❓ Hon Adele Farina questions the lack of regulations governing taxi dispatch service 'lock-outs' of drivers, particularly given drivers' limited recourse under existing employment and contract law. The Parliamentary Secretary confirms no such regulations exist, as legislation assumes drivers negotiate favourable terms.
AnsweredQoN 1401Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
TAXIS — DISPATCH SERVICES
1401. Hon ADELE FARINA to the
parliamentary secretary representing the Minister for Transport:
I refer to taxi dispatch services.
(1) Are there any
regulations or other requirements that establish the conditions under which a
taxi dispatch service can impose a dispatch lock on a taxidriver?
(2) If yes to (1), are those
conditions the same for country and metropolitan taxidrivers?
(3) If no to (1),
why have such regulations not been developed to protect the rights of drivers
who operate in the unique position of not being employees who can seek recourse
under the Fair Work Act and who are not signatories to contracts that allow
them recourse through the civil courts if they believe that their rights are
being infringed?
1401. Hon ADELE FARINA to the
parliamentary secretary representing the Minister for Transport:
I refer to taxi dispatch services.
(1) Are there any
regulations or other requirements that establish the conditions under which a
taxi dispatch service can impose a dispatch lock on a taxidriver?
(2) If yes to (1), are those
conditions the same for country and metropolitan taxidrivers?
(3) If no to (1),
why have such regulations not been developed to protect the rights of drivers
who operate in the unique position of not being employees who can seek recourse
under the Fair Work Act and who are not signatories to contracts that allow
them recourse through the civil courts if they believe that their rights are
being infringed?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for some notice of this
question.
(1) No. The
arrangements under which a taxidriver affiliates with a taxi dispatch service
are a matter for the parties.
(2) Not applicable.
(3) Legislation
under which taxi services are regulated contemplates that taxidrivers will
predominantly be owner–drivers or agents who would negotiate favourable
terms with other parties such as taxi dispatch services.
question.
(1) No. The
arrangements under which a taxidriver affiliates with a taxi dispatch service
are a matter for the parties.
(2) Not applicable.
(3) Legislation
under which taxi services are regulated contemplates that taxidrivers will
predominantly be owner–drivers or agents who would negotiate favourable
terms with other parties such as taxi dispatch services.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.