261ATollway ombudsman scheme

#### 261A Tollway ombudsman scheme 261A Tollway ombudsman scheme > > (1) The Minister may, by order published in the Gazette, approve a tollway ombudsman scheme. > > > (2) The scheme must provide for the appointment of a tollway ombudsman to deal with the disputes and complaints between toll road customers and toll operators. > > > (3) Before approving a scheme, the Minister must be satisfied the scheme meets the following objectives— > > > > > (a) that the scheme has satisfactory arrangements in place to deal with the disputes and complaints referred to in subsection (2), > > > > > (b) that the tollway ombudsman will be able to operate independently of toll operators in exercising functions under the scheme, > > > > > (c) that the scheme will be accessible to toll road customers, > > > > > (d) that the scheme will operate expeditiously and without cost to toll road customers and to other persons prescribed by the regulations, > > > > > (e) that the scheme will allow toll road customers to choose whether or not the customers wish to be bound by determinations under the scheme, > > > > > (f) that the scheme will satisfy best practice benchmarks for schemes of a similar kind, both in terms of its constitution and procedure and in terms of its day-to-day operations, > > > > > (g) that the scheme will provide for a monetary limit on claims covered by the scheme of an amount or amounts approved by the Minister, > > > > > (h) that the scheme will maintain the capacity of the tollway ombudsman, where appropriate, to refer disputes or complaints to other forums, > > > > > (i) that the scheme will require the tollway ombudsman to inform the Minister of substantial breaches of this Act or another Act or law covered by the scheme, > > > > > (j) other objectives prescribed by the regulations. > > > (4) A scheme may treat a failure to make a decision within a specified period as a decision of a particular kind. > > > (5) All toll operators in the State are members of the tollway ombudsman and, as members, are bound by the scheme. > > > (6) A toll operator is bound by a decision of the tollway ombudsman under the scheme and must not fail to comply with the decision. > > > > Maximum penalty— > > > > > (a) for an individual—25 penalty units, or > > > > > (b) otherwise—100 penalty units. > > > (7) A toll operator must pay to the Minister a contribution towards the following— > > > > > (a) the costs of managing and administering the scheme, > > > > > (b) the costs of ensuring compliance with the scheme, > > > > > (c) other costs relating to the scheme. > > > (8) The contribution is the amount prescribed by and payable in accordance with the regulations. > > > (9) A contribution is recoverable by the Minister as a debt in a court of competent jurisdiction. > > > (10) The Minister may waive payment, or extend the time for payment, of a contribution or part of a contribution payable under this section. > > > (11) The tollway ombudsman must, if requested by the Minister, give the Minister a report detailing how the tollway ombudsman scheme is meeting its objectives. > > **s 261A:** Ins 2024 No 95, Sch 2\[6\].