Definitions – commercial passenger vehicle service levy

Affiliation agreement

An affiliation agreement is a formal agreement between a booking service provider and a trip provider for the booking service provider to lodge and pay returns on behalf of the trip provider for their rank and hail work (also known as unbooked work).

A trip provider is the person providing unbooked work under an affiliation agreement.

Bailment agreement 

A bailment agreement (also known as a driver agreement) is an agreement made between the owner of a commercial passenger vehicle and another person (the driver), which enables the driver to use the vehicle for commercial passenger vehicle services. It is not an agreement for the purchase of the vehicle or a contract of employment or of service.

Booking service

A person provides a booking service if they are in the business of receiving requests (bookings) to provide people with commercial passenger vehicle services. They arrange or facilitate booking requests by or on behalf of drivers of commercial passenger vehicles.

Commercial passenger vehicle service

A commercial passenger vehicle service is the carriage, for a fare or other consideration, of at least one passenger in a motor vehicle on a journey beginning in Victoria.

Employee

The Commercial Passenger Vehicle Industry Act 2017 does not define the term employee. But it’s usually simple to work out whether someone is an employee.

If it is unclear whether a person is an employee, consider factors established under law, including:

• control and direction
• contract and practical relationship
• contracts to achieve a given result
• independent business
• power to delegate
• whether the person bears risk around things like profit and loss
• provision of tools and equipment.

Numerous court decisions have held that the totality of the relationship between the parties must be considered before deciding whether a worker is an employee. A decision cannot be made on limited or selective factors.

If you are unsure whether a person is an employee, contact us to request a ruling.

Rank and hail work

Rank and hail work is where commercial passenger vehicle services are provided without a prior booking. This generally refers to taxi drivers picking up passengers on the road or at taxi ranks. This type of rank and hail work is also considered unbooked work.

Side trips 

Side trips are arranged directly between a driver and a passenger either through phone calls or text messages, without using a booking service provider’s platform to make the booking or payment.

Unbooked work

Unbooked work is a general reference to all commercial passenger vehicle services provided without a prior booking arranged through a booking service. This category includes rank and hail work.