Effect of criminal and passenger transport history on operator accreditation

Suitability assessment for operator accreditation

Before approving your operator accreditation application, we will assess your suitability. For corporations, we’ll also check the suitability of all company directors and nominated executive officers. We’ll continue to monitor your suitability while you hold operator accreditation.

The suitability assessment includes:

• criminal history checks
• review of any previous passenger transport service operation history (if applicable).

Criminal history check

• We conduct a criminal history check as part pf assessing your application
• You cannot provide your own criminal history check. The criminal history check information we access for operator accreditation purposes contains more information than is normally released.

Declaring your criminal history

• You must declare your entire criminal history, regardless of when the offence occurred.
• Sections 5 and 6 of the Criminal Law (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act 1986, which normally allow some offences to remain undisclosed, do not apply.
• A conviction includes a finding of guilt or acceptance of a guilty plea by a court, whether or not a conviction is recorded.

Disqualifying offences

Disqualifying offences for operator accreditation include:

Criminal Code offences

• Offences listed in Schedule 1 of the Transport Operations (Passenger Transport) Act 1994
• Examples include: homicide, assault, kidnapping, dangerous use of vehicles, property offences, stealing, fraud, sexual offences

Drug and weapon offences

• Offences under the Drugs Misuse Act 1986 or Weapons Act 1990 punishable by imprisonment of 1 year or more (even if a fine was imposed)

Transport offences

• Offences against the Transport Operations (Passenger Transport) Act 1994 or Transport Operations (Passenger Transport) Regulation 2018

Offences in other jurisdictions

• Offences committed in other jurisdictions that are substantially similar to the offences listed above.

Assessing suitability for operator accreditation

We assess each application individually, considering various criteria.

If you have been convicted of a disqualifying offence, there may be a waiting period before you are considered suitable. The waiting period depends on:

• the severity of the offence
• the circumstances surrounding the offence.

In some cases, we may grant accreditation before the waiting period ends. You can support your application by providing:

• written personal references
• relevant comments from court judgments (including transcripts)

This guidance is general in nature. Suitability is assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Monitoring changes to your criminal history

If you hold operator accreditation:

• You must inform us if you're charged with a disqualifying offence.
• You must also inform us of the final outcome of the charge.

Failing to provide this information is an offence.

Consideration of your passenger transport service history

When assessing applications for operator accreditation or renewal, we consider your history of providing passenger transport services. For example, if your previous accreditation was cancelled, we'll review those circumstances.

Previous offences committed while operating a public passenger service are also considered.

If your accreditation was previously suspended or cancelled, there may be a waiting period applied before you can be accredited again. In serious cases, such as those involving public safety or repeat non-compliance, a longer waiting period may apply.

Refusal, suspension or cancellation of operator accreditation

If you are not considered suitable, we may refuse, cancel, suspend or amend your operator accreditation. The Transport Operations (Passenger Transport) Act 1994 (PT Act) lists a range of disqualifying offences that can lead to action against your operator accreditation.

We may also take action if you behave in a way that:

• damages the reputation of public passenger services or accredited operators
• goes against the accreditation purpose outlined in section 11 of the PT Act.

The purpose of accreditation is to encourage high-quality public passenger services by:

• raising standards and awareness of operators in safety, service delivery and business operations
• ensuring operators comply with appropriate standards.

Review of decision affecting operator accreditation

If your operator accreditation is refused, suspended, cancelled or amended, you may request a review of the decision. Refer to Review of decisions affecting operator accreditation on the Decision to amend, suspend, cancel or refuse operator accreditation webpage.

References

Transport Operations (Passenger Transport) Act 1994

• Section 11: Purpose of operator accreditation.
• Section 14: Requirements about operator accreditation.
• Section 17: Grounds for refusal of accreditation or renewal.
• Section 20: Amendment, suspension and cancellation of operator accreditation
• Schedule 1: Disqualifying offences for operator accreditation.
• Schedule 2: Reviewable decisions

Read the full PT Act on the  Queensland Legislation website.

Transport Operations (Passenger Transport) Regulation 2018

• Section 6: Application for operator accreditation.
• Section 7: Decision-making process for applications.
• Section 8: Provisional operator accreditation and conditions.
• Section 9: Grounds for refusal, suspension, or cancellation of accreditation.
• Section 18B: Training requirements for applicant.

Read the full PT Regulation on the  Queensland Legislation website.

Criminal Law (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act 1986

• Section 5: Non-disclosure of convictions (exceptions apply for operator accreditation).
• Section 6: Effect of rehabilitation on disclosure of criminal history (exceptions apply for operator accreditation).

Read the full Act on the  Queensland Legislation website.

Drugs Misuse Act 1986

• Section 9: Offences involving dangerous drugs punishable by imprisonment.

Read the full Act on the  Queensland Legislation website.

Weapons Act 1990

• Section 50: Unlawful possession of weapons punishable by imprisonment.

Read the full Act on the  Queensland Legislation website.