Accident Towing Services Act - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Accident Towing Services Act 2007 (the Act) is a law enacted by the Parliament of the State of Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. The Act is the prime statute

Statute

A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...

regulating

Regulation

Regulation is administrative legislation that constitutes or constrains rights and allocates responsibilities. It can be distinguished from primary legislation on the one hand and judge-made law on the other...

the vehicle towing

Towing

Towing is the process of pulling or drawing behind a chain, line, bar or some other form of couplings. Towing is most visibly performed by road vehicles, but anything from waterborne vessels to tractors to people can tow cargo. Troop carrying and cargo carrying gliders were towed behind powered...

industry which provides towing and recovery services for light and heavy road vehicles across Victoria. It is predominately founded on safety

Safety

Safety is the state of being "safe" , the condition of being protected against physical, social, spiritual, financial, political, emotional, occupational, psychological, educational or other types or consequences of failure, damage, error, accidents, harm or any other event which could be...

and consumer protection

Consumer protection

Consumer protection laws designed to ensure fair trade competition and the free flow of truthful information in the marketplace. The laws are designed to prevent businesses that engage in fraud or specified unfair practices from gaining an advantage over competitors and may provide additional...

sentiments. The Act continued economic controls over the industry and contains contains occupational regulation characteristics. The style of the underlying regulatory scheme varies in parts and represents a blend which is prescriptive in some parts and performance and process-based in others.

The Accident Towing Services Act was the first dedicated statute

Statute

regulating Victoria's towing industry and replaced provisions in the former Transport Act 1983

Transport Act 1983

The Transport Act 1983 was the main statute establishing government transport organisations and regulating land transport activities in the State of Victoria, Australia for 27 years from mid 1983 to mid 2010...

. The Act generally strengthened the scheme of regulation for accident towing activity in Victoria and, at the same time, deregulated trade towing industry controls. In essence, towing vehicles damaged in a road accident and the individuals working in that sector are subject to tight controls while trade towing activities such as breakdown towing have few controls.

The Accident Towing Services Act was passed by the Victorian Parliament on 17 July 2007 and commenced on 1 January 2009. The Act was developed as part of the Transport Legislation Review

Transport Legislation Review

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....

conducted by the Department of Transport

Department of Transport (Victoria, Australia)

The Department of Transport or DOT is the central Government agency responsible for the coordination, integration and regulation of the transport system in the State of Victoria, Australia...

and is aimed at promoting the safe, efficient and timely provision of towing and related services particularly following road accidents.

The Act forms part of the transport

Transport

Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...

policy

Policy

A policy is typically described as a principle or rule to guide decisions and achieve rational outcome. The term is not normally used to denote what is actually done, this is normally referred to as either procedure or protocol...

and legislation

Legislation

Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...

framework in Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

headed by the Transport Integration Act

Transport Integration Act

The Transport Integration Act 2010 is a law enacted by the Parliament of the State of Victoria, Australia. The Act is the prime transport statute in Victoria, having replaced major parts of the former Transport Act 1983....

. As a result, the application of the Accident Towing Services is subject to the overarching transport system vision, transport system objectives and decision-making principles set out in the Transport Integration Act

Transport Integration Act

.

The responsible Victorian Government Minister

Minister (government)

A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....

for the Accident Towing Services Act is the Minister for Roads.

Objectives

The stated objective of the Accident Towing Services Act is twofold. First, the Act seeks to promote the safe, efficient and timely provision of accident towing and related services. Second, the Act seeks to ensure that the persons who provide accident towing services are of appropriate character.

The Act is also aimed at ensuring that the persons in the industry are technically competent to provide accident towing services. The statute also requires that those persons act with integrity and in a manner that is safe, timely and efficient when providing the services. Emphasis is also placed on the need for regard to be had to vulnerable persons in recognition of the shock and trauma that typically afflicts persons involved in road accidents.

Outline

The scheme in the Accident Towing Services Act broadly sets economic, occupational and general consumer protection

Consumer protection

controls over the accident towing industry in Victoria.

First, the statute enables maximum numbers of accident towing vehicles to be set across the State through licensing controls and also facilitates the orderly allocation of tow trucks to road accident sites. Second, the Act sets mimimum standards on the character of industry participants and regulates the behaviour of the participants once they enter the industry.

The framework of offences in the Act broadly seeks to give practical effect to the "chain of responsibility

Chain of Responsibility

The chain of responsibility is a policy concept used in Australian transport legislation to place legal obligations on parties in the transport supply chain or across transport industries generally. The concept was initially developed to apply in the heavy vehicle industry in regulated areas such...

" concept in the accident towing sector. The concept seeks to identify the industry parties who are in a sufficient position of control over risks, in this case potentially unsafe and unethical conduct following road accidents, and to allocate responsibility through law

Law

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

accordingly in order to deter and punish those behaviours in the interest of a safe, clean and efficient industry.

The behavioural controls in the Act cover a wide range of activities and practices including the systematic allocation of tow trucks to accident sites in "controlled areas" and conduct at road accident sites and during post accident repair work.

The scheme was broadly prompted by consumer protection

Consumer protection

sentiment, in particular, the recognition of the vulnerability of road accident victims. Care was evident during the development of the scheme to maintain and enhance existing character standards in the accident towing sector due to behavioural issues in Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

in the past including the infiltration of criminal elements into some areas of the industry and resultant "predatory towing" activities.

Summary

In broad terms, the Accident Towing Services Act regulates the accident towing industry in Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

by -

establishing a licensing scheme for tow trucks which provide accident towing services
requiring the accreditation of operators of accident towing service businesses and managers of the depots from which accident tow trucks operate
requiring the accreditation of accident tow truck drivers
establishing requirements and protections relating to the storage and repair of motor vehicles following road accidents.

Parts

The Accident Towing Services Act is divided into eight parts -

Preliminary
Requirements as to tow trucks
Industry accreditation
Driver accreditation
General accident towing and related operations
Enforcement
Codes of Practice
Miscellaneous

Coverage

The Accident Towing Services Act regulates the accident towing services sector in Victoria. The statute defines the sector as the service of operating tow trucks for the purposes of towing vehicles to places following road accidents or towing for the purposes of clearing road accident scenes.

Operators

Part 4 of the Accident Towing Services Act establishes a licensing scheme for accident tow trucks. The Act makes it an offence for a person to operate a tow truck for accident towing purposes unless the person who provides the service has a "regular tow truck licence". In addition, the person must operate the truck from a depot specified in the licence and must hold a towing operator accreditation. The tow truck must be registered and be capable of being used for towing services activity.

Drivers

It is an offence under the Act for a person to drive an unlicensed accident tow truck or a tow truck that is inacapable of being used in accident towing work (for example, a tow truck cannot be incapable of towing generally or incapable of towing a vehicle which has a gross vehicle mass of less than 4 tonnes).

Licensing offences - accident scenes

Prohibitions exist in the Act against tow trucks attending accident scenes unless the vehicle is licensed. The offence does not apply if the vehicle attends for the purposes of salvage work only and will not therefore be involved in the act of towing the vehicle from the road accident scene.

Decision to issue

The Act positions VicRoads

VicRoads

VicRoads or the Roads Corporation of Victoria is a statutory corporation which is the state road and traffic authority in the state of Victoria, Australia. It is responsible for maintenance and construction of the state arterial road network, as well as driver licensing and vehicle registration. ...

as the prime agency able to issue both regular and heavy accident towing licences. However, authorisation to issue licences must be obtained first from the Minister who is conferred with power by the Act to authorise the issuing of regular tow truck licences for particular areas of the State. The Minister can only make such an authorisation if she or she considers it to be in the public interest having regard to any increase in the need for tow trucks in the relevant area. Alternatively, the authorisation can be made if the licences are to replace existing licences or exceptional circumstances justify the issue of new licences. Similar tests apply to the Minister's decision about the numbers of heavy tow truck licences which are to be made available.

Special rules apply to the issue of regular and heavy tow truck licences used for the provision of accident towing services on the CityLink

CityLink

CityLink is a system of tolled urban Highways in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The company Transurban was awarded the contract to augment two existing freeways and construct two new Toll roads—labelled the Western and Southern Links—directly linking a number of existing freeways to...

and EastLink

Eastlink

Eastlink may refer to:* EastLink , a toll road in Melbourne, Australia* East-Link , a toll bridge in Dublin, Ireland* EastLink , a communications provider in Canada...

toll roads. Ministerial authorisations for the issue of licences must be published in the Government Gazette and must specify the number of licences to be issued.

Issuing process

Management of the tow truck licensing process under the Act is the responsibility of VicRoads

VicRoads

, Victoria's prime road management and safety agency. VicRoads

VicRoads

is required to issue a public notice advising of the towing licences to be issued, list the procedures to be followed, and state whether the price is to be determined by fixed price or tender and provide other details. Designated procedures apply during the issuing process.

Tow truck operation offences

Part 2 of the Act provides a number of criminal offences relating to the operation of accident tow trucks. The offences include -

failure to take care in driving or operating a tow truck including losing or damaging a motor vehicle or its contents
leaving a tow truck standing at a road accident site in a manner or for a time which obstructs the road for an unnecessary period
permitting or allowing a person other than a tow truck driver from travelling in a damaged motor vehicle which is being towed by a tow truck from a road accident scene.

Members of the Victoria Police

Victoria Police

Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of Victoria, Australia. , the Victoria Police has over 12,190 sworn members, along with over 400 recruits, reservists and Protective Service Officers, and over 2,900 civilian staff across 393 police stations.-Early history:The Victoria Police...

and VicRoads'

VicRoads

authorised officers are given power under the Act to direct a person to leave a restricted road accident site area (an area within a 500 metre radius of an accident damaged vehicle) if the person is causing an unwarranted obstruction to traffic, hindering efforts to attend to any injured persons or damaged property or is otherwise hindering or obstructing the orderly towing of a motor vehicle from a road accident site. A direction may be given to a tow truck driver, the holder of a tow truck licence or a person engaged in vehicle repair work or persons acting on behalf of those persons. It is an offence to fail to comply with a direction.

Other relevant provisions

VicRoads

is empowered under the Act to attach conditions to the tow truck licences it issues. Breach of a condition is an offence. A tow truck licence is specified to be the property of the holder of the licence. Despite this, licence holders are prohibited from assigning or renting the licence to another person. Licences are, however, able to be transferred to other persons whereupon special procedural requirements apply.

The Act provides capacity for VicRoads to cancel or suspend tow truck licences if operators fail to comply with licence conditions or do not comply with a provision of the Act or other relevant Acts such as the Road Safety Act 1986.

Industry management

Part 3 of the Accident Towing Services Act makes provision for an accreditation scheme for management participants in the accident towing industry. A person must not conduct an accident towing service business or be the manager of an accident towing depot unless the person holds an accredtitation issued by VicRoads

VicRoads

. Part 3 contains provisions relating to the mechanics of these schemes including VicRoads' powers to issue accreditation. The Part also contains a scheme which seeks to regulate character requirements as part of the accreditation process particularly through the specification of a range of criminal offences which, if they form part of an applicant's background, can result in mandatory or discretionary refusal of accreditation by VicRoads. The Part also enables VicRoads to attach conditions to an accreditation. In addition, the Part confers power on the Minister to set service standards to be met by holders of accreditation. The standards may cover matters such as complaints handling and the provision of information to VicRoads relating to complaints.

The Part also contains power for VicRoads

VicRoads

to take disciplinary action against an accredited person if VicRoads is satisfied that the person has contravened the Act, committed a listed offence, contravened a condition of a tow truck licence or an accreditation or if the action is appropriate having regard to the objective of accreditation. The disciplinary action that may be taken by VicRoads includes suspension or cancellation of accreditation, a direction that the person must undergo training or a the giving of a warning.

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal

Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal is a government agency in the state of Victoria, Australia. The name is pronounced 'vee-cat'...

is given power by the Act to review decisions made by VicRoads under Part 3 including in relation to refusal of accreditation and cancellation.

Drivers

Part 4 of the Accident Towing Services Act contains provision for a tow truck driver accreditation scheme. The scheme is similar to the scheme set out in Part 3 for management participants in the accident towing industry. For example, it is an offence for a person to drive an accident tow truck or to accompany the driver of an accident tow truck unless the person holds an accreditation issued by VicRoads

VicRoads

. Power exists in the Part for VicRoads to suspend a tow truck driver accreditation without a show cause process if VicRoads believes on reasonable grounds that the action is in the public interest

Public interest

The public interest refers to the "common well-being" or "general welfare." The public interest is central to policy debates, politics, democracy and the nature of government itself...

Trainees

Provision is also made under Part 4 of the Act for VicRoads to issue a tow truck driver trainee permit, a permission which enables a person to accompany a tow truck driver for the purposes of being trained as a driver or to gain knowledge of the towing industry.

Other key provisions

Part 5 of the Act contains a range of provisions which are integral to the accident towing regulation scheme.

Authority to tow

A tow truck driver is prohibited from towing a vehicle from a road accident accident scene unless the driver has obtained an authorisation to tow that vehicle. Strict conditions apply to the issue and carriage of an authority to tow. The driver is obliged to tow the vehicle to the place specified in the authority.

Offences at accident scenes

Conduct at accident scenes is tightly regulated by the Act. For example, any person at an accident scene or at any time between the time the vehicle is towed from an accident scene and the time when the vehicle is first stored must not tout or solicit for the business of repairing the vehicle or offer or seek to reach an agreement about a quotation or the repair of the vehicle. Persons are also prohibited from touting or soliciting for the towing or storage of a damaged vehicle at an accident site or attempting to reach an agreement in respect of such matters.
148 Offence as to seeking towing work and storage -(1) A person must not, in relation to an accident damaged motor vehicle at a road accident scene do any of the following—
(a) tout or solicit for the business of—
(i) towing the vehicle; or
(ii) storing the vehicle;
(b) offer or obtain or attempt to obtain from any
other person any form of authority or
agreement (whether written or not) in
relation to—
(i) towing the vehicle; or
(ii) storing the vehicle.
Penalty: 60 penalty units.
(2) A person does not commit an offence under
subsection (1) if the person is—
(a) in relation to a road accident inside a
controlled area—
(i) the driver of a tow truck that is being
operated under a regular tow truck
licence and that has been authorised by
the allocation body, in compliance with
Division 9 of Part 2, to attend the road
accident scene and to be used to tow or
attempt to tow the vehicle, if the
vehicle is of a gross vehicle mass of
less than 4 tonnes; or
(ii) the driver of a tow truck that is being
operated under a tow truck licence, if
the vehicle is of a gross vehicle mass of
4 tonnes or more; or
(b) in relation to a road accident outside the
controlled area, the driver of a tow truck that
is being operated under a tow truck licence.

Storage and repair of damaged vehicles

The storage and repair of vehicles damaged in road accidents is tightly controlled by the Act.

Storage

The vehicle must be towed to the place specified in the authority to tow and be stored in a secure area. Tow truck licence holders are required to provide a written notice stating the charges which apply to the storage of the vehicle. Persons are prohibited by the Act from receiving payment to obtain repair work or as payment for hand over of an accident damaged motor vehicle to another person for that purpose.

Repair

The Act also contains a number of obligations on vehicle repairers. A person must not commence or carry our repair work on an accident damaged motor vehicle without approval in writing. If work commences without authority the person conducting the work is unable to take legal action to commence any sum or charge relating to the work or any quote prepared in relation to the work.

The Act also gives owners of damaged motor vehicles the benefit of a cooling off period in recognition that they may have made an arrangement for repair of the vehicle following an accident without the opportunity to think clearly about the matter due to trauma or shock. The owner of the vehicle is therefore given three working days after signing an agreement to repair an accident damaged motor vehicle to terminate that agreement and without the owner being liable for costs.

The Act also makes it clear that the owner of an accident damaged motor vehicle is not liable for repairs to the vehicle which are conducted at a place other than that nominated in the authority to tow. Finally, it is an offence for a person in control of the place where an accident damaged motor vehicle was towed to refuse to release a vehicle or to frustrate or obstruct its release. It is, however, a defence if the vehicle owner authorised work on the vehicle and towing or storage charges are outstanding.

Special requirements apply to repairers in relation to accident towing services in a controlled area. A repairier cannot begin a quote for repairs without confirming details with the allocation body. Other paperwork requirements are also set out in the Act in relation to repairs relating to tows in the controlled area.

Controlled areas

The strictest controls in the Accident Towing Services Act affect the capacity of accident tow trucks to operate in particular areas apply in relation to "controlled areas", basically most of the areas of the cities of Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

and Geelong where behavioural problems in the industry have been greatest in the past.

VicRoads

VicRoads

is given power under the Act to declare controlled areas for the purposes of the Act and to appoint a person or body to act as the allocation body for those areas. A licence holder and driver commits an offence if the persons attend an accident scene in a controlled area or tow or attempt to tow a damaged vehicle unless the allocation body has authorised attendance at the accident scene and the towing activity. Each accident tow truck licence entitles the holder of the licence to one place on the roster if a specified depot is attached to the licence. A roster entitlement is not able to be transferred to another operator.

Self management areas

The areas of Victoria outside of the controlled areas are called self-management areas. Licence holders are unable to attend accidents in self management areas and conduct tows in those areas unless authorised under the Act. VicRoads

VicRoads

is given power under the Act to declare self-management areas for the purposes of the Act.

Enforcement

Enforcement-related provisions supporting the Accident Towing Services Act scheme are set out in Part 6 of the Act. The Act can be enforced by officers of the Victoria Police

Victoria Police

and authorised officers appointed by VicRoads

VicRoads

. The enforcement scheme centres on provisions enabling the appointment of authorised officers, the conferral of certain coercive powers and the availability of a range of administrative and court-based sanctions.

Key elements

The key elements of the enforcement scheme are -

power for VicRoads to appoint authorised officers to enforce the Act
a demerits points scheme applying to industry participants including accredited persons such as licence holders and drivers
power for officers to service infringement notices
powers for officers to serve improvement notices
coercive powers such as powers to require name and address details, the capacity to enter and search tow trucks, power to require production of identification, entry or search of premises including without warrant, power to obtain search and power to seize of things including documents, equipment and goods
powers to initiate prosecutions
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...

for breaches of the Act

Codes of practice

Part 7 of the Act makes provision for the Minister to approve codes of practice for the purpose of providing practical guidance under the Act. Compliance with a codes of practice can act as a safe habour for persons in the towing industry although failure to comply with a provision in a code does not create any criminal or civil liability.

Miscellaneous

Part 8 of the Act contains a number of miscellaneous provisions relating to the accident towing services scheme. Subjects dealt with in the part include -

power for the Minister to set fees and charges relating to accident towing services and storage of damaged motor vehicles
power for VicRoads to set application fees
powers of delegation by VicRoads for the purposes of the Act
evidentiary, corporate liability and other supporting provisions including offences and powers to make regulations.

Responsible regulator

The responsible regulator for the application, administration and enforcement of the Accident Towing Services Act in Victoria and therefore for the regulation of the accident towing industry is the Roads Corporation or VicRoads

VicRoads

. VicRoads took over this responsibility from the Victorian Taxi Directorate, a business unit located in the office of the Director of Public Transport

Director of Public Transport

The Director of Public Transport is the Government agency responsible for promoting, providing, coordinating and regulating public transport in the State of Victoria, Australia...

attached to the Department of Transport

Department of Transport (Victoria, Australia)

The Department of Transport or DOT is the central Government agency responsible for the coordination, integration and regulation of the transport system in the State of Victoria, Australia...

, in late 2006 during the final stages of the development of the Act proposal. The transfer of responsibility occurred after the creation of a new Ministry of Roads and Ports which separated those portfolios from the former Transport Ministry (a separate Ministry of Public Transport was also created at this time).

Development

The development of the proposal for the Accident Towing Services was managed by the former Department of Infrastructure in Victoria. The successor to the Department of Infrastructure in transport matters was the Department of Transport

Department of Transport (Victoria, Australia)

The Department of Transport or DOT is the central Government agency responsible for the coordination, integration and regulation of the transport system in the State of Victoria, Australia...

. The Department managed the project as part of its broader Transport Legislation Review

Transport Legislation Review

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....

.

The Department held a series of workshops with Victoria's towing industry and issued discussion papers outlining the broad policy features of a proposed new regulatory scheme. The papers raised a series of concerns about the former towing industry framework and aspects of the industry's performance including concerns about under regulation and over regulation in particular areas. Comments were requested from industry

Industry

Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...

parties and other interested stakeholders. Comments received from industry

Industry

, government

Government

Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...

and other stakeholders resulted in the refinement of the proposal prior to its approval by the Victorian Government and presentation to Parliament as proposed legislation.

Ultimately, the proposals for a new regulatory scheme were introduced to the Victorian Parliament as proposed legislation

Legislation

Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...

in mid April 2007.

Introduction

The Accident Towing Services Bill was introduced into the lower house

Lower house

A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...

of the Victorian Parliament, the Legislative Assembly

Legislative Assembly

Legislative Assembly is the name given in some countries to either a legislature, or to one of its branch.The name is used by a number of member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as a number of Latin American countries....

, as the Accident Towing Services Bill. The responsible Minister

Minister (government)

A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....

for the proposal was the then Minister for Roads and Ports, the Hon Tim Pallas

Tim Pallas

Timothy Hugh Pallas is an Australian politician. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since 2006, representing the electorate of Tarneit...

MP.

Context

The Minister moved the second reading of the Accident Towing Services on 19 April 2007. The Minister set the context for the Bill in his speech in support as follows -

"The Government has reviewed the existing towing services framework a number of times in recent years and has concluded that retaining the existing regulatory framework is essential to address the unique problems in the industry and to protect accident victims and benefit road users. The reviews involved extensive consultation with stakeholders. Also, over the last two years there has been ongoing consultation with industry stakeholders on a proposal for an improved regulatory framework for the industry and a new stand-alone accident towing services statute. ....the Government is committed to retaining the existing regulatory framework, which has been effective for over 20 years. Therefore, the substantive provisions of the ... Transport Act 1983 relating to accident towing are largely retained by the Bill, but in an improved and modernised form."

Main changes

The speech also contained an observation on the main change brought about by the new regulatory scheme -

"The Bill introduces one important addition to the existing regulatory framework for accident towing -- industry accreditation. This initiative is aimed at improving existing industry performance. A person who wants to undertake a role within the industry either as an accident towing operator, depot manager or tow-truck driver will be required to obtain accreditation from VicRoads to perform the activities associated with that role. The purpose of the accreditation scheme is to provide assurance about a person's ability and credentials to perform that role. It will be an offence to undertake the activities without the appropriate accreditation. An operator will continue to be required to hold a licence for each tow truck being used to operate an accident towing business."

Strengthening of existing regulation

The Minister also made observations about the strengthening of existing regulatory requirements provided for in the Bill -

"The existing probity requirements in the Transport Act for accident towing licences and tow-truck driver authorities have been transferred to the new accreditation schemes thus ensuring that there is no reduction of these standards in the industry. Accreditation will help provide assurance that accident towing operators and depot managers are of suitable character and can meet service standards for complaints handling and (that) tow-truck drivers are of suitable character and are competent to tow damaged motor vehicles away from crash scenes."

Responsibilities of industry participants

Reflections were contained in the speech about the responsibilities owed by industry participnats to vulnerable road accident victims -

"The roles performed in the accident towing industry are positions of considerable responsibility and the safety, trust and convenience of those involved in road accidents are imperative. The probity check will, for example, help to protect crash victims who are in a vulnerable state and who may get a lift home in a tow truck from the unacceptable risk of falling prey to a driver who has previously committed a serious criminal offence. It will also help protect accident victims from having their motor vehicle or possessions being mistreated at the depot by operators or depot managers."

Deregulation of the trade towing sector

The Minister also commented in the following terms about the deregulation of the trade towing sector provided in the Bill -

"Finally, the Bill removes the regulation of trade towing, which encompasses breakdown, clear away zones and non-accident tows. This is consistent with the position in other major States. The Government has found that there is no case for regulation of this sector as the trade towing market is already highly competitive and consumers are able to make an informed choice of trade towing services. This can be clearly contrasted with the accident towing services market. Further, licensing of trade towing is currently 'as of right', attracting nominal fees, thus ensuring that there is no capacity for the licensing authority to refuse a licence. Deregulation will remove unnecessary costs to trade towing businesses and the initiative demonstrates again that the government is fully committed to removing excessive red tape and unnecessary regulation on business. "

Connection to policy objectives

The Minister commented that -

"Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

is the national leader in best practice regulation. Examples include our 'Third Wave of National Reform' proposal at the Council of Australian Governments

Council of Australian Governments

The Council of Australian Governments is an organisation consisting of the federal government, the governments of the six states and two mainland territories and the Australian Local Government Association. It was established in May 1992 after agreement by the then Prime Minister, Premiers and...

and our ongoing commitment to reducing the regulatory burden on business. The Bill provides further evidence of this, by regulating only to the extent necessary to address market failures in accident towing and to provide wider public benefits such as protecting accident victims and improving road safety and traffic management. It also removes the regulation of trade towing, which is no longer necessary in a competitive market, thus reducing existing industry compliance costs in that sector."

"The Bill is the most significant initiative in accident towing control since the industry was first regulated. It is also a further essential step in the broader reform and modernisation of transport legislation in Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

and, in particular, the restructuring and improvement of the Transport Act, using the best contemporary process and performance-based regulation and compliance techniques. It again demonstrates ... continuing determination to protect vulnerable accident victims and improve road safety and traffic management for all road users by pursuing best-quality reform to correct market failures."

Conclusion

The Minister concluded his speech in support of the Accident Towing Services Bill by observing that -

""This Bill establishes Victoria's first stand-alone Accident Towing Services Act and provides a modern and secure platform for better performance in the towing industry. It continues and improves on a proven regulatory framework which has brought criminal and undesirable practices in the industry under control, and which has also protected crash victims and helped enable road accidents scenes to be cleared safely and efficiently in the interests of road safety and congestion management. The Bill also seeks to improve the performance of the industry by introducing a targeted accreditation scheme to ensure that complaints systems are introduced, thereby encouraging accident towing participants to become more focused on providing better customer service. The Bill also enables VicRoads

VicRoads

to determine whether service quality is an issue that should be addressed, and to enforce the regulatory framework more effectively. Accreditation is introduced with minimal compliance costs to the industry and modest increased monitoring costs for Government.

Passage, assent and commencement

The Bill was considered and passed by the lower house

Lower house

of the Victorian Parliament, the Legislative Assembly

Legislative Assembly

, on 19 June 2007. The Bill was introduced into the upper house

Upper house

An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...

, the Legislative Council

Legislative Council

A Legislative Council is the name given to the legislatures, or one of the chambers of the legislature of many nations and colonies.A Member of the Legislative Council is commonly referred to as an MLC.- Unicameral legislatures :...

, on the same day. Second reading was moved in the upper house the next day, 20 June, and the proposal ultimately debated and passed on 17 July 2007. 2 March 2006.

The Accident Towing Services Bill received the Royal Assent

Royal Assent

The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...

on 24 July 2007 to become the Accident Towing Services Act 2007. The Act commenced on its default commencement day, 1 January 2010.

The Accident Towing Services Regulations 2007 which were required to support the operation of the Act also operated from the same date thereby formally commencing the scheme.

Changes to the Act

No significant changes have been made to the Accident Towing Services Act since it commenced.

External links

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Objectives

Outline

Summary

Parts

Coverage

Operators

Drivers

Licensing offences - accident scenes

Decision to issue

Issuing process

Tow truck operation offences

Other relevant provisions

Industry management

Drivers

Trainees

Other key provisions

Authority to tow

Offences at accident scenes

Storage and repair of damaged vehicles

Storage

Repair

Controlled areas

Self management areas

Enforcement

Key elements

Codes of practice

Miscellaneous

Responsible regulator

Development

Introduction

Context

Main changes

Strengthening of existing regulation

Responsibilities of industry participants

Deregulation of the trade towing sector

Connection to policy objectives

Conclusion

Passage, assent and commencement

Changes to the Act

See also

External links