Thank you Mrs Nichol for being the 1st person to have a commercial passenger vehicle license that did not identify your category of motor vehicle.
The origins of this Transport Review as documented on Wikipedia must historically stem from the very 1st precedent commercial passenger vehicle license TO 24 – which was the very 1st mini bus as issued in 1971 to Mrs Penelope Nichol.
With the Road Safety Committee's 1980 inquiry into saftey issues with the Hire Drive omnibus industry (see PDF file on this website) using Mrs Nichol testimony, this helped create the new category of motor vehicle in the 1983 Transport Act - Hire Drive
In 1971, the 1st mini-bus license TO 24 was issued under the definition of motor car , but since then, the Transport Acts have been evolving to incorporate new categories of motor vehicles to now include minibus.
*******motor vehicle means a motor vehicle within the meaning of the Road Safety Act 1986 and includes a trailer attached to the motor vehicle;"
Recent ammendments in the 2011 Transport Act now include new definitions of motor vehicle to include minbuses (10, 11 seats). This is a far cry from the 1958 Transport Act and 1958 Motor Car Act - definition of vehicle as a motor car!
(2) In section 3(1) of the Bus Safety Act 2009 insert the following definitions--
"commercial minibus service means--
(a) a route service, if that bus service operates a bus built with seating for 10, 11 or 12 adults (including the driver) to provide that service;
(b) a demand responsive bus service, if that bus service operates a bus built with seating for 10, 11 or 12 adults (including the driver) to provide that service;
(c) a tour and charter bus service, if that bus service operates a bus built with seating for 10, 11 or 12 adults (including the driver) to provide that service;
highway has the same meaning as it has in the Road Safety Act 1986; And 32 Bus services and bus safety work ! s. 32 In section 73(1) of the Bus Safety Act 2009 for paragraphs (d) and (e) substitute-- "(d) prescribing a motor vehicle or each motor vehicle within a class of motor vehicles to be a bus; (e) prescribing a motor vehicle or each motor vehicle within a class of motor vehicles not to be a bus;".
In 2009 the Victoria Government caught up with the new Transport Acts have caught up! From Wikipedia an overview of recent changes The Transport Legislation Review was a policy and legislation review project conducted by the Department of Transport in the State of Victoria, Australia between 2004 and 2010.
"...major renewal is underway across the transport portfolios through the Government's Transport Legislation Review. This project is ...generating an entire new legislative framework for the State along best practice lines."[6]
Context The Transport Legislation Review arose out of concerns about the poor state of Victoria's transport laws. In particular, much of Victoria's transport legislation was thought to be complex, unnecessarily detailed and largely based on old policy.[7]The Victorian Governmentwas also troubled that areas of the laws failed to reflect regulatory advances in other industries and were not sufficiently informed by overseas reforms.
Pearce and Shepherd observed that it "...was a timely point to commence the review, given it had been 20 years since the State's central transport statute, the Transport Act 1983, was first enacted...[8]. They went on to say that the "...Transport Act had become the largest statute in Victoria with over 700 pages of dense and prescriptive provisions in accordance with the prevailing legislative style. A number of other transport related Acts (and amendments to the Transport Act) had also been created to respond to different transport policies of successive governments over time. Most of these were examples of either facilitative or coercive legislative approaches. Importantly, however, there was no overarching framework for transport policy reflected in the State's legislation. In other words, transport legislation did not have aspirational elements. More specifically:
there was no clear vision for the transport system Bodies (such as VicRoads and the Director of Public Transport) were established with different (and potentially competing) objectives There was no overarching framework to express broader policy objectives for transport as a whole The legislation contained minimal reference to social policy objectives and no reference to environmental objectives
linkages with related areas (such as planning and local government) were not clear or not recognised."[9]
Plan and approach
The approach of the Review was to conduct a complete revision of the State's transport policies and legislation. The project was guided throughout by a target legislative framework diagram which showed thefinal desired state of transport portfolio legislation in Victoria after the completion of work. The diagram was headed by a overarching portfolio-based statute intended to have long term symbolic and aspirational content, theTransport Integration Act, supported by a range of transport modal and subject-specific statutes. Diagrams showing the current and former legislative structures were also used.[10]
The Review was policy driven and proceeded on a modular basis[11]. This approach "...sought to more clearly delineate between overarching institutional elements and more detailed regulatory, operational, project and service delivery elements. It also sought to explicitly identify linkages within the transport portfolio (road, rail, tram, bus, taxi, hire car, tow trucks) and intefaces with other portolios (local government authorities and planning portfolios)."[12] New laws generated
The work of the Review concentrated on long, medium and short term measures. Global sector or scheme reviews typically resulted in the creation of suites of new regulatory policy which led in most instances to new Acts of Parliament which repealed existing Acts.[13]These statutes are called principal statutes and typically take two years or more to complete.Smaller or mid range reforms, on the other hand, were pursued through legislation called "amending Acts", or Acts which amend existing principal statutes.[14]Amending Acts commonly take much less time to develop and enact than principal Acts, sometimes only a few months.
Many of the major proposals originated by the Transport Legislation Review were developed using workshops or meetings with key stakeholders who were informed by the release of comprehensive discussion papers. The process for developing the Marine Safety Act 2010, for example, involved the holding of 26 public sessions throughout Victoria.
The work of the Transport Legislation Review led to the passage of seven major principal statutes between early 2006 and late 2010. The centrepiece of the Review and now the prime transport statute in Victoria was the Transport Integration Act 2010, which came into effect on 1 July 2010. The Act "....locates the development of a policy framework for integrated and sustainable transport in Victoria within global and international debates regarding sustainable development. This hasresulted in the inclusion of a vision, set of objectives and decision making principles for transport in the (transport Integration Act) reflecting an integration and sustainability policy framework."[15]
The majority of the new statutes which emerged from the work of the Review were preceded by extensive policy and stakeholder processes. This typically involved the public release of documents outlining issues in the relevant transport sector and circulation of draft proposals for change. The conduct of industry and public consultation forums and the receipt of submissions was a feature of this activity.[16] In addition to the Transport Integration Act, the six principal statutes generated by the Review were: the Rail Safety Act 2006[17] the Accident Towing Services Act 2007[18] the Bus Safety Act 2009[19] the Major Transport Projects Facilitation Act 2009[20] the Marine Safety Act 2010[21] the Tourist and Heritage Railways Act 2010.[22]. Other statutes A wide range of amending statutes was also generated by the Review. While generally smaller than most new principal statutes, amending Acts nonetheless sometimes dealt with significant "big picture" changes. Amending statutes were often used as a legislative mechanism to pursue discrete, urgent or priority regulatory reforms. Some of these types of statutes prompted by the work of the Review included - the Transport Legislation (Amendment) Act 2004 the Transport Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act2004 the Transport Legislation (Further Amendment) Act 2005 the Transport Legislation (Further Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2005 the Transport Legislation (Safety Investigations) Act 2006[23] the Transport Legislation (Further Amendment) Act 2006 the Transport (Taxi-cab Accreditation and Other Amendments) Act 2006[24] the Transport Legislation Amendment Act 2007[25] the Transport Legislation Amendment (Driver and Industry Standards) Act 2008 the Transport Legislation Amendment (Hoon Boating and Other Amendments) Act 2009[26] the Transport Legislation General Amendments Act 2009 the Transport Legislation Miscellaneous Amendments Act 2009 the Transport Legislation Amendment (Compliance,Enforcement and Regulation) Act 2010[27] the Transport Legislation Amendment (Ports Integration) Act 2010. Regulations A range of new regulations was also generated by the Transport Legislation Review. In the majority of cases, the regulations werecirculated publicly in draft form accompanied by a regulatory impact statement and made available for comment by the community and affected industries.[28] Principal regulations Examples of new principal regulations developed as part of the Review included -
the Transport (Tow Truck) Regulations 2005 the Transport (Ticketing and Conduct Regulations) 2005 the Transport (Conduct) Regulations 2005[29] the Transport (Taxi-cabs) Regulations 2005 the Transport (Passenger Vehicles) Regulations 2005 the Transport (Ticketing) Regulations 2006[30] the Marine Infringements Regulations 2005 the Rail Safety Regulations 2006 the Accident Towing Services Regulations 2008 the Marine Regulations 2009 the Transport (Infringements) Regulations 2010[31] the Road Safety (Driver Instructors) Regulations 2010 the Port Management (Port of Melbourne Safety and Property) Regulations 2010 the Bus Safety Regulations 2010. Other regulations Examples of other regulations developed as part of the Review included - the Transport (Alcohol Measurement) Regulations 2004 the Transport (Infringements)(Tow Truck) Regulations 2005 the Transport (Alcohol Controls) Regulations 2005 the Public Transport Competition (Fees) Regulations 2005 the Transport (Taxi-cab Licences - Trading) Regulations2005 the Transport (Taxi-cab Licences - Market and Trading) Regulations 2005 the Transport (Taxi-cab Network Service Provider Accreditation - Exemptions) Regulations 2007 the Transport (Taxi-cab Industry Accreditation) Regulations 2007. Organisational impacts The work of the Transport Legislation Review also had some significant impacts on governance arrangements in the Victorian Transport portfolio. These effects can be summarised as follows -the Rail Safety Act 2006 and the Transport Legislation (Safety Investigations) Act 2006 developed by the Review created Victoria's first independent safety offices - the Director, Public Transport Safety and the Chief Investigator, Public Transport and Marine Safety Investigations the Accident Towing Services Act 2007transferred responsibility for towing industry regulation from the Director of Public Transport to VicRoads the Transport Integration Act merged the former marine safety regulator - the Director of Marine Safety - into the public transport safety regulator to create a new integrated transport safety regulator for the State (the Director, Transport Safety) a number of proposals increased the powers of the Director of Public Transport variously over taxi and bus regulation the Major Transport Projects Facilitation Act 2009 changed planning approvals procedures for major transport projects thereby having a significant impact on State planning agencies the Transport Integration Act re-established the various agencies and offices that comprise the Victorian Transport portfolio and gave each agency a new statutory charter and in some cases, revised powers the Transport Integration Act extended transport regulation coverage in a major way across the planning and local government agencies for the first time the Transport Integration Act[32]brought land based and water-based transport together for the first time under a single statutory framework in Victoria.
See also: Transport Integration Act, Director of Public Transport, Director, Transport Safety, and Chief Investigator, Transport Safety Incomplete or pending reviews The work of the Transport Legislation Review concluded in late 2010. Major areas which had been signalled for reform in coming years as part of project[33]included policy reviews and proposed new statutes in the following areas Taxi and Hire Car regulation Walking and Cycling Road Safety Port Management the compliance, enforcement and other matters covered by the Transport (Compliance and Miscellaneous) Act 1983. Taxi industry reform has been taken up as a major issue by the Victorian Government since the Transport Legislation Review concluded. The Government established a Taxi Industry Inquiry in May 2011 to be conducted by a newly established agency, the Taxi Services Commission. The Inquiry is expected to recommend major changes to policy and legislation affecting the taxi and small commercial passenger vehicles sector.
See alsoVictoria portal Transport portal Department of Transport Transport Integration Act Rail Safety Act Tourist and Heritage Railways Act Accident Towing Services Act Bus Safety Act Director, Transport Safety Director, Public Transport Safety Chief Investigator, Transport Safety Transport Act 1983 Transport (Compliance and Miscellaneous) Act 1983 References 1. A review between 1982 and 1988 produced the following major statutes - the Transport Act 1983, the Road Safety Act 1986 and the Marine Act 1988. A major proposal for a Victorian Ports Authority Act was defeated in Parliament in 1985. The period 1995-1999 was also a major period of policy and legislative activity although not on a portfolio-wide scale. Review work and outputs in that period were mainly confined to statutes relating to reorganisation of rail services in the state and initial new safety regulation schemes in the rail and bus sectors. 2. The Accident Towing Services Act 2007provides an example of a de-regulatory initiative. The Act repealed provisions which regulated the towing industry in the former Transport Act 1983. While some provisions were re-enacted in a modified form in the new statute, provisions regulating trade towing were not continued therefore removing economic regulation controls from that sector. 3. See, for example, the policy framework reflected in the Transport Integration Act 2010. 4. See the safety duties contained in theRail Safety Act 2006, the Bus Safety Act 2009 and the Marine Safety Act 2010. 5. Improving Marine Safety in Victoria -Review of the Marine Act 1988, Discussion Paper, July 2009. Foreword, Page 1. Paper available at the Department of Transport website. 6. Explanatory memorandum, page 1, Transport Legislation (Compliance, Enforcement and Regulation) Bill 2010, from the official Victorian Government legislation site. 7. For example, see the Minister's second reading speech in support of the Rail Safety Act 2006 which contained numerous criticisms of the style and substance of the former legislation. Another example can be found in the explanatory memorandum for the Tourist and Heritage Railways Bill 2010 which observes that, "Tourist and heritage railways were previously governed by the Transport Act 1983, under which the Governor in Council was empowered to make Orders in Council granting persons the right to occupy, operate and maintain tourist railway services. *****Importantly, this regulatory scheme only covered a narrow range of matters affecting the sector and did not provide sufficient clarity or make appropriate provision for the occupation and use of Victorian railways and railway infrastructure." *****
Same problem for Mrs Nichol and her precedent mini bus commercial passsenger vehicle license. 8. ^ Robert Pearce and Ian Shepherd, TheTransport Integration Act 2010:driving integrated and sustainable transport outcomes through legislation, Urban Transport XVII, page 356. 9. ^ Robert Pearce and Ian Shepherd, The Transport Integration Act 2010:driving integrated and sustainable transport outcomes through legislation, Urban Transport XVII, page 356-7. 10.Current, future and past legislative structure diagrams are available online at the relevant pages on the Department of Transport web site. 11 Robert Pearce and Ian Shepherd, TheTransport Integration Act 2010:driving integrated and sustainable transport outcomes through legislation, Urban Transport XVII, page 357. 12.Robert Pearce and Ian Shepherd, TheTransport Integration Act 2010:driving integrated and sustainable transport outcomes through legislation, Urban Transport XVII, page 357. 13. ^ See Principal statutes section below.
25. ^ Copy of the Transport Legislation Amendment Act 2007 available at the official Victorian Government legislation web site. 26. ^ Copy of the Transport Legislation Amendment (Hoon Boating and Other Amendments) Act 2009 taken from the official Victorian Government legislation site. 27. ^ Copy of the Transport Legislation Amendment (Compliance, Enforcement and Regulation) Act 2010 available at the official Victorian Government legislation site.28. ^ For example, the Transport (Conduct) Regulations 2005 and the Transport (Ticketing) Regulations 2006 were both subject to such processes. Copies of regulatory impact statements for theseregulations are available from the website of the Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission - www.vcec.vic.gov.au. 29. ^ Copy of the Transport (Conduct) Regulations available at the official Victorian Government legislation site. 30. ^ Copy of the Transport (Ticketing) Regulations available at the official Victorian Government legislation site. 31. ^ Copy of the Transport (Infringements) Regulations available at the Victorian Government legislation site. 32. ^ As amended by the Transport Legislation Amendment (Ports Integration) Act 2010. 33. ^ See, for example, the second reading speech and the explanatory memorandum for the Transport Integration Bill. Copies of documents sourced from the official Victorian Government legislation site. 34. ^ A reasoned amendment calling for the withdrawal of the Bill was defeated in the Victorian Parliament on 1 March 2006. 35. ^ See Hansard in the Legislative Assembly on 4 February 2010 36. ^ See Hansard for the Legislative Council proceedings on 22 June 2010. 37. ^ The Legislative Assembly returned the Bill to the Legislative Council for its agreement as recommended in the Dispute Resolution Committee of the Parliament on 27 July 2010. The Bill was subsequently passed by the Legislative Council on 12 August 2010.
