Transport (Compliance and Miscellaneous) Act 1983

The Act affects a wide range of persons. Rail and bus passengers in Victoria are subject to the ticketing and conduct obligations. Event organisers of major events affecting public transport must prepare public transport plans. Operators of vehicle sharing schemes (e-bikes, e-scooters, shared bicycles) must obtain approval. Authorised officers (inspectors, PSOs, contracted enforcement staff) derive their powers from the Act. Transport operators (metro, regional, bus) interact with the Act through the enforcement and safety framework. Passengers who face infringement notices for fare evasion have rights under the Act and Infringements Act 2006.

Event organisers (Part VI Division 10): An organiser of an event with a designated expected attendance threshold must give advance notice to the Head, Transport for Victoria (s 195). When requested, the organiser must submit a public transport plan (s 196). The plan must address how public transport services will be managed during the event. The Head may approve or reject the plan and impose fees for extraordinary public transport costs (s 200). Failure to comply can lead to enforcement action (s 204).

Vehicle sharing scheme operators (Part VIA): A person must not operate a category A vehicle sharing scheme without approval (s 207M). Operators must meet category A standards (s 207N). Approval is granted by the Head, Transport for Victoria, must be renewed periodically, and can be revoked for non-compliance (ss 207A-207F).

Passengers: Must carry valid entitlement to use public transport services (s 220A et seq.). Dishonestly obtaining a ticket is an offence (s 220A). Counterfeiting or altering tickets is a more serious offence (s 220B). Claiming an exemption or concession without entitlement is an offence (s 220C).

Authorised officers: Must carry identity cards (s 221I) and produce them when exercising powers (s 221O). Must operate within their accreditation scope (ss 221CA, 221CB). Must comply with conditions of authorisation (s 221D). Cannot operate in places outside their authorisation (s 221FA).

Authorised officers may under Part VII: require a person to state their name and address if reasonably suspected of a transport or ticket infringement (s 218B); arrest a person suspected of an offence without warrant in limited circumstances (s 219); remove offenders from public transport property (s 220).

Vehicle inspection powers allow officers to inspect and test motor vehicles (s 216) and exercise additional inspection powers for heavy vehicles (s 217A).

Transport safety offences (Division 4AAA, ss 221U-221ZI) cover a broad range of conduct including: overdimensional vehicles crossing railway tracks without a permit (s 221X); animals on railway tracks (s 221ZB); placing things on tracks (s 221ZC); mounting areas not intended for travel (s 221ZD); travelling in places not intended for travel (s 221ZE); applying brakes or emergency devices without proper cause (s 221ZF); stopping a rail or road vehicle (s 221ZG); operating rail equipment (s 221ZH); and permitting drainage onto tracks (s 221ZI).

Port of Melbourne powers (Part VIIA): Port safety officers may enter and inspect vessels (s 230P), enter premises with or without consent (ss 230S-230T), exercise search and seizure powers (ss 230U-230ZB), and issue port safety infringement notices (s 230ZBA).

Accreditation of companies to employ authorised officers (Division 4A, ss 228A-228R): Companies that employ or engage authorised officers must be accredited by the Secretary. The Secretary may impose conditions, suspend or cancel accreditation for non-compliance.

Transport infringements (s 212): Transport and ticket infringements are enforced through the infringement notice regime. Infringement notices carry financial penalties. If unpaid, they can be enforced through the Infringements Act 2006. The financial penalties vary by type of infringement and are prescribed by regulations.

Transport safety offences (ss 221X-221ZI): The offences carry penalty units, varying by provision. Most carry penalties of 120 to 250 penalty units per offence. Overdimensional vehicle offences include permit-based fee structures (s 221XB) and refund provisions (s 221XC).

Vehicle sharing scheme offences (ss 207M-207N): Making a vehicle available without approval or operating below category A standards attracts criminal penalties.

Administrative costs (s 213A): The Head may impose administrative costs in addition to infringement penalties in respect of ticket infringements.

Port of Melbourne offences: Entering a secured site (s 230W) is an offence. Failing to assist port safety officers (s 230ZC) is an offence.

Prosecution: Proceedings for most offences may be commenced up to 3 years after the offence (s 229). Evidentiary certificates from authorised officers are evidence of facts stated in them (ss 230AC-230AD).

Infringement notices: Issued by authorised officers. Recipients may pay the penalty, apply for internal review, or have the matter heard in court. The Infringements Act 2006 governs the downstream enforcement pathway.

Event notification (Part VI Division 10):

1. Organiser must give notice of a proposed event to the Head (s 195).
2. Head may request a public transport plan within a specified time (s 196).
3. Organiser submits plan by the specified deadline (s 199).
4. Head may impose fees for extraordinary transport costs (s 200).
5. Head approves or directs revisions (s 203).
6. Alternative arrangements apply if time is limited (s 201).
7. Head may waive or reduce time limits (s 202).

Vehicle sharing scheme approval:

1. Application to Head (s 206).
2. Head may request further information (s 207).
3. Determination within statutory period (s 207A).
4. Approval for a fixed term (s 207B).
5. Renewal before expiry (s 207C).
6. Suspension or revocation if non-compliant (ss 207D-207F).
7. Internal review and Tribunal review available (ss 207H-207K).

Authorised officer authorisation:

1. Application to Secretary (s 221B).
2. Qualifications verified (s 221C).
3. Authorisation granted (s 221AB) with applicable scope limitations (s 221CB).
4. Identity card issued (s 221I).
5. Annual renewal required (s 221G).

The Transport Integration Act 2010 is the overarching framework. The Head, Transport for Victoria is defined by reference to that Act and the Department is the Department of Transport and Planning.

The Bus Safety Act 2009 and the Rail Safety National Law (as applied in Victoria) set mode-specific safety standards. The Transport (Safety Schemes Compliance and Enforcement) Act 2014 provides improvement notice and prohibition notice definitions used in this Act.

The Infringements Act 2006 (Vic) governs the downstream enforcement pathway for infringement notices issued under this Act.

The Commercial Passenger Vehicle Industry Act 2017 defines booking service (used in this Act's definitions).

The Victoria Police Act 2013 defines police officer for this Act's purposes.

The Local Government Act 2020 supplies the definitions of municipal council and municipal district.

The Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 interaction is addressed in s 230I.

The Transport Integration Act 2010 Schedule 6B is referenced for underground rail facilities for Sydney Metro West by analogy (through the Transport Administration Act 1988 (NSW)): a separate Victorian provision not directly applicable.

The Act is heavily amended and many provisions are repealed. The definition section alone contains hundreds of repealed entries marked with asterisks. Practitioners must use a current consolidated version and not rely on older editions. The current version incorporates amendments as at 16 March 2026.

Authorised officer powers depend strictly on their authorisation scope. Under ss 221CA, 221CB and 221FA, an authorised officer's powers are limited to what is in their authorisation and to the places where they are authorised to operate. An officer who exercises powers outside their scope faces liability and the exercise of power may be invalid.

The mistake of fact defence is excluded for certain transport safety offences. Section 221V excludes the mistake of fact defence for the Division 4AAA transport safety offences. This means that, for offences like placing things on tracks or operating rail equipment without authorisation, a defendant cannot rely on an honest and reasonable belief in facts that, if true, would make the conduct innocent. The defence exclusion does not affect other offences (s 221W).

Vehicle sharing scheme operators face double exposure. Making a vehicle available under an unapproved scheme (s 207M) and operating a scheme that does not meet category A standards (s 207N) are separate offences. An operator who launches without approval faces both offences simultaneously if their scheme also fails the technical standards.

The three-year prosecution limitation applies, not one year. Under s 229, proceedings may be commenced within 3 years of the relevant offence or act. This is significantly longer than many summary offence limitation periods and means that infringement-related conduct from years ago may still be prosecuted.

An event organiser plans a major outdoor concert in Melbourne CBD expected to attract 50,000 attendees. The organiser must notify the Head, Transport for Victoria (s 195) and, when requested, prepare a public transport plan under s 197 showing how the expected surge in passenger numbers will be managed by coordinating with metro trains, trams and buses. Failure to comply with an approved plan can attract enforcement action under s 204.

A transit authorised officer on a tram observes a passenger who appears to have an invalid or expired ticket. The officer may require the passenger to state their name and address under s 218B. If the officer reasonably suspects an infringement, an infringement notice may be issued. The passenger may pay the notice, challenge it through the Infringements Act process, or have the matter heard in court.

A company proposes to operate a fleet of shared e-scooters in inner Melbourne. It must first obtain approval under Part VIA (s 207M). The application must demonstrate that the scheme meets the category A vehicle standards (s 207A). The Head approves for a fixed term (s 207B). If the operator fails to maintain standards, the Head may give notice of intended revocation (s 207E) and the operator may apply for internal review (s 207H) or Tribunal review (s 207K).

A heavy vehicle operator attempts to cross a railway crossing with an oversized load without obtaining a permit from the track manager. This is an offence under s 221X. The mistake of fact defence does not apply (s 221V): the operator cannot argue that they honestly believed no permit was required if one was, in fact, required.