Part 6ANon-cash payment surcharges

Part 6A—Non-cash payment surcharges 52A—Interpretation In this Part— non-cash payment surcharge means a fee or charge (however calculated)— (a) added to the amount otherwise payable by the hirer of a point to point transport service because the amount payable for the hire is paid wholly or partly by the use of a debit, credit, pre-paid or charge card; or (b) payable by a person in connection with the operation of a point to point transport service because an amount payable for the service is paid wholly or partly by the use of a debit, credit, pre-paid or charge card. 52B—Non-cash payment surcharges (1) The regulations may specify the maximum amount payable for a non-cash payment surcharge or surcharges for the same hiring of a point to point transport service. (2) Without limiting subsection (1), a fee or charge may be a non-cash payment surcharge whether or not it is payable for accepting or processing payment made by the use of a debit, credit, pre-paid or charge card and whether or not the fee or charge is based on the amount payable for a hire. (3) A non-cash payment surcharge does not include a fee or charge imposed in respect of the use of a debit, credit, pre-paid or charge card by— (a) a participant in a designated payment system within the meaning of the Payment Systems (Regulation) Act 1998 of the Commonwealth; or (b) a person consistently with a voluntary undertaking given by the person to, and accepted by, the Reserve Bank of Australia. (4) This section does not limit the operation of any regulation specifying a maximum fare for the hire of a point to point transport service. 52C—Overcharging for non-cash payment surcharge (1) If a non-cash payment surcharge that contravenes regulations made for the purposes of this Part is imposed, the following persons are guilty of an offence: (a) the person who imposed the surcharge; (b) the owner or driver of the vehicle used to provide the point to point transport service; (c) in the case of a point to point transport service that is operated pursuant to a licence under Part 6—the holder of the licence; (d) any person who provided or maintains any equipment installed in the vehicle used to provide the point to point transport service that enabled the surcharge to be imposed; (e) any person who manages or administers the whole or any part of the system under which the amounts due for the hiring concerned may be paid by the use of a debit, credit, pre-paid or charge card; (f) a person of a class prescribed by the regulations. (2) A person must not, in a vehicle used to provide a point to point transport service, collect or initiate the collection of a non-cash payment surcharge that contravenes regulations made for the purposes of this Part. (3) A person must not collect, for the purposes of or while providing a centralised booking service, a non-cash payment surcharge that contravenes regulations made for the purposes of this Part. (4) It is a defence to an offence under this section if the defendant establishes that— (a) the non-cash payment surcharge was imposed or collected, or its collection was initiated, by another person; and (b) the defendant did not know, and could not reasonably be expected to know, that the other person had charged or collected, or would initiate the charge or collection of, a non-cash payment surcharge in respect of that hiring. (5) The maximum penalty that a court may impose for an offence against this section that is committed by a corporation is 5 times the maximum penalty that the court could, but for this subsection, impose as a penalty for the offence. 52D—Maximum fares for taxis (1) The regulations may prescribe— (a) maximum fares to be charged in relation to taxi services or a method of calculating such fares; or (b) a maximum amount for any component of a fare to be charged in relation to taxi services or a method of calculating such amounts. (2) A regulation under this section may apply to taxi services generally or a specified class of taxi services. (3) A method prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of subsection (1)— (a) may operate to increase or decrease the amount of a maximum fare, or component of a fare, that applied under a previous application of that method; or (b) may operate such that it results in no increase to or decrease of the amount of a maximum fare, or component of a fare, that applied under a previous application of that method. (4) The Minister may, by notice in the Gazette, approve an alteration to a prescribed maximum fare, or component of a fare, during any period specified in the notice and subject to any conditions specified in the notice. (5) The regulations may provide for amounts (whether specified in the regulation or determined according to the discretion of an entity specified in the regulation) that can be charged in addition to the fare for a specified class of journey and any such amounts will not be taken into account in determining whether a maximum fare, or component of a fare, prescribed under this section has been exceeded for such a journey.