New South Wales Consolidated Acts

ROADS ACT 1993 - SECT 244

244 Liability of vehicle owner for certain driving offences

(1) This section applies to any offence against this Act or the regulations--

(a) that arises from a failure or refusal to pay any toll or charge (including a private toll or charge) in respect of vehicles using any tollway, bridge, tunnel or road-ferry, or

(b) that arises from the driving, using, standing, waiting or parking of a vehicle and that is prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this section,

in this section referred to as a
"driving offence" .

(2) The owner of a vehicle with respect to which a driving offence is committed is, by virtue of this section, guilty of the offence as if the person were the actual offender, unless--

(a) if the offence is dealt with by penalty notice, the owner satisfies an authorised officer that the vehicle was, at the relevant time, a stolen vehicle or a vehicle illegally taken or used, or

(b) in any other case, the court is satisfied that the vehicle was, at the relevant time, a stolen vehicle or a vehicle illegally taken or used.

(3) Nothing in this section affects the liability of an actual offender in respect of a driving offence but, if a penalty has been imposed on, or recovered from, any person in relation to a driving offence, no further penalty can be imposed on or recovered from any other person in relation to the offence.

(4) The owner of a vehicle is not, by virtue of this section, guilty of an offence if, where the offence is dealt with by penalty notice--

(a) within 21 days after service on the owner of the penalty notice for the offence, the owner gives the authorised officer a relevant nomination document containing the name and address of the person who was at all relevant times in charge of the vehicle, or

(b) the owner satisfies the authorised officer that the owner did not know, and could not with reasonable diligence have ascertained, that name and address.

(5) The owner of a vehicle is not, by virtue of this section, guilty of an offence if, in any other case--

(a) within 21 days after service on the owner of a court attendance notice for the offence, the owner gives the informant a relevant nomination document containing the name and address of the person who was at all relevant times in charge of the vehicle, or

(b) the owner satisfies the court that the owner did not know, and could not with reasonable diligence have ascertained, that name and address.

(5A) Despite any other provision of this Act, a relevant nomination document may be provided by the owner of a vehicle served with a penalty notice within 90 days of the notice being served on the owner if the relevant nomination document is provided in the circumstances specified in section 23AA or 23AB of the Fines Act 1996 .

(5B) If the owner of a vehicle supplies a relevant nomination document to an authorised officer or informant for the purposes of this section, an authorised officer or informant may, by written notice served on the owner, require the owner to supply a statutory declaration for use in court proceedings that verifies the nomination contained in the relevant nomination document.

(6) If a statutory declaration supplying the name and address of a person for the purposes of this section is produced in any proceedings against the person in respect of the driving offence to which the declaration relates, the declaration is evidence that the person was, at all relevant times relating to that offence, in charge of the vehicle involved in the offence.

(7) A relevant nomination document or statutory declaration that relates to more than one driving offence is taken not to be a relevant nomination document or statutory declaration supplying a name and address for the purposes of this section.

(8) This section does not limit any other provision of this Act, any provision of any other Act or any provision of any instrument in force under this or any other Act.

(9) If action is taken under Division 3 of Part 7.3 of the Road Transport Act 2013 in relation to an offence to which this section applies--

(a) a reference in this section to a penalty notice is taken to be a reference to a penalty notice under that Division, and

(b) a reference in this section to an owner of a vehicle is a reference to a responsible person for a vehicle within the meaning of that Act, and

(c) a reference in this section to an authorised officer is a reference to an authorised officer within the meaning of that Division.

(10) In this section, a reference to a
"relevant nomination document" is a reference to a relevant nomination document within the meaning of Division 2 of Part 7.3 of the Road Transport Act 2013 .