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Driver agreement

A driver agreement is between the owner of a registered commercial passenger vehicle and the driver. A driver agreement is not entered into when the driver is:

  • providing booked commercial passenger vehicle services for a Booking Service Provider (BSP) using the driver’s own car, or
  • in an agreement to purchase the vehicle from the owner.

The driver agreement includes conditions that are implied into every driver agreement. These conditions apply even if the conditions are not included in a written agreement between the driver and the owner.

Minimum percentage of fares

The driver must receive at least 55 per cent of the gross fares earned while they have possession of the vehicle.

Monthly records

The vehicle owner must keep, and provide to the driver on a monthly basis, records of:

  • all payments made between the owner and driver
  • all shifts worked by the driver
  • the amount of fares earned during each shift.

Maintenance costs

The owner must reimburse the driver within seven days for all costs involved in running the vehicle, including but not limited to:

  • fuel
  • repairs
  • oils
  • vehicle livery and equipment
  • lubricants
  • tyres.

The owner may nominate where the repair work is to be done, or where the fuel or other items are purchased from.

Termination

The driver or owner may terminate the driver agreement with two weeks' written notice, or immediately if there has been a breach of the agreement.

Owner to insure and indemnify driver

Where a Driver Agreement applies, the owner must maintain an insurance policy, issued by an authorised insurer under the Insurance Act 1973 (Cth), which covers the driver against liability for third party property damage. The insurance policy must provide cover of at least $5,000,000 for each vehicle and be issued in the vehicle owner’s name.

This means that if the driver has an accident while driving the vehicle and causes damage to another person's property, the owner's insurance policy should cover the cost of this damage.

The owner must also indemnify the driver for the cost of any vehicle damage caused through the driver's use of the vehicle (except that the owner may claim against any bond held).

Owner to pay insurance excess

If the owner makes a claim on the insurance policy, the owner must pay the excess.

The owner must ensure that the insurance policy is current, and must give the driver a copy on request.

Drivers' leave entitlements

If the driver has worked for the owner regularly (three or more shifts per week) for 12 months or more, the driver may take up to four weeks' unpaid leave, on dates agreed with the owner.

Bond

The owner may collect a bond from the driver of up to $1,000, either as a single payment or in instalments each shift (with instalment amounts agreed in writing). The owner must only use the bond if:

  • the driver does not pay the owner their share of the fares, or
  • if the vehicle or any item of equipment is damaged due to the driver’s conduct.

The owner must:

  • give the driver a receipt, and deposit the bond in a designated bank account
  • notify the driver in writing before using the bond, and allow the driver 14 days to object, and
  • refund the balance to the driver, with interest, within 14 days of the driver agreement being terminated.

The maximum amount of the bond that can be used in any single incident is the amount held by the owner at the time of the incident.

For example, if the owner has only collected $200 from the driver, and the owner wishes to access the bond, the owner must only use $200 from the bond to pay for any damage or recoup any fare box disputes, regardless of the cost of the damage/loss.

The driver can’t be made to pay the difference at a later time.

What if I have a dispute?

We have established a dispute resolution process to manage disputes between drivers and vehicle owners.

  1. In the first instance, the person with the complaint must advise the other person in writing.
  2. Within seven days of the person giving written notice, the parties must meet to attempt to resolve the dispute.
  3. If the parties are unable to resolve the dispute, they may use our dispute resolution process.
  4. We will assess the nature of the dispute and decide whether to:
    • provide preliminary assistance, for example, by giving general advice or assisting the parties to communicate clearly with each other
    • take compliance action, which may include issuing an improvement notice or taking disciplinary action against a person's accreditation or vehicle registration.
  5. If the assessing officer requires further information from the person lodging the dispute:
    • the person will be given 14 days to provide the additional information; and
    • if the person does not provide the requested information within 14 days, we will provide any preliminary assistance possible and may close the file, with letters sent to both parties advising them of the outcome.
  6. If the parties can’t resolve the dispute with preliminary assistance from us, we may issue a certificate which allows one or both parties to go to:
  • the Victorian Small Business Commissioner (VSBC); or
  • Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), if we think the dispute is unlikely to be resolved through mediation.  If the dispute is not resolved through mediation with the VSBC, the VSBC may issue a certificate allowing one or both of the parties to go to VCAT.

The parties must go through our dispute resolution process before going to either the VSBC or VCAT.

We encourage parties to try to resolve disputes between themselves, wherever possible, or otherwise at the earliest possible stage.

Parties may contact us about a dispute on 1800 638 802.

A party to a driver agreement found to have breached one of the implied conditions may be prosecuted under section 98 of the Commercial Passenger Vehicle Industry Act 2017.