Infrmatin Bulletin PT 204/09.15 Operatr Accreditatin fr Limusine Services What is peratr accreditatin? The Transprt Operatins (Passenger Transprt) Act 1994 requires peratrs f public passenger services in Queensland t hld peratr accreditatin (OA) unless specifically exempted. The purpse f peratr accreditatin is t encurage the high quality peratin f public passenger services by raising standards and awareness f peratrs in the areas f safety, service delivery and business acumen; and ensuring peratrs are held accuntable fr cmplying with apprpriate standards. Wh needs t hld peratr accreditatin? An individual, partnership r crpratin wh perates a passenger transprt service must hld peratr accreditatin. Where an wner f a limusine service licence assigns the peratin f their licence t a secnd party thrugh a lease r management agreement, the secnd party is als required t hld peratr accreditatin. What is a limusine service? The Transprt Operatins (Passenger Transprt) Act 1994 defines a limusine service as an unscheduled public passenger service prvided by a luxury mtr vehicle r special purpse limusine where the agreed fare fr a jurney is decided befre the jurney begins. agreed fare means a pre-determined and defined mnetary amunt that cvers the full cst f the service t be prvided and is agreed t by the custmer prir t the jurney cmmencing. N part f the fare can be determined by any methd f calculatin (such as a meter) r added t the ttal cst f the fare during the perid f, r at cnclusin f the jurney. A separate infrmatin bulletin is available regarding Limusine Service Licences. Criteria fr granting and hlding peratr accreditatin T btain full accreditatin, applicants must have ne f the fllwing qualificatins: (a) A Statement f Attainment frm a Registered Training Organisatin fr the fllwing cmpetencies frm the Transprt and Distributin (Rad Transprt) Training Package: Implement and mnitr ccupatinal health and safety prcedures; Apply quality prcedures; and Crdinate fleet cntrl lgistics.
(b) A Certificate f Transprt Management r an equivalent university qualificatin recgnised by the Department f Transprt and Main Rads. Nte Applicants wh d nt hld ne f the abve-mentined qualificatins may be issued with prvisinal peratr accreditatin. If at the cmpletin f a cmpliance audit, the department cnsiders that it wuld assist the peratr in meeting audit requirements, the peratr may be directed by the department t btain ne f the abve qualificatins Refusal, amendment, suspensin r cancellatin f peratr accreditatin An peratr accreditatin may be refused, amended, suspended, r cancelled if an applicant r hlder is cnvicted f a disqualifying ffence; r des nt cmply with a requirement f the Transprt Operatins (Passenger Transprt) Standard 2010 applying t the peratr accreditatin; r the department cnsiders that the persn has behaved in a way that has damaged the reputatin f public passenger services r accredited peratrs r therwise is cntrary t the encuragement f the high quality peratin f public passenger services. Furthermre, an applicatin fr peratr accreditatin may als be refused if a party t the applicatin has been charged with a disqualifying ffence and the charge has nt been finally dispsed f; r has had an peratr accreditatin granted t the persn cancelled r suspended. Nte Under the Transprt Operatins (Passenger Transprt) Act 1994, a "cnvictin" is defined as including a finding f guilt r the acceptance f a plea f guilty by a curt, whether r nt a cnvictin is recrded. Disqualifying ffences include certain criminal and civil ffences. Fr mre infrmatin, refer t the infrmatin bulletin titled Effect f a Disqualifying Offence. A criminal histry check will be made n all applicants befre their applicatin is apprved. (If an verseas criminal histry check is required, applicants are respnsible fr btaining and prviding an riginal cpy f the verseas criminal histry check.) Hw t apply (1) Obtain an Operatr Accreditatin Applicatin (frm F2982), a Vehicle Declaratin (frm F3858), and relevant infrmatin bulletins frm yur lcal Passenger Transprt (Department f Transprt and Main Rads) ffice. (This is als a gd time t check requirements with staff.) (2) Cmplete the applicatin frm and vehicle declaratin frm and ldge these with the required fees tgether with the riginal prf f identity f each member, partner, directr and nminated executive fficer n the applicatin. Acceptable prf f identity is either a Queensland driver licence r the frms f persnal identificatin required t btain a Queensland driver licence. Fr individuals and partnerships: all persns must present their prf f identity in persn. Page 2 f 7
Fr crpratins and ther incrprated rganisatins: any persn nt named n the certified list f current directrs must present their prf f identity in persn, therwise nly ne persn n the list f current directrs need t attend in persn. Nte: (i) Fr crpratins: the Certificate f Incrpratin, including a certified cpy f the list f the current directrs f the crpratin (available frm the Australian Securities and Investment Cmmissin), must be prvided. (ii) Fr an individual, partnership, r incrprated cmpany trading under a business name: a cpy f the Business Names Extract frm the Office f Fair Trading is required. (3) Ldge training certificates, where applicable. Operatinal requirements Accredited peratrs must cmply with specific legislative requirements. Requirements are made in the fllwing areas. Limusine service licence Operatrs must hld a limusine service licence in rder t prvide a limusine service. There can nly be ne vehicle attached t a limusine service licence at any ne time. Recrd f Prir Bking The peratr f a limusine service is required t make an electrnic r paper recrd f a limusine bking prir t prviding a limusine service which must cntain the fllwing prescribed details the name and cntact details f the hirer f the limusine service; the date and time when the passengers are t be picked up; the lcatins where the passengers are t be picked up and drpped ff; and the agreed fare fr the limusine service, if the fare is t be paid t the driver. The peratr is required t give a cpy f the prescribed details f the bking t the driver f the limusine befre the limusine service is prvided. If the recrd cntaining the prescribed details f the bking fr the limusine is made in an electrnic frm by using an electrnic bking system, the peratr is required t ensure that the electrnic bking system in the limusine is in wrking cnditin. Vehicles The peratr f a limusine service must ensure that a written ntice stating the fllwing is kept inside the limusine used t prvide the service and is readily available t the driver (a) the area stated in the limusine service licence fr the limusine in which the limusine may be perated; and (b) any ther cnditin t which the licence is subject that restricts the use f the limusine. Operatrs must ensure that vehicles used t prvide the service are maintained t a standard that cmplies with, r exceeds, the servicing and maintenance prgram specified by a vehicle s manufacturer. This must be established by fllwing a dcumented maintenance schedule fr each vehicle. Refer t the Page 3 f 7
infrmatin bulletin titled Maintenance f Public Passenger Vehicles fr mre detailed infrmatin n what dcumentatin is required. Vehicles prviding a limusine service must be perated under a limusine service licence and be a luxury mtr vehicle as defined under the Transprt Operatins (Passenger Transprt) Act 1994 please cntact yur lcal Passenger Transprt Office fr further details. cmply with sectin 5 f the Transprt Operatins (Rad Use Management - Vehicle Standards and Safety) Regulatin 2010. be perated in a safe manner. Operatrs must ensure that the fllwing is maintained fr each vehicle - a current Certificate f Registratin a current Certificate f Inspectin apprpriate Cmpulsry Third Party Insurance fr the type f service perated. Operatrs must ensure that the vehicles are nt verladed. Driver management Operatrs must ensure that their drivers Hld driver authrisatin fr a limusine service. D nt perate a public passenger vehicle if the driver s fatigue level may endanger passenger safety. Are given training, under a dcumented training prgram, in the driver s respnsibilities under the Transprt Operatins (Passenger Transprt) Act 1994. A separate infrmatin bulletin Driver Training by Operatrs details the criteria fr meeting this requirement. Incident management plans An peratr must have an incident management plan in place. A cpy f the parts f the plan relevant t a driver must be kept in each vehicle used t prvide a service. Custmer service An peratr must recrd and respnd t all cmplaints. All actin taken must als be recrded. Recrd keeping All recrds must be kept fr five years. Fr each trip undertaken, peratrs must keep recrds f: the name f the driver; the driver's driver authrisatin number; the vehicle used (including the registratin number and where applicable, the fleet number); the date; and the perid f time the vehicle was assigned t the driver. Operatrs must keep a recrd f their drivers driver authrisatin numbers. Operatrs must recrd details f vehicle maintenance fr each vehicle used. Page 4 f 7
Operatrs must keep a cpy f their incident management plan and cpies f cmpleted incident management reprts. Operatrs must keep a cpy f all cmplaints received and any actin taken in regard t the cmplaints. Operatrs must keep recrds abut the use f substitute limusines. Operatrs must keep recrds f prir bkings (electrnic r paper). Fees Applicants fr and hlders f peratr accreditatin (OA) are required t pay the fees prescribed in schedule 9 f the Transprt Operatins (Passenger Transprt) Regulatin 2005. There are tw cmpnents t the OA fees. There is the "annual applicatin/renewal fee" (refer schedule 9, sectins 5 and 6) and there is the "additinal applicatin fee" (refer schedule 9, sectin 10), which is used t ffset the csts f criminal histry checks. The "additinal applicatin fee" must be paid must be paid in full at time f applicatin r request t add a new persn t an existing accreditatin. The "annual applicatin/renewal fee" must be paid befre an OA is issued. Fees are calculated n the fllwing basis Where mre than ne service categry is perfrmed, nly the highest "annual applicatin / renewal fee" applicable is payable. (If the prescribed fee categries are equal then nly the ne "annual applicatin/renewal fee" is payable.) The charge fr the "annual applicatin/renewal fee" may be paid n a pr-rata basis calculated n the number f mnths required. An "additinal applicatin fee" is payable fr each persn nminated n the peratr accreditatin applicatin frm. The "additinal applicatin fee" als applies t any applicatin t add a new persn t an existing OA. Pr-rata des nt apply t the "additinal applicatin fee". Nte If a driver is an individual wner f a service licence, r is listed as a member f a partnership which wns a service licence, there is n fee fr Driver Authrisatin. All ther limusine drivers will be charged the Driver Authrisatin fee. Perid f issue Operatr accreditatin can be granted fr a perid f up t five years (in multiples f ne year perids). Accreditatin may be issued n a part year basis fr the purpse f aligning the expiry date with ther department prducts; hwever there is a minimum issue perid f ne year. Page 5 f 7
Persns wh d nt meet the standards applicable t being granted full peratr accreditatin (fr example, by nt meeting training requirements) may be granted prvisinal peratr accreditatin fr a perid f up t twelve mnths. Ntificatin f disqualifying ffences A persn wh is an accredited peratr must immediately ntify the department in writing if (i) fr an individual the persn is charged with a disqualifying ffence; r (ii) fr a member f a partnership the persn, r anther member f the partnership, is charged with a disqualifying ffence; r (iii) fr a crpratin the crpratin, r an executive fficer f the crpratin, is charged with a disqualifying ffence. The department must als be immediately ntified in writing abut the utcme f the charge. When peratr accreditatin is held by a partnership, if a member f a partnership is charged with a disqualifying ffence that persn must immediately infrm in writing the ther member f the partnership abut the charge. When the charge is dealt with, the persn must als infrm the ther partner in writing f the utcme f the charge. When peratr accreditatin is held by a crpratin, if an executive fficer f the crpratin is charged with a disqualifying ffence that persn must immediately infrm in writing anther executive fficer f the crpratin the charge. When the charge is dealt with, the persn must als infrm anther executive fficer in writing f the utcme f the charge. Cmpliance Infrmatin abut disqualifying ffences and cmpliance is detailed in the infrmatin bulletin titled Cmpliance Public Passenger Transprt Operatrs and Drivers. Requirements n drivers, peratrs, and passengers are made under the Transprt Operatins (Passenger Transprt) Act 1994, the Transprt Operatins (Passenger Transprt) Regulatin 2005 and the Transprt Operatins (Passenger Transprt) Standard 2010. Many f these requirements specify ffences and penalties fr nn-cmpliance. If a persn des nt cmply with a requirement they risk being issued with an Infringement Ntice r being charged with cmmitting an ffence and being taken t curt (thrugh issue f a Cmplaint and Summns). If a persn is cnvicted by a curt fr a disqualifying ffence then actin can als be taken t suspend r cancel any Operatr Accreditatin, Driver Authrisatin, Taxi Service Licence r Limusine Service Licence held by that persn. Page 6 f 7
Reviews f decisins affecting peratr accreditatin If a persn is dissatisfied with a decisin affecting their peratr accreditatin r applicatin fr peratr accreditatin, they may request an internal review f the decisin. If the persn is nt satisfied with the utcme f the review then the persn may apply t the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) fr an external review. Fr mre infrmatin please refer t the infrmatin bulletin Reviews f Decisins affecting Operatr Accreditatin and Driver Authrisatin. Additinal infrmatin The infrmatin cntained in this bulletin has been prduced as a guide t assist in the understanding f the legislatin and plicy. Clarificatin f any infrmatin in this bulletin may be btained frm the Department f Transprt and Main Rads by cntacting yur lcal Passenger Transprt ffice f the Department. This bulletin is an interpretatin f the relevant Acts, Regulatins and Standard and shuld nt be used as a reference t a pint f law. Cpies f the Transprt Operatins (Passenger Transprt) Act 1994, Transprt Operatins (Passenger Transprt) Regulatin 2005 and Transprt Operatins (Passenger Transprt) Standard 2010 can be purchased frm LitSupprt Pty Ltd n 07 3223 9202 r email legislatin@litsupprt.cm.au. The legislatin may be viewed n the internet at www.legislatin.qld.gv.au. Additinal infrmatin abut public passenger services is available n the Department f Transprt and Main Rads internet site at www.tmr.qld.gv.au/infrmatin_bulletins. Page 7 f 7