BIC National E-Bulletin 2021 June

National Update from the Bus Industry Confederation [June 2021 Edition]

In this edition of the national bulletin, as BIC ticks-over to a new membership year, we gratefully acknowledge the ongoing support
of our members and invite all in the bus & coach industry to come face to face at the BIC National Conference in November.
We also provide an update on recent submissions from the BIC and also from ACCI’s Chamber of Tourism. Mark your diaries and
get organised for the next 6 months of what we hope will be unrestricted covid travel for all Australians. The next big event
is the Australasia Bus & Coach Expo hosted by BusNSW.
There is also a lot happening in the industrial relations area with minimum wage increases and the introduction (into the Senate
last week [24 June]) of the Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021. Don’t miss out on keeping
informed on what could be significant new legislation coming into our workplaces.
National Spotlight

Your Industry, Your Workplace

 

National Spotlight 

Come face to face at this year’s BIC National Conference
The BIC’s Moving People National Conference is locked and loaded for 21-24 November 2021 convening at the Sofitel Brisbane Central. The theme is “Moving People – Navigating Change”. The plenary program is currently being designed with a focus on current and forecast issues such as low-zero emissions and transition modelling, progress of On Demand and MaaS, and regulation in the pipeline to name a few. Head to the conference website at movingpeople.com.au/2021 for a full line-up of what to expect. The BIC will also be holding the National Awards this year across 5 key categories:- Outstanding Contribution, Achiever, Supplier, Environment and Safety. Nomination forms are available to download at the conference website.
Don’t let this opportunity pass you by. Nominate your ‘industry navigator’ for this year’s National Awards.

The BIC tic-toc’s to a new membership year
The BIC Team wishes to thank all of our BIC Members for their strong support for the work that we undertake in Canberra at a national level for industry.
Advocacy and having a strong presence in Canberra are important because it drives growth in our industry and keeps away bad regulation that makes it harder to run ‘bus business’. It is a no-brainer that industry, in the short-medium term will expect to see transitions to new energy technology as governments hurtle towards net-zero. This will, in time, translate to more Australians opting-in for net-zero travel options and with strong undertakings from government over the next decade, the bus industry should expect to see a significant scale-up in demand for bus services and bus products.

In the next month or so, the BIC will throw its own heavy-weight into the net-zero paradigm with the establishment of an industry Zero Emissions Advisory Group. Standards Australia has expressed a strong desire to work with the BIC as they develop standards for the treatment of hydrogen, biogas and electric power generation and associated infrastructure and delivery. The next 12 months will also see the BIC engaging in a number of regulatory reviews including disability access, road safety and heavy vehicle safety that are likely to have some form of impact on existing legislation in the next few years.

None of our work can be undertaken without the support from our Members. Take a moment now to appreciate our good look’n members!. Download the BIC Membership Guide here.

BIC responds to the NTC’s Assessing Fitness to Drive
The National Transport Commission is conducting a review of their draft guideline on Assessing Fitness to Drive for Commercial
and Private Vehicle Drivers (AFD). Primarily, the publication provides guidelines for medical and health professionals and licensing/transport authorities. The
guidelines does not provide any standards for Employers who are predominantly reliant on the Employee to self-report. The Employer
is also reliant on the health professional and the licensing authority to be accurate and timely in the provision of assessments
or accreditation.
The BIC submitted a response to the NTC on 11 June 2021 and provides:

  • responses to questions raised in the Interim Report (May 2021)
  • raises issues relating to chain of responsibility and flaws in the current system. An ongoing concern is for smaller to medium-sized
    operators, who are entirely reliant on a ‘functioning’ AFD system
  • raises state/territory specific operational issues currently being experienced by members of the Bus Australia Network.

The submission can be downloaded here.

Make sure that you as a supplier or manufacturer are ready for the new Road Vehicle Safety Standards
The Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018 (RVSA) replaced the existing Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989 (MVSA) on 1 July 2021. The implementation of RVSA is complex and will see increased accountability on designers/manufacturers, suppliers/importers
to comply to standards/regulations.
The BIC Team wishes to remind bus manufacturers and component suppliers of the following key information. The new RVSA affects
any business that is:

  • a holder of identification plate approval/s (IPAs) or is seeking to apply for vehicle type approval (VTAs)
  • a holder of component registration number/s (CRNs) or is seeking to apply for component type approvals (CTAs)
  • a holder of sub assembly registration number/s (SARNs) or is seeking to apply for component type approvals (CTAs)
  • currently registered test facility or wishes to be a registered test facility in the new RVS system.

The BIC has produced some guidance materials for industry. A Simplified User Guide to being RVSA-Ready can be downloaded here. A Detailed Safe-Guard Guide can be downloaded here.

The Tourism Chamber advocates 14 tourism reforms to the federal government
On 30 June 2021, ACCI’s Chamber of Tourism, on which BIC participates, handed over to the federal government their “Reimagining the Visitor Economy Submission“. In the submission, ACCI contends that “the unpredictability of State & Territory government decisions on borders has made it difficult for many tourism businesses to successfully pivot to domestic travel, and it is not possible to replace all of the $63 billion spend of international tourists with domestic
spend as the spending and travel patterns differ significantly.

“Many tourism businesses, particularly those which overwhelmingly relied on international tourism, will still be struggling to survive until the international border is reopened.” The submission provides 14 key reform recommendations and clearly outlines that the most important support that can be delivered
to business until the international border is through:

  • certainty in the way State and Territory governments respond to COVID cases in accordance with an updated national framework;
  • a clear path to reopening international travel that appropriately manages the health risk; and
  • effective roll out and implementation of the vaccine.

The BIC regularly meets with the Tourism Chamber to put forward the issues and solutions to assist with the recovery of coach tourism.

Get organised for the big event – the Australasia Bus & Coach Expo

The 2021 Australasia Bus & Coach Expo is being held on Wednesday 29 and Thursday 30 September 2021 at Sydney Showground, Sydney
Olympic Park.

The Expo will include more than $50M worth of vehicles and in excess of 100 exhibition booths displaying products and services,
covering 14,000 square metres and all under the one roof.
Approximately 90% of vehicle display areas and 70% of booths have been sold, so there are limited opportunities remaining
for industry suppliers to exhibit their products and services.
Matt Threlkeld, Executive Director of BusNSW says that “the Expo will have free entry to optimise attendance by key decision
makers representing bus and coach operators, large and small.
“The NSW Minister for Transport and Roads has challenged Transport for NSW to transition the state’s fleet of 8,000 contracted
buses to zero emission technology by 2030, and we are pleased that Transport for NSW is proudly supporting the 2021 Australasia
Bus & Coach Expo”, says Threlkeld.
Operators, suppliers and industry stakeholders can keep well informed in the lead up to the event via the official Expo website
www.busandcoachexpo.com.au.

Your Industry, Your Workplace

The Latest News from APTIA

In this month’s edition of “Everybody Out”, APTIA takes a look at:

  • Annual Wage review
  • Sex Discrimination and Fair Work Amendment Bill 2021
  • Review of PVTA
  • Vaccination News
  • Gaol for industrial manslaughter
  • Psychosocial hazards.

Go to the APTIA website to download the June edition of Everybody Out.

FWC hands down its minimum wage determination
On 16 June 2021, the Fair Work Commission handed down its minimum wage determination with a 2.5% increase to all of the modern
awards.
The new wage rates commenced from 1 July 2021 and are applicable for the following awards:

  • Passenger Vehicle Transportation Award 2020
  • Clerks – Private Sector Award 2020
  • Vehicle Repair, Services and Retail Award 2020
  • Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2020.

The casual loading remains at 25% and allowances have also increased.

Sex discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021

Legislation was introduced into the Senate on 24 June 2021 which sought to amend the Fair Work Act to ensure that sexual harassment
was included as serious misconduct for the purposes of termination of employment.

The Bill has been considered by APTIA’s Workplace Equality Advisory Group (WEAG) and has taken the following position with respect
to the relevant aspects of the Bill.

  • Onus of Proof in a harassment claim – should remain with the complainant not the employer, to avoid ambit claims.
  • Time to bring a complaints – 24 months is too long to maintain a right to bring a complaint which could be reduced to 12 months. (s.46PH (ib))
  • Compensation – should not be payable for such claims and therefore not be included in the legislation as there are other jurisdictions to make such claims. (s.24(i))
  • Definition of Sexual harassment – is too broad with phrases such as ‘sexual harassment to including behaviour of a seriously demeaning nature’ giving rise to a wider definition than intended.
  • Definition of a worker (s28AB) – clarity is needed to understand whether the harassment provision and the obligation upon an employer would include visitors to a workplace, subcontractors and labour hire.