Driver authorisation responsibilities summary

If you hold driver authorisation you are an authorised driver of public passenger services. You are expected to meet your responsibilities with due care and diligence. Use the following information as a guide to meeting your responsibilities.

If you don't meet your responsibilities, you risk:

• action being taken against your driver authorisation
• infringement notices (fines)
• court action.

General responsibilities for all drivers

Evidence of driver authorisation

When driving a public passenger vehicle, you must carry evidence of your driver authorisation. Evidence includes:

• Industry Authority card or interim industry authority for Booked Hire/Taxi (BHTX) or General (GENR) driver authorisation
• Authorised Driver Booked Hire and Taxi display card can be used as evidence by Booked Hire/Taxi driver authorisation holders
• Document evidencing restricted driver authorisation provided by the issuing operator to a restricted driver authorisation holder.

Fitness to drive

When driving a public passenger vehicle, you must:

• have a blood alcohol concentration of zero
• not be under the influence of a drug
• not drive if fatigued
• be medically fit.

Managing fatigue

Drivers should not drive a passenger transport vehicle when fatigued. Drivers of passenger transport services should refer to driving tired for more information on identifying and avoiding fatigue.

If you operate a heavy vehicle read about managing heavy vehicle driver fatigue the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator’s website.

If you drive a taxi or booked hire vehicle please also refer to personalised transport fatigue management regarding obligations under the safety duty.

There are more resources to assist drivers in managing and identifying fatigue on the Safe Work Australia website.

Your conduct

When driving a public passenger vehicle, you must:

• have regard to the safety of children and other vulnerable members of the community, the personal safety of passengers, their property, the public safety and the reputation of road-based public passenger transport
• be courteous to passengers and the public
• help a passenger to board or leave a vehicle, or assist with luggage, if asked by the passenger and to the extent that it is reasonable to do so.

When driving a public passenger vehicle, you must not:

• smoke or vape in the public passenger vehicle
• tout or solicit for passengers for a hiring of a public passenger vehicle.

Refusal of service to a person

You may refuse travel to a person if you believe, on reasonable grounds, that the person:

• is creating, or is likely to create, a disturbance or nuisance on the vehicle
• is causing, or is likely to cause, a danger to anyone
• has evaded the fare
• has unlawfully interfered with the vehicle, equipment, public transport infrastructure or a public passenger service.

You may direct a person to leave a vehicle if the person over-travels the fare paid for travel on the vehicle.

You may direct a person to leave, or not to enter, a vehicle if the vehicle appears already to have its full passenger numbers.

If you refuse travel to a person or direct a person to leave or not enter a vehicle, you must tell the person in a general way the reason for the direction and that it is an offence for the person not to comply with that direction.

You must not refuse travel to a person or direct a person to leave or not enter a vehicle if doing so, either:

• might endanger the person
• is inconsistent with the Code of Conduct for Students Travelling on Buses (this does not apply to taxi or booked hire services)
• contravenes rules prohibiting refusal of service by taxi drivers.

Assistance animals

You must allow someone to take an assistance animal on a vehicle if they have control of the animal. Otherwise, you can refuse to allow an animal in a public passenger vehicle.

Number of passengers in a vehicle

You must ensure the vehicle is not carrying more than the maximum number of passengers.

Responsibility that all drivers notify the department and operators

Contact details

You must notify the department in writing and within 10 business days, if you change your name, address or postal address. You can also update your email address or mobile number at anytime.

Medical condition

You must report a permanent or long-term medical condition that affects your ability to drive safely, read about Reporting your medical condition.

You must notify the department of a medical condition that makes you continuously unfit to safely drive for more than 1 month.

Damaged lost or stolen Industry authority card

You must notify the department if your Industry Authority card (evidence of driver authorisation) is damaged, lost or stolen.

Criminal charges

You must notify the department in writing if charged with a driver disqualifying offence and additionally of the outcome of the charge when it is dealt with.

Driver licence and driver authorisation status

You must immediately give written notice to the operator of the service or the booking service provider if your driver authorisation or driver licence is suspended or cancelled.

Safety duty responsibilities for all drivers

As a driver, you must take care of your own safety and do what you reasonably can to avoid putting others at risk.

You should be aware of and follow any reasonable direction provided by your operator.

For detailed information outlining your safety duties, shared responsibility and offences for not complying with your safety duties, refer to the Safety obligations for road-based public passenger services webpage.

Driving safely

As a driver authorisation holder, ensuring safety on the road is a vital responsibility. For a detailed guide, visit Driving safely and to the road conditions. Below are examples of safe driving practices.

Reversing vehicles

You should pay particular attention when reversing a vehicle to ensure all areas surrounding the vehicle are clear before proceeding.

Extra caution should be taken if you drive a larger vehicle (such as a bus or maxi taxi) to ensure the safety of nearby persons when reversing the vehicle. Refer to Driving safely and to the road conditions.

Cyclists

You must take care when passing cyclists and ensure that there is at least a passing distance of:

• 1m if the speed limit is less than 60km/h
• 1.5m if the speed limit is over 60km/h.

Road rules allow motorists to cross centre lines, straddle lane lines or drive on painted traffic islands to make it easier for them to pass cyclists, when it's safe to do so. Refer to Sharing the road with bicycle and personal mobility device riders.

Additional vehicle type requirements

There are additional responsibilities for drivers of the following:

• Bus and school buses
• Motorcycles
• Booked hire vehicles
• Taxis and wheelchair accessible taxis.

Bus and school bus driver responsibilities

Passenger seating

You must take reasonable steps to ensure that no more than one passenger sits in any adult seat in the vehicle.

You must not carry standing passengers:

• on a vehicle used for a long distance scheduled passenger service or tourist service
• on a bus if the bus is not specifically designed and constructed to carry standing passengers
• on a bus travelling on a no standing passenger road (see next section for more information about bus travel on no standing roads).

3 children 12 years of age or under may sit in a bench type bus seat designed for 2 adults if:

• either:
  • the seat is not fitted with any seatbelts or approved child restraints
  • the seat is fitted with either a seatbelt or approved child restraint for each of the 3 children
• the placement and construction of the seat allows the children to sit in the seat
• no child sits in the seat for more than a total of 90 minutes while any two other children sit in the seat.

Standing passengers and no standing passenger roads

A no standing passenger road is a road notified by gazette notice, as a road on which a bus providing a public passenger service must not carry standing passengers.

• You must follow advice from your operator in relation to standing passengers. For example, ensuring:
  • that the bus is specifically designed and constructed to carry standing passengers
  • the bus does not travel on a no standing passenger road while carrying standing passengers

Buses carrying school students on no standing passenger roads

• You must follow advice from your operator if a bus is:
  • travelling on a "no standing passenger road"
  • carrying school students on a general route service or school service as part of a journey to or from school.

Detailed information regarding Standing passengers and buses carrying school students on certain road can be found on the Operator accreditation vehicle requirements webpage.

Warning lights and signs on school buses outside a defined urban area

Manual operation of warning lights for older buses

If the bus is not fitted with automatic warning lights:

• you must manually activate the lights at least 5 seconds before stopping to pick up or drop off children
• lights must remain on while the bus is stopped and for at least 5 seconds after moving off.

Illegal use of warning lights

• Warning lights must not be activated at any other time unless there is a reasonable excuse to do so, such as testing the lights.

Detailed information regarding Warning lights and signs on school buses outside a defined urban area can be found on the Operator accreditation vehicle requirements webpage.

Code of conduct (for school students on buses)

You must comply with the Code of Conduct for School Students Travelling on Buses whenever a school student is being carried on a bus.

Incidents involving school services

You should be aware of any responsibilities assigned to you by your operator in relation incidents involving school services.

Transporting people with a disability and reduced mobility

If you are a bus driver of an urban service you should follow the Guidelines for safely transporting people with disability and reduced mobility on urban services when transporting people with disability and reduced mobility.

Motorcycle tourist service driver responsibilities

If you drive a motorbike (including a motor trike or motorbike with sidecar) must not allow a person to ride as a passenger if you reasonably believe the person might put at risk the safety of another person riding on that service.

Taxi and booked hire services

Refusing hiring

You may refuse a hiring if you reasonably believe that the passenger poses a risk to themselves, you or other passengers.

Service licence evidence

If requested by an authorised person, you must produce a written notice that includes details of the relevant service licence for the relevant vehicle, for inspection by the authorised person.

Taxi driver responsibilities

Taxi service areas

You must not use a taxi to provide a service for a journey that starts in a taxi service area that is different from the taxi service area stated in the taxi service licence conditions.

This does not apply to the use of a taxi to provide a public passenger service under contract to a government entity.

Display card for taxi drivers

If you drive a taxi in a prescribed taxi service area you must display an Authorised Driver - Booked Hire and Taxi Display Card within the taxi where it is visible to all passengers.

Accepting and refusing hiring in a taxi

You must not refuse to provide a taxi service (rank or hail) to any person, or a booked service to a wheelchair user or a Taxi Subsidy Scheme member.

The only exception to this is for a journey that:

• starts in a taxi service area other than the taxi service area stated on the taxi service licence
• ends somewhere other than in the taxi service area stated on the taxi service licence
• ends more than 40 kilometres from the pickup point for the journey.

Fares

If you believe the passenger won’t pay their fare at the end of the trip, you can require them to pay the estimated fare or an agreed amount as a deposit, before starting the trip. If the passenger refuses to pay the estimated fare, or agreed amount, you may refuse the trip.

You must activate the taximeter at the beginning of any journey where a maximum fare applies to calculate the maximum fare for the journey. This requirement applies even if you and the passenger agree on a different amount. You must also always activate the taximeter for any booked service if the fare has not been agreed in advance.

You must not charge more than the maximum fare for the journey when:

• the journey is obtained from a rank, or is hailed
• the journey is for a member of the Taxi Subsidy Scheme
• the vehicle is a wheelchair accessible taxi carrying a person in a wheelchair.

Security camera

You must not drive the taxi, in a relevant area, unless the approved security camera is fully operational, and the approved signs are displayed at each relevant place in, or on, the vehicle. If the approved security camera has a fault, you must inform your taxi company immediately to arrange for the system to be fixed or replaced.

Taxi Subsidy Scheme

You must ensure that you use the Taxi Subsidy Scheme membership card with the approved card reader:

• to validate the currency of the approved person's Taxi Subsidy Scheme membership card by sighting the response from the approved card reader
• to facilitate the payment under the scheme, in relation to the fare for the journey.

If the approved card reader is not working properly or at all, you must use a manual card reader to take an imprint of the membership card.

You must check that your passenger matches the person shown in the photograph on the Taxi Subsidy Scheme membership card.

Wheelchair accessible taxi

If you drive a wheelchair accessible taxi you must ensure that you appropriately secure the wheelchair and restrain the passenger. Read about carrying wheeled mobility devices in accessible taxis.

Booked hire service

Signage for booked hire service

You must not provide a booked hire service in a booked hire vehicle unless identification signage is displayed on the vehicle. The signage must comply with the specifications and positioning detailed in legislation.

Records for booked hire service

You must carry the booking record for any journey when providing the service. If requested, you must show the booking record to an authorised person or allow the authorised person to enter the vehicle to read it.

Restricted driver authorisation holders

Drivers holding restricted driver authorisation must:

• Carry evidence of their restricted driver authorisation while providing a community or courtesy services for the issuing operator.
• Comply with Driver authorisation responsibilities.
• Notify the operator of any changes that may affect their eligibility.

Non-compliance may result in fines, suspension, or cancellation of the restricted driver authorisation.

Detailed information about the issue of restricted driver authorisation can be found on the Operator accreditation responsibilities web page.