How passenger transport laws work with other safety laws

Road-based public passenger services are covered by their own specific laws. These are:

These laws also work alongside other safety laws like the Queensland work health and safety laws (WHS laws) and heavy vehicle national law (HVNL).

What other safety laws cover

  • WHS laws cover general safety in all workplaces and to some extent applies to the passenger transport customer environment.
  • The HVNL regulates many heavy vehicle activities. However, it mostly lacks detail about managing risks that are specific to services that carry passengers.

Why passenger transport laws are needed

Passenger transport legislation fills the gaps that aren't covered by WHS, HVNL or other laws or guidelines. The laws are made specifically for public passenger services and cover things like:

  • making sure operators and drivers are suitable
  • requiring annual safety checks for vehicles.

Enforcement and overlap with other safety laws

Transport and Main Roads (TMR) Transport Inspectors and authorised persons do not have authority to take enforcement action under WHS laws or HVNL. However, by having specific passenger transport laws TMR can enforce rules directly related to public passenger services.

There are a range of enforcement tools, including the ability to:

  • audit duty holders against requirements in relevant transport legislation
  • carry out an investigation into matters covered by relevant transport legislation
  • issue a direction for a duty holder to comply with relevant transport legislation
  • issue a penalty infringement notice (PIN) or start a prosecution for offences.

The chief executive of TMR can also take action to amend, suspend or cancel an operator accreditation, booking entity authorisation, personalised transport licences, driver authorisation or service contracts.

If more than 1 agency (for example, TMR, Queensland Police Service, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, National Heavy Vehicle Regulator) is involved in a safety issue, only 1 will take the lead in prosecution. The agencies will decide together who should proceed before any legal action starts. Administrative action (such as cancelling an accreditation, authorisation or licence) may also be taken separately.

Instances where there are inconsistencies between safety laws

The PT Act recognises that there may be instances where there are inconsistencies between safety laws. In this case, where a passenger transport safety rule and a rule from another safety law cover the same issue and it's:

  • possible to follow both, then you must follow both
  • not possible to follow both rules at the same time, then you must follow the other safety law.

This ensures there's no confusion about which rule to follow.

A person can't be punished twice for an act, omission or circumstance that constitutes an offence under the PT Act and is also an offence under WHS laws or HVNL. However, TMR may still be able to take administrative action in the interests of safety by issuing a direction to comply or commencing show cause action against an accreditation, authorisation or licence.

Read more about the relationship between safety laws in Chapter 6A, 67K of the Transport Operations (Passenger Transport) Act 1994.

Also consider...