future dates are blocked.
  </Field>

  <Field name="Weather" type="Select" requirement="optional">
    Choose the closest condition: Fine, Overcast, Rain, Wind, Extreme heat, or Frost.
  </Field>

  <Field name="Temperature" type="Text" requirement="optional">
    A useful approximate temperature, for example `28°C`, when heat, cold, or curing conditions matter.
  </Field>

  <Field name="Conditions Affecting Work" type="Text" requirement="optional">
    A short factual note, for example `Rain stopped external works 10am-12pm`.
  </Field>
</Fields>

<SavedDetail name="Business" reuse="next site diary" />

<span id="attendance" />

## Attendance [#attendance]

Use **Add person** for each person you want on the daily record. The list can be empty for a rained-out or no-access day. Long lists continue onto extra PDF pages.

<Fields>
  <Field name="Attendance" type="TableRows" requirement="optional">
    Each row needs **Name** and **Company or Trade**. Add **Time On** and **Time Off** when the job needs an attendance trail. This is a diary list, not a site induction or per-person sign-on.
  </Field>
</Fields>

<span id="work" />

## Work [#work]

Write the day so someone who was not there can still follow it.

<Fields>
  <Field name="Work Performed Today" type="Textarea" requirement="required">
    Name the work, location, and stage completed. `First-floor frames stood and braced; roof trusses delivered` is more useful than `Worked on framing`.
  </Field>

  <Field name="Delays or Stoppages" type="Textarea" requirement="optional">
    Say what caused the delay, when it happened, and what work it affected. Keep contract notices separate when the job requires them.
  </Field>

  <Field name="Visitors and Deliveries" type="Textarea" requirement="optional">
    Record important visitors, inspections, and major deliveries. Leave out routine crew already listed under Attendance.
  </Field>
</Fields>

<span id="safety" />

## Safety [#safety]

Choose whether there were incidents, near misses, or new hazards today. When you choose **Yes**, add a short cross-reference in **Safety Notes**.

<Fields>
  <Field name="Incidents, Near Misses, or New Hazards Today" type="RadioGroup" requirement="required">
    Choose **No incidents or new hazards** or **Yes, recorded below**.
  </Field>

  <Field name="Safety Notes" type="Textarea" requirement="required-when" condition="you select Yes">
    Briefly identify what happened and the separate report, for example `Near miss raised as incident report IR-104`. Do not use this small field as the full incident investigation.
  </Field>
</Fields>

<span id="signOff" />

## Sign-Off [#sign-off]

Confirm the diary is a true record for the date shown.

<Fields>
  <Field name="Name" type="Text" requirement="required">
    The supervisor or tradie signing the daily record.
  </Field>

  <Field name="Date" type="Date" requirement="required">
    The sign-off date. Check it tells the same story as the diary date.
  </Field>

  <Field name="Signature" type="Signature" requirement="required">
    Draw, upload, or use your saved signature after the attendance and daily notes are final.
  </Field>
</Fields>

## Common mistakes [#common-mistakes]

<Mistakes>
  <Mistake title="Writing the whole week on Friday.">
    Dates, visitors, and short delays get mixed up. Complete one diary per site per day before the details disappear.
  </Mistake>

  <Mistake title="Using vague work notes.">
    `General works` does not help the client, office, or contract administrator. Name the stage, area, and useful result.
  </Mistake>

  <Mistake title="Listing a delay without its effect.">
    Record what caused it, the time or duration, and what work stopped. Send any required contract notice separately.
  </Mistake>

  <Mistake title="Treating attendance as an induction register.">
    This list records who was on site. Use the site's induction or sign-on process when individual declarations or signatures are required.
  </Mistake>

  <Mistake title="Putting a full incident report in Safety Notes.">
    Cross-reference the separate incident or hazard form. The diary keeps the daily link, not the investigation.
  </Mistake>
</Mistakes>

<span id="before-download" />

## Before download [#before-download]

<Checklist>
  <Check>
    Site, supervisor, and diary date match this day
  </Check>

  <Check>
    Attendance names and trades are complete, or the empty day is explained
  </Check>

  <Check>
    Work performed says what happened and where
  </Check>

  <Check>
    Delays, conditions, visitors, and deliveries are factual
  </Check>

  <Check>
    Any safety issue points to the separate report
  </Check>

  <Check>
    Name, date, and signature are complete
  </Check>
</Checklist>

<span id="after-download" />

## After download [#after-download]

Keep the signed PDF with the job record and any matching photos, dockets, instructions, incident reports, variation notices, or delay notices. Give it to the client or principal contractor when the contract or site process asks for daily records.

* **File it by site and date.** `Site Diary - Riverbank Estate - 2026-08-02.pdf` is easy to find later.
* **Keep supporting records together.** Match delay notes with delivery dockets, instructions, photos, and any formal notice.
* **Do not rewrite a signed day silently.** If you need to correct the record, make the correction clear and keep the original trail.

## Related guides [#related-guides]

<Cards className="docs-cards docs-cards-cols-2 my-6">
  <Card title="Job Safety Analysis" href="/docs/form-guides/building/national/national-jsa">
    Break a task into steps, hazards, risk, and controls before work starts.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Take 5 Safety Check" href="/docs/form-guides/building/national/national-take-5">
    Complete a short pre-task safety check before starting work.
  </Card>
</Cards>