Road Transport (General) Act 1999

All ACT road users are affected by the infringement notice scheme, enforcement provisions, and the definition of responsible person. Traffic infringement notices are the most frequent practical point of contact with this Act.

Vehicle owners are responsible persons for their vehicles and bear obligations and liabilities under the road transport legislation.

Businesses and commercial operators using ACT roads, particularly heavy vehicle operators, are subject to the Act's enforcement provisions.

The road transport authority and ACT Police administer and enforce the Act. The chief police officer may delegate enforcement functions to authorised persons.

Courts are involved in reviewing infringement decisions, hearing prosecution matters, and making orders including disqualifications and licence cancellations. The registrar of convictions must report convictions and findings to the road transport authority (section 79).

Section 10 (Responsible person): The responsible person for a vehicle has obligations and liabilities under the road transport legislation. The default responsible person is the registered operator of the vehicle.

Section 11: Where there are multiple responsible persons, their rights, liabilities, and obligations are joint and several unless the legislation provides otherwise.

Section 22 (Infringement notices): The infringement notice scheme is established by Part 3. Persons served with an infringement notice must within the prescribed period either pay the penalty, nominate the actual driver or operator, or elect to be prosecuted in court.

Section 23: Regulations may prescribe offences as infringement notice offences and set the infringement penalty amounts.

Section 79 (Registrar duty): Registrars of courts must give particulars of road transport convictions and orders to the road transport authority. This enables the authority to enforce licence sanctions following convictions.

Section 12-14 (Inclusion and exclusion orders): The road transport authority may make application orders to include or exclude areas, vehicles, persons, or animals from road transport legislation. Emergency orders may be made under section 14.

Section 17 (Delegation): The road transport authority may delegate its functions under road transport legislation.

Section 19 (Authorised people): The road transport authority and chief police officer may authorise persons to exercise enforcement powers.

Part 4 enforcement: Authorised persons and police have extensive powers to stop, inspect, and detain vehicles. Powers to issue vehicle defect notices, impound vehicles, and impose speed inhibitor conditions are set out in Part 4.

Section 30 (Extension of time guidelines): The road transport authority must issue guidelines for considering extensions of time to do things in the infringement notice scheme. The guidelines constrain but do not eliminate the authority's discretion.

Infringement notice management plans (sections 31A-31E): The authority has a discretion to approve or refuse management plans allowing community work as an alternative to infringement penalties. The authority must consult with the responsible director-general about approved community work programs (section 31C).

Waiver of infringement notice penalties (sections 31F-31I): The authority may waive infringement penalties in exceptional circumstances. Guidelines under section 31I must be issued. An applicant refused a waiver retains the right to elect prosecution.

Infringement notices: Most common enforcement mechanism. Fines are prescribed by regulation for each infringement notice offence. Non-payment may lead to prosecution or licence suspension.

Section 76 (Speed inhibitor conditions): Regulations may provide that a person convicted of certain serious offences automatically has a speed inhibitor condition on their licence, or that a court may order it.

Section 77 (Compensation): Where a private person (not police or road transport authority) lays an information and the proceeding is dismissed, the court may order that person to pay compensation for loss of time and other loss.

Section 78 (Effect of quashing conviction): If a licence cancellation based on a conviction is quashed, the licence is taken not to have been cancelled from the time of quashing.

Infringement notices: Served on the person. Payment, nomination, or election for prosecution must occur within the prescribed period. Failure triggers a reminder notice (section 27). Further failure may trigger enforcement action.

Management plans: Infringement notice management plan applications must be decided by the authority, with a duty to consider whether the applicant's circumstances genuinely call for an alternative to penalty.

Identity card requirement: Authorised persons must produce identity cards before exercising powers. A power exercised without showing the card is not effective (section 21).

Road Transport (Driver Licensing) Act 1999 (ACT): Licence suspension, cancellation, and disqualification provisions in that Act are implemented through this Act's enforcement and court notification framework.

Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Act 1999 (ACT): Section 76's speed inhibitor condition regime refers to offences under this Act.

Motor Traffic Act 1936 (repealed): Section 3(c) acknowledges the Act re-enacts certain provisions of the Motor Traffic Act 1936 (now repealed). Historical provisions from that Act may be relevant context in older cases.

Criminal Code Act 2002 (ACT): Section 5A applies the Criminal Code to offences against this Act, incorporating standard fault elements.

Legislation Act 2001 (ACT): The Act's notes are non-binding per the Legislation Act 2001 (section 5). Signpost definitions in the dictionary cross-refer to other road transport Acts.

The Act is the administrative spine of a suite of transport laws. Readers looking for the substance of road rules, driver licensing requirements, or vehicle registration provisions will not find them here. This Act provides the enforcement machinery; the substantive requirements are in the other road transport Acts.

Responsible person liability is joint and several for multiple registered operators. A vehicle with more than one registered operator means each is a responsible person. All may be served with infringement notices.

Identity card must be shown before powers exercised. Section 21 is absolute: a power is not effective if the officer did not show the identity card first. This is a procedural protection for persons subject to enforcement.

Infringement notice management plans require community work agreement. The authority must consult with the responsible director-general about whether the nominated program is an approved program (section 31C). The authority cannot approve a plan for a program that is not approved.

Quashing a conviction restores the licence automatically. Section 78 provides that a licence cancelled because of a conviction is retrospectively reinstated if the conviction is quashed. This means the person was, in effect, never disqualified.

Example 1: Parking fine. An ACT resident receives an infringement notice for a parking offence under the road transport legislation. They have a prescribed period to pay the penalty. If they do not pay, a reminder notice is served. If they still do not pay, the authority may take enforcement action or initiate prosecution.

Example 2: Speeding conviction. A driver is convicted of a serious speeding offence under the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Act 1999. Section 76 and relevant regulations may result in the driver's licence automatically bearing a speed inhibitor condition, or the court may order it. The registrar notifies the road transport authority of the conviction under section 79.

Example 3: Vehicle inspection. An authorised person stops a heavy vehicle and exercises inspection powers under Part 4. Before entering the vehicle to inspect, the officer must show their identity card to the driver. If the officer exercises powers without showing the identity card, those powers are not effective.

Example 4: Management plan for repeat offender. A person with multiple unpaid infringement notices applies for a management plan allowing them to perform community work instead of paying. The authority must decide the application and, if minded to approve, must consult with the responsible director-general about whether the proposed community work program is an approved program.