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Transport Legislation (Further Miscellaneous
Amendments) Bill
Introduction Print
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
Clause Notes
PART 1--PRELIMINARY MATTERS
Clause 1 states the purposes of the Bill, which are to make amendments to
the Melbourne City Link Act 1995, the Mitcham-Frankston
Project Act 2004, the Public Transport Competition Act 1995,
the Rail Corporations Act 1996, the Road Management Act
2004, the Road Safety Act 1986 and the Transport Act 1983.
Clause 2 provides for the commencement of the various clauses in the Bill.
PART 2--AMENDMENTS TO THE MELBOURNE CITY LINK
ACT 1995
Clause 3 makes minor statute law revisions to the Melbourne City Link
Act 1995.
Clause 3(1)(a) substitutes "Director" in the heading to section 6B
of the Melbourne City Link Act 1995 with "Roads
Corporation", to reflect previous amendments to section 6B made
by section 5(2) of the Transport Legislation (Miscellaneous
Amendments) Act 2004, which abolished the statutory office of
Director, Melbourne City Link and conferred the Director's
functions and powers on the Roads Corporation.
Clause 3(1)(b) rectifies a typographical error in section 11(1) of
the Melbourne City Link Act 1995 by substituting an upper
case "L" in "Translink Operations Pty Ltd", so that it correctly
reads "TransLink Operations Pty Ltd". The reference to this
company in section 11(1) is now consistent with that in
section 12B(1).
1
551374 BILL LA INTRODUCTION 19/10/2005
Clause 3(1)(c) amends section 78(1) of the Melbourne City
Link Act 1995, which allows an enforcement agency to act on
a request from a relevant corporation (as defined in section 3)
for the enforcement agency to send a request for payment of a
toll in respect of the use of a vehicle in a toll zone to the person
who appears to be liable to pay the toll. The amendment reflects
the fact that, as the result of amendments made to the Act by
section 11(3) of the Transport Legislation (Amendment) Act
2004, such a request would be made under section 77(1)(b)(i),
not under section 77(1)(a).
Clause 3(1)(d) amends section 80(2)(b)(ii) of the Melbourne
City Link Act 1995, which allows for an infringement notice for
a tolling offence to be served on a person who has been
nominated as the driver of the vehicle by the owner of the vehicle
(as defined in section 69 of the Act), who would otherwise have
been liable for a tolling offence under the "owner onus"
provisions of the Act. The amendments reflect the facts that--
· this nomination may occur under section 72(3) of the
Act as well as section 87(3);
· owing to amendments made to the Act by section 11(3)
of the Transport Legislation (Amendment) Act 2004
the nomination would not be made under section
77(1)(b)(ii); and
· this nomination may occur under paragraphs (a), (aab)
or (ab) of section 87(3) and not just paragraph (a) of that
section.
Clause 3(1)(e) removes the reference in section 87(5) of the
Melbourne City Link Act 1995 to section 77(1)(b)(ii), which
was removed from the Act by section 11(3) of the Transport
Legislation (Amendment) Act 2004.
Clause 3(2) inserts new section 73(3B) into the Melbourne City
Link Act 1995, which clarifies that "invoice" in section 73(3A)
means a request for payment of a toll and any associated toll
administration fee. This ensures consistency with terminology
used in the rest of the Act.
2
PART 3--AMENDMENTS TO THE MITCHAM-FRANKSTON
PROJECT ACT 2004
Clause 4 gives effect to the Government's announcement on
23 March 2005 that the Mitcham-Frankston Freeway, which is
the main component of the Mitcham-Frankston Project, would be
known as "EastLink". Sub-clauses (1), (2), (3), (4)(a) to (4)(d)
and (4)(f) replace references throughout the Mitcham-
Frankston Project Act 2004 to "Mitcham-Frankston",
"the Mitcham-Frankston Freeway", "Mitcham-Frankston
Freeway" and "Freeway" with "EastLink".
Sub-clause (4)(e) makes minor amendments to sections 205(1)
and 219(1) of the Mitcham-Frankston Project Act 2004,
substituting a lower case "f" in "that Freeway", so that it reads
"that freeway". "that Freeway" is a reference to the Mitcham-
Frankston Freeway which is referred to earlier in those sections.
Given that the title of the freeway has now changed, use of the
proper noun "Freeway" is no longer appropriate.
Sub-clause (5) amends section 198(4) of the Mitcham-
Frankston Project Act 2004 so that the reference to a "freeway
agreement" is changed to "freeway use agreement". The word
"use" was inadvertently omitted when this provision was inserted
by section 21(3) of the Mitcham-Frankston Project
(Amendment) Act 2005.
Clause 5 inserts a savings provision into the Mitcham-Frankston Project
Act 2004 to ensure that the change made to the name of the Act
by the Bill has automatic effect in all documents.
PART 4--AMENDMENTS TO THE PUBLIC TRANSPORT
COMPETITION ACT 1995
Clause 6 inserts a new section 3B into the Public Transport Competition
Act 1995. The new section provides further clarity about the
meaning of "regular passenger service" for the purposes of the
Act.
Clause 7 amends section 20(2) of the Public Transport Competition Act
1995 to make provision for expanded grounds for possible
disciplinary action against a person who is, or who has been, an
accredited person. The amendments provide that there will now
be proper cause for taking action if the person has acted
recklessly or has failed to comply with a condition prescribed
under section 10(1)(b) of the Act that requires the person to do
any of the things listed in the proposed section 20(2)(d) which is
inserted by the clause.
3
Clause 8 amends section 25 of the Public Transport Competition Act
1995 to establish an additional offence concerning regular
passenger services under the Act.
PART 5--AMENDMENTS TO THE RAIL CORPORATIONS
ACT 1996
Clause 9 amends various provisions of the Rail Corporations Act 1996 to
make provision for the change of name of Spencer Street Station
to Southern Cross Station and of the Spencer Street Station
Authority to the Southern Cross Station Authority.
Clause 10 amends section 60(1) of the Rail Corporations Act 1996, which
confers on a person to whom the section applies who operates
and maintains railway track the power to require the felling and
removal of, or to fell and remove, any tree or wood on grounds
relating to the safety of a railway track operated or maintained by
the person. The amendments--
· replace the existing prescriptive criteria for the exercise
of these powers with the broad criterion that the tree or
wood poses a risk to the safety of anyone on, or using,
the railway track; and
· exempt any person felling or removing any tree or wood
under the section from the need to obtain a permit under
any relevant planning scheme under the Planning and
Environment Act 1987.
Similar amendments are made by clause 32 of this Bill to an
equivalent provision in the Transport Act 1983.
Clause 11 makes transitional amendments to the Rail Corporations Act
1996 in relation to the amendments effected by clause 9, namely
the change of name of Spencer Street Station to Southern Cross
Station and the change of name of the Spencer Street Station
Authority to the Southern Cross Station Authority. The clause
inserts new sections 116, 117 and 118 into the Rail
Corporations Act.
Clause 12 makes consequential changes to the Borrowing and Investment
Powers Act 1987, the Docklands Act 1991, the Transport Act
1983 and the Victorian Urban Development Authority Act
2003 arising from the amendments effected by clause 9, namely
the change of name of Spencer Street Station to Southern Cross
Station and the change of name of the Spencer Street Station
Authority to the Southern Cross Station Authority.
4
PART 6--AMENDMENTS TO THE ROAD MANAGEMENT
ACT 2004
Clause 13 makes similar amendments to the Road Management Act 2004
as those made by clause 4, so that the relevant provisions now
refer to EastLink rather than to the Mitcham Frankston Freeway.
Clause 14 repeals Part 8 of the Road Management Act 2004, which made
consequential and related amendments to other Acts. With the
exception of section 179, the provisions of Part 8 have served
their purpose. They are therefore redundant and can be repealed.
Section 179 gives effect to Schedule 10, which contains
transitional provisions related to certain gas projects.
Those transitional provisions need to continue in operation.
Because section 179 is being repealed along with the rest of
Part 8, it is necessary for clause 6 to also amend section 135
so that it gives effect to Schedule 10.
PART 7--AMENDMENTS TO THE ROAD SAFETY ACT 1986
Clause 15 inserts new section 14(1A) into the Road Safety Act 1986, to
enable a member of the police force or an authorised VicRoads
officer to issue a warning or vehicle defect notice, or impose
conditions on or prohibit the use of a heavy vehicle, if he or she
reasonably suspects, on the basis of information derived from a
prescribed engine management system reading device that is
operated in the prescribed manner, that the vehicle does not
comply with the Road Safety Act 1986 or regulations made
under that Act.
Under Part 9 of the Road Safety Act 1986, Police and VicRoads
officers are able to use equipment to download data recorded on a
heavy vehicle's engine management system to determine whether
the Road Safety Act 1986 or the regulations made under the Act
are being complied with. A heavy vehicle's engine management
system records information about its operation with respect to
speed, mileage, fuel consumption, idle time, total engine hours
and running history. Engine management system reading devices
also detect tampering with vehicle equipment, including speed
limiting devices. The information produced by these devices can
therefore assist in determining whether speed limiting devices
which are required to be carried on heavy vehicles are working
effectively or have been tampered with.
5
It is intended that trained members of the police force and
VicRoads officers would attach engine management system
reading devices to heavy vehicles and download information at
the roadside, for example, when the vehicle is at a weighbridge.
The information would reveal whether the vehicle's speed
limiting device is working properly or whether it has been
tampered with, rendering the vehicle unroadworthy and
providing grounds for a defect notice to be issued under section
14(1) of the Road Safety Act 1986. Heavy vehicles could be
screened in this way to ensure that speed limiting devices are
functioning properly, rather than relying on catching heavy
vehicles in the act of speeding, as is currently required. It is very
difficult to determine whether a speed limiting device has been
tampered with from a mere physical examination of the vehicle,
as opposed to using a device to download information.
Section 14(1) of the Road Safety Act 1986 currently requires
that non-compliance be "discovered" before a member of the
police force or an authorised VicRoads officer can issue a
warning or vehicle defect notice, or impose conditions on or
prohibit the use of a heavy vehicle. This sets too high a standard
in circumstances where the officer is relying on data produced by
an engine management system reading device. While the officer
will be able to infer that a speed limiting device is not operating
effectively or has been tampered with from readings produced by
such a device, he or she will not be able to pinpoint the precise
cause of the problem or precisely how the speed limiting device
has been tampered with.
This amendment should be read in conjunction with clause 19,
which allows for regulations to be made prescribing these engine
management system reading devices and the procedures and
methods to be employed in the use of them.
Clause 16 inserts section 79A into the Road Safety Act 1986, which
provides that when a prescribed engine management system
reading device is used in accordance with the regulations, it must
be presumed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that the
information produced by the device is a true representation of the
information held in the heavy vehicle's engine management
system. This will apply in circumstances where information held
in a heavy vehicle's engine management system is relevant to
criminal proceedings (for example, a charge of tampering with
specified equipment under section 70 of the Road Safety Act
1986) or for any purpose under the Road Safety Act 1986
(for example, issuing a warning or vehicle defect notice, or
imposing conditions on or prohibiting the use of a heavy vehicle
under section 14(1)).
6
This amendment should also be read in conjunction with
clause 19, which allows for regulations to be made prescribing
these engine management system reading devices and the
procedures and methods to be employed in the use of them.
Clause 17 inserts section 89(8) into the Road Safety Act 1986, which
provides that despite anything to the contrary in section 89, the
fact that a person--
· has paid an infringement penalty, or
· has been found guilty, participated in a diversion
program or had a conviction imposed by a court in
respect of an infringement for which an infringement
notice was served--
may be recorded and used to exclude the person from a scheme
to provide discounted fees to good drivers.
The Government has announced that people with a good driving
record will be entitled to a discount on their driver licence
renewal fees. This amending provision is needed to override the
effect of sections 89(1)(a) and 89(4) of the Act. Section 89(1)(a)
has the effect that, if an infringement penalty is paid, then the
infringement cannot be held against the person for other
purposes. Section 89(4) provides that a conviction recorded by a
court in respect of an infringement (where the infringement
notice has not been withdrawn) must not be taken into account
for any purpose other than the making of the conviction itself or
any appeal proceedings. A person who has received an
infringement notice for an offence which is included in the list of
offences which would ordinarily disqualify him or her from the
good driver licence fee discount should not be able to retain that
discount by paying the infringement penalty. A conviction in
respect of that infringement should also disqualify him or her
from this scheme.
There is precedent for this approach in sections 89(5) and 89(6),
which allow infringements to be taken into account for the
purposes of the imposition of demerit points and the heavy
vehicle registration suspension scheme respectively.
7
Clause 18 substitutes section 92(3)(h) of the Road Safety Act 1986, so
that information held by VicRoads (that is, from its vehicle
registration and driver licencing database) may be disclosed to
an enforcement agency in another jurisdiction for the purposes
of enforcing an infringement penalty for an offence allegedly
committed by a Victorian in that jurisdiction. This is achieved
by sub-paragraph (iii) of the new section 92(3)(h).
Sub-paragraphs (i) and (ii) of new section 92(3)(h) only repeat
the wording of existing section 92(3)(h) in a manner which is
easier to follow and is consistent with the formatting of
section 92(3)(e).
Section 92(3)(h) currently allows VicRoads to disclose
information in accordance with an agreement between a
Victorian Minister and a Minister in another jurisdiction for the
purposes of enforcing a judgement or order of a court in a
prosecution. This does not include infringement penalties, as the
issuing and enforcement of infringement notices occurs outside
the formal court process. By contrast, under section 92(3)(e) of
the Road Safety Act 1986, VicRoads may disclose information
for the purposes of the enforcement by a Victorian law
enforcement agency of judgments and orders of courts in their
criminal jurisdiction or infringement penalties.
There is no reason in principle why the disclosure of information
for enforcement of infringement penalties should not also be
made to other jurisdictions' law enforcement agencies. In this
regard, it should be noted that the provision of this information to
other jurisdictions would be subject to the same safeguards as
apply to any information provided under section 92 of the Road
Safety Act 1986. This means that it would only be provided if
the recipients had signed a confidentiality agreement under
section 92(4) specifying the use to which the information can be
put, compliance with which is subject to independent annual
audit. In addition, it is an offence under section 92 for a person
who obtains information under a confidentiality agreement to
disclose or use the information for a purpose other than that
specified in the agreement, or to use information knowing it to
have been disclosed or used in contravention of section 92 or a
confidentiality agreement.
8
Clause 19 inserts new items 38A and 38B into Schedule 2 to the Road
Safety Act 1986, which contains the subject matter for the
making of regulations under the Act.
Item 38A enables regulations to be made prescribing engine
management system reading devices, the handling, storage, use
and maintenance of those devices, and the precautions to be taken
and the procedures and methods to be employed in the use of
those devices for ensuring that they give accurate and reliable
results. This is similar to the regulation making power regarding
breath analysing equipment in item 51.
Item 38B enables regulations to be made for the way in which
images or messages from the devices are to be dealt with--
specifically, how they will be processed, stored, transferred,
produced, re-configured or used to produce other forms of
images or messages. This is similar to the regulation making
power regarding safety cameras in item 39A.
PART 8--AMENDMENTS TO THE TOBACCO
(AMENDMENT) ACT 2005
Clause 20 amends section 27 of the Tobacco (Amendment) Act 2005 to
substitute a new definition of "occupier" in the proposed new
section 222A of the Transport Act 1983 that is to be inserted
into that Act by section 27.
PART 9--AMENDMENTS TO THE TRANSPORT ACT 1983
Part 9 of the Bill makes a number of unrelated amendments to the Transport
Act 1983.
Division 1--Regulation of Entitlement to Use Public Transport
Services
Division 1 amends the Transport Act 1983 so as to permit the main
elements of public transport ticketing law to be re-framed and consolidated in
regulations, to re-cast a number of key offence provisions and to make
changes to the way in which conditions under which public transport services
can be used may be determined.
Clause 21 amends section 208 of the Transport Act 1983 so as to insert a
definition of "public transport service". This introduces a key
new concept to Part VII of the Act which will permit both the Act
and the regulations to deal more comprehensively and flexibly
with this subject matter. The clause also consequentially repeals
the definition of "ticket" and amends the definition of "ticket
offence".
9
Division 2--Amendments Concerning Authorised Officers
Clause 22 makes a consequential change to the heading of Division 4 of
Part VII of the Transport Act 1983.
Clause 23 inserts new sections 220A to 220D into the Transport Act 1983.
New section 220A replaces and strengthens the existing section
221(5) covering fraudulent and similar activities.
New section 220B introduces new offences of counterfeiting a
ticket or other thing that can be used to prove an entitlement to
use a public transport service and of altering a ticket or other
such thing with the intention of obtaining a benefit to which the
person concerned is not entitled. The introduction of these
offences closes a gap in the existing enforcement regime for
public transport.
New section 220C replaces an existing offence relating to
wrongfully claiming or taking the benefit of an exemption or
concession.
New section 220D replaces the existing regime for determining
ticket conditions under section 221(1A) and (1B) of the
Transport Act 1983. Significant differences are that, under the
new provision--
· The conditions are characterised more broadly as
conditions to which an entitlement to use a specified
public transport service provided by a passenger
transport company or a bus company is to be subject.
· The conditions are to be determined and published in
the Government Gazette by the Director of Public
Transport.
· It is made clear that conditions made under this
provision can apply to entitlements that exist, but have
not been exercised, before the relevant conditions are
published. This is to ensure that, for example, new
conditions can apply to tickets which have been sold,
but which have not been used, before the conditions
were determined and published.
10
Clause 24 repeals a number of sub-sections of section 221 of the Transport
Act 1983 and section 225A of that Act. Of these, section
221(1A), (1B), and (5) and section 225A are being replaced by
new provisions to be inserted by this Bill. Section 221(2), (3),
(4), (4A) and (6) are proposed to be replaced by new regulations
made under the regulation-making powers to be inserted into the
Transport Act 1983 by clause 25.
Clause 25 replaces the existing section 221AA of the Transport Act 1983
with a new section which establishes a comprehensive set of
empowering provisions to support regulations in relation to the
use of public transport services. It is intended that the substance
of existing section 221AA will be covered by regulations made
under the new section. Some key elements which will be able to
be addressed by regulations made under the new section
include--
· regulating entitlement to use a public transport service;
for example requiring the obtaining and validation of a
ticket as a means of obtaining an entitlement to use such
a service and requiring that such a ticket be produced on
demand or surrendered;
· clarifying the contractual relationships between various
parties involved in the provision and use of public
transport services;
· providing for the ascertainment of whether a person
using, or who has used, a public transport service was
entitled to do so and providing for the inspection and
reading and testing of tickets and other documents.
Division 2--Amendments Concerning Authorised Officers
Division 2 makes a number of amendments to the Transport Act 1983 so as
to make it possible for the Bus Association Victoria to be accredited to
employ or engage authorised officers and for people so employed or engaged
to be authorised as authorised officers, to make it clear that the authorisation
of an authorised officer may be limited and to make clear the scope of the
powers of authorised officers employed or engaged by passenger transport
companies, bus companies and (if it becomes accredited) the Bus Association
Victoria.
11
Clause 26 inserts a definition of "Bus Association Victoria" into section 2
of the Transport Act 1983.
Clause 27 makes a large number of substantive and consequential
amendments to the Transport Act 1983 intended to make it
possible for the Bus Association Victoria to be accredited to
employ or engage authorised officers and for people so employed
or engaged to be authorised as authorised officers and to ensure
that a person so employed or engaged may, if authorised to do so,
bring proceedings for ticket offences.
Clause 28 corrects 2 references in section 221C of the Transport Act 1983
consequential upon amendments made by the Transport (Rights
and Responsibilities) Act 2003.
Clause 29 inserts new sections 221CB and 221CC into the Transport
Act 1983.
New section 221CB provides that the Secretary or the Director of
Public Transport may limit the powers and functions which may
be exercised by an authorised officer. The section also requires
that, if the scope of a person's authorisation is so limited, he or
she must be given written details of the limitations and provides
that the limitations only take effect when the person receives
those details.
New section 221CC makes it an offence for a person whose
authorisation is subject to a limit imposed under section 221CB
to knowingly exercise, or attempt to exercise, a power or function
in contravention of that limit, and sets a maximum penalty of 10
penalty units for that offence.
Clause 30 inserts new section 221FA into the Transport Act 1983 which
makes it clear that an authorised officer may exercise his or her
powers in, or in relation to, a vehicle or any land, building or
other property of a passenger transport company or a bus
company regardless of whether or not he or she is employed or
engaged by that company.
12
Division 3--Other Miscellaneous Amendments
Division 3 makes a number of unrelated amendments to the Transport
Act 1983.
Clause 31 amends section 9 of the Transport Act 1983, which sets out
functions and powers of the Director of Public Transport.
Sub-clause (1) makes a number of unrelated amendments to
section 9(2). These amendments--
· remove the requirement for the powers and functions
specified in sub-section (2) to be exercised subject to
the approval of the Minister (section 9(5) already
requires the Director to comply with any directions
given by the Minister);
· insert a number of additional paragraphs into the sub-
section which are intended to clarify the powers of the
Director to give indemnities, guarantees, releases and
charges and anything else of a similar nature and the
powers of the Director in relation to intellectual
property rights.
Sub-clause (2) inserts a new sub-section (8) into section 9 which
deems the Director to have been authorised to exercise any of the
powers referred to in the second dot point above that were
exercised by the Director before the commencement of this
clause.
Clause 32 amends section 9C of the Transport Act 1983 which confers on
the Director of Public Transport powers to require the felling and
removal of, or to fell and remove, any tree or wood on grounds
relating to the safety of a railway track operated or maintained by
the Director on behalf of the Crown. The amendments--
· replace the existing prescriptive criteria for the exercise
of these powers with the broad criterion that the tree or
wood poses a risk to the safety of anyone on, or using,
the railway track; and
· exempt any person felling or removing any tree or wood
under the section from the need to obtain a permit under
any relevant planning scheme under the Planning and
Environment Act 1987.
Similar amendments are made by clause 10 of this Bill to an
equivalent provision in the Rail Corporations Act 1996.
13
Clause 33 amends section 32(1A) of the Transport Act 1983 so as to make
it clear that the power of delegation conferred by that sub-section
extends to powers conferred on the Secretary to the Department
of Infrastructure by regulations made under the Road Safety
Act 1986 in relation to section 33 of that Act.
Clause 34 makes a number of amendments to section 56 of the Transport
Act 1983.
Sub-clause (1) replaces paragraphs (b) and (ba) of section 56(1)
to provide more comprehensively for the making of regulations
relating to conduct in relation to, or in or on, vehicles or places
belonging to, or under the control of, Rail Track, the Roads
Corporation, a passenger transport company, a rail freight
company or a bus company and regulations relating to open
containers of liquor or purported liquor.
Sub-clause (2) inserts a new paragraph (ga) into section 56(1) to
provide for the making of regulations relating to the parking of
vehicles on any place belonging to, or under the control of, Rail
Track, a passenger transport company, a rail freight company or a
bus company.
Sub-clause (3) repeals paragraphs (n) and (o) of section 56(1)
consequential upon the amendments made by clause 25 of this
Bill.
Sub-clause (4) inserts a new sub-section (5) into section 56 which
clarifies that a reference to parking in the new paragraph (ga),
inserted into section 56(1) by sub-clause (2), includes a reference
to leaving a vehicle standing.
Sub-clause (5) provides that the amendment made by sub-
clause (1) does not affect the validity of certain existing
Regulations which were, in part, made under the paragraphs
replaced by sub-clause (1).
Clause 35 amends section 142 of the Transport Act 1983, which relates
to hire car licences and special purpose vehicle licences.
The amendments have the effect of prohibiting the licensing
authority from granting an application for a hire car licence in
respect of a hire car that is to be operated from a place in an area
specified under the section, unless the licensing authority has had
regard to the matters listed in the new paragraph (b) being
inserted.
14
Clause 36 deals with the towing of damaged vehicles from freeways and
other roads which are the subject of a declaration under section
119A of the Road Management Act 2004 (that is, which are
declared to be sufficiently hazardous to justify being included in
the power given by that section to VicRoads to remove stationary
vehicles).
Clause 36(1) enables tow truck drivers engaged by or on behalf
of VicRoads to tow vehicles involved in an accident on freeways
or other roads declared to be hazardous to a safe and convenient
place near the road, without having to obtain the authorisation
from a tow truck allocation centre that would normally be
required under section 183B(1) of the Transport Act 1983.
This is intended to ensure that damaged vehicles are removed
from freeways and other hazardous roads as quickly as possible.
Clause 36(2) provides that once the damaged vehicle has been
towed to a safe and convenient place near the road in accordance
with the power given by clause 36(1) it can only be subsequently
towed from that place if that has been authorised by a tow truck
allocation centre in accordance with section 183B(1) of the
Transport Act 1983. This preserves the operation of the tow
truck allocation process once the immediate danger has been
removed from the freeway or other hazardous road.
Clause 36(3) repeals section 119A(3) of the Road Management
Act 2004, which had specifically preserved the requirement
under section 183B of the Transport Act 1983 to obtain
authorisation from a tow truck allocation centre in circumstances
where VicRoads has authorised the removal of a damaged
vehicle from an accident on a freeway or other road declared to
be hazardous. This provision needs to be repealed, because it is
inconsistent with clause 36(1).
Clause 37 amends section 215(2) of the Transport Act 1983 so as to enable
regulations to be made to deal with situations where a graduated
penalty has been imposed on the basis of incorrect information.
Clause 38 inserts new paragraph (d) into section 216(6) of the Transport
Act 1983, which adds the power to extract or copy information
held by a heavy vehicle's engine management system to the list
of inspection powers for the purposes of determining whether
requirements imposed by or under the Act or any other Act
relating to transport are being complied with.
15
Clause 39 amends section 217A(3) of, and inserts section 217A(4) into,
the Transport Act 1983, so that a member of the police or a
VicRoads officer who is inspecting a heavy vehicle under that
Act may take action under section 14(1) of the Road Safety Act
1986 (that is, issue a warning or vehicle defect notice, or impose
conditions on or prohibit the use of the vehicle) if he or she
reasonably suspects, on the basis of information derived from a
prescribed engine management system reading device which is
operated in the prescribed manner, that the vehicle does not
comply with the Road Safety Act 1986 or regulations made
under that Act.
Clause 40 amends section 218B of the Transport Act 1983 relating to
the power of an authorised officer or a member of the police
force to require a person to state his or her name and address.
The amendments to this section--
· require an authorised officer or a member of the police
force who is not in uniform who requests a person to
state his or her name and address to, without being
asked, advise the person of the authorised officer's or
member's status as such and name, produce for
inspection by the person proof of the authorised officer's
or member's status and advise the person that it is an
offence to fail to comply with the request or to provide a
false name and address;
· provide that it is not an offence for a person to fail to
comply with a request if the authorised officer or
member of the police force does not fully comply with
these requirements;
· remove an offence made redundant by these
amendments;
· empower an authorised officer or member of the police
force to request a person, who has stated a name and
address, to provide evidence of the correctness of the
name and address without the existing requirement that
the authorised officer or member must suspect on
reasonable grounds that the stated name or address may
be false.
16
Clause 41 inserts a new section 220AA into Division 4 of Part VII of the
Transport Act 1983 which creates an offence of giving to an
authorised officer or a member of the police force or one of a
number of other specified classes of person, information that is
relevant or possibly relevant for the purposes of the Division
(including for the purposes of any relevant regulations) and that
the person giving the information knows or believes to be false.
The creation of this offence is part of a rationalisation of a
number of separate false information offences spread throughout
the Act. This provision is specific to Division 4 of Part VII and,
because of the subject matter dealt with in that Division, attracts
a lower maximum penalty than the proposed main false
information offence to be inserted into the Act by clause 43 of
this Bill.
Clause 42 repeals section 222A of the Transport Act 1983 (which is to be
inserted into that Act by the Tobacco (Amendment) Act 2005)
as part of a proposal to transfer no smoking offences from the
Act to regulations made under the Act. This change is part of a
wider restructure of public transport behaviour offences relating
to safety and amenity on public transport vehicles and property.
Clause 43 inserts a new section 224 into the Transport Act 1983.
This provision is to constitute the main offence in the Act in
relation to the deliberate or reckless provision of false or
misleading information or deliberately or recklessly engaging in
misleading or deceptive conduct. It is a wide ranging provision,
replacing a number of offences covering similar ground as part of
a rationalisation of these offences.
Clause 44 is consequential on the amendments made by clauses 43 and 41
and repeals the individual false information offences which are to
be replaced by the new sections inserted by those clauses.
Clause 45 substitutes section 225 of the Transport Act 1983 in relation
to offences concerning assault and obstruction of officers and
those assisting officers. The new section widens the scope of
the former offence and removes some tautologous words
(for instance, "delay" is encompassed by "hinder" and "resist"
is encompassed by "obstruct").
Clause 46 substitutes section 225B of the Transport Act 1983, which deals
with the impersonation of officers.
Clause 47 substitutes section 225C of the Transport Act 1983, which deals
with the bribery of officers.
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