Transport (Issue 34)

Owner Driver Premium Public Ruling

The implementation of the recently released Owner Drivers premium ruling has been deferred. This deferral follows a request from representatives of industry groups for further time to consider the ruling.

The ruling has also been removed from the WorkSafe Victoria website—www.worksafe,vic.gov.au

What you need to do

In the interim you should continue to declare your remuneration for 2007/08 on the same basis as that declared in previous years. This should be done for each owner driver contract using either the rates attached or the actual costs applicable in each case.

Next steps

WorkSafe will be meeting with representatives from the Transport Industry to agree on how to progress this matter to reach an outcome satisfactory to all parties concerned, which will provide clear guidance to owner drivers and those contracting with owner drivers based on the latest industry information. The website will be updated and you will receive written notification when the new Owner Drivers premium ruling is finalised.

Further information

If you have any queries concerning premium for owner drivers, please contact the WorkSafe Advisory Service on Freecall 1800 136 089 or 9641 1444.

In using the owner driver rates method, the employer should determine the appropriate wage from the above table (e.g. $382.50 for 2 tonnes or less) and add either 20% (intrastate driver) or 30% (interstate driver) to arrive at either the daily or weekly rate.

If a contract owner driver is deemed to be a worker, the employer may use the owner driver rates (refer above) to determine remuneration, or they may simply declare the gross payment to that driver as remuneration.

Remuneration = (Daily/weekly rate + (20% or 30%)) x the number of weeks or days worked.

Where less than a week is worked the daily rate applies.

CMPA Transport Contract—Now Available on CD

The CMPA Transport Contract has been developed to assist Members in complying with the Owner Drivers and Forestry Contractors Act 2005 and Chain of Responsibility requirements.

Since 1 May 2007 all users of owner driver vehicles throughout Victoria have been required by the Owner Drivers and Forestry Contractors Act 2005 to have a contract with the owner-driver.

The CMPA’s contract has been designed to comply with the legal requirements and ease quarrying and extractive industry business costs.

With approval from the ACCC, the contract is designed as a template for negotiation between quarry owners/operators and transport owner-drivers.

The contract’s clarity on the division of responsibility and the obligations of the supplier and the owner-driver removes issues stemming from what were previously often oral agreements.

Furthermore the contract assists compliance with road transport Chain of Responsibility laws which cover the transport of materials.

The contract will only require simple tailoring to suit individual circumstances and in doing so will remove a substantial cost burden for Members and at the same time improve business efficiency.

Once familiar with the contract, it is expected that owner drivers can likewise reduce their business costs when tendering for new contracts with CMPA members.

Having one contract with terms well known by both parties will result in a much higher level of efficiency. The contract allows for the use of an agreed system of dispute resolution which it is anticipated will enable the majority of disputes to be settled expeditiously and at a low cost. If disputes do arise it is expected that mediators or arbitrators will also soon be familiar with the contract which may assist in streamlining this process.

One of the purposes of the Act is to encourage owner drivers to become more efficient businesses by forcing them into a clear contractual situation and the CMPA believes that the contract will assist in achieving that aim.

This contract complements the major contract for construction work that the CMPA has also developed and is currently before the ACCC for approval.

Briefings regarding implementation of the Transport Contract into your business will be held shortly.

Contact the CMPA to purchase a copy of the contract.

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