BIC National e-Bulletin – May 2022

In this bulletin, we reveal more detail about the upcoming National Bus Industry Summit, June 28 and 29 in Canberra (you need to be there if you want the ‘no frills’ analysis of the ‘race to zero’). There is also a few new laws that come into play for superannuation from July 1, along with the the JobPass scheme to come out of the Australian Government’s Automatic Mutual Recognition Act. The ATO have also produced a bus driver specific ‘cheat sheet’ for making tax claims for this financial year. The BIC also welcomes new members to our team of ‘national navigators’ including Hispacold, Nexport, The Bus Driver Academy and Via Transportation.

A quick wrap on events from the Bus Australia Network and Association Partners 

• TasBus annual conference and dinner – June 3 and 4. Download the registration form.
• New program out now! for the National Bus Industry Summit
  being held in Canberra June 28 and 29.
• Don’t forget to book your ticket for the upcoming Australasia Bus Expo in Sydney, hosted by BusNSW. Over 100 exhibitors already booked! Beat the rush – book now
• The national and international events calendar has been updated with a change in dates for the Bus & Coach
  Association New Zealand 2022 conference.

The National Bus Industry Summit on June 28 and 29 will see broad involvement from senior government policy makers, bus and parts suppliers, technology experts and bus operators. The summit program includes comprehensive discussions on zero emissions and will include subject matter experts on battery electric and hydrogen technology, and how to design an implementation and integration plan for either technologies. 

It would seem that there is some expectation from governments that the bus and coach industry should be a sector leader in successful zero technology adoption for transport. However, as we all know, the complexity of the technology is changing the way we need to produce and operate buses. We are doing this without recognised policies and regulatory frameworks in place.
Workplace health and safety will be a critical aspect as will ensuring that staff and drivers are adequately trained. The majority of operators will also need to have solutions to effectively manage mixed depots while they have a mixed fleet. The summit program will cover all of these issues.

Delegates will hear from government and private operators on their experiences in implementing ZEBs. The zero emission session will finish with presentations from two academic bodies who will provide some ‘real world’ examples of the critical issues surrounding these technologies including:

• Hycel project in Victoria including education, training and social licence.
• Results of an extensive study on the feasibility of operating BEBs on bus routes and depots.

Day 2 of the summit will see 2 seminars running concurrently – technical and industrial relations/human resources. Both programs on Day 2 will cover critical need-to-know issues that many businesses should be addressing right NOW in order to be ready for what’s coming down the pipeline in the next 12 months or so.

Do not delay booking your accommodation. Parliament (both houses) are due to sit in the week of the Summit which means that whilst we will see politicians engaging with us at the industry dinner, we will also see accommodation rates at a premium. The sooner you book, the better your tariff will be.

Full details of the program and to register are on the moving people website.

What is the Australian Government implementing from 1 July 2022 

JobPass
The Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet has asked the BIC to “pass-on” JobPass to the wider bus industry. JobPass is a new initiative of the Australian government to come out of the Automatic Mutual Recognition of Occupational Registration scheme (AMR) which was passed in parliament in May 2021.

From 1 July 2022, JobPass, as part of the AMR scheme, comes into effect and aims to benefit more workers and businesses across industry sectors, including transport. The scheme is intended to make it easier for licenced and registered workers to work where the work is. It allows a person who is licenced or registered for an occupation in one jurisdiction to be considered registered to perform the same activities in another, without going through further application processes or
paying additional registration fees.

AMR came into effect on 1 July 2021 and is now in place for various occupations in all states and territories except Western Australia and Queensland. Western Australia is on track to join AMR by 1 July 2022.

It is important to note that AMR is set out in the Mutual Recognition Act 1992 of the Commonwealth but is implemented by state and territory governments. To be eligible, individuals must hold and maintain a licence or registration in their home state or territory that covers the activity they intend to carry out elsewhere in Australia. A worker’s home state is their primary place of residence or work.
State and territory governments may also require workers to meet additional requirements to be eligible. This may include notifying the second state regulator of their intent to work, meeting public protections requirements such as insurance, and providing evidence of satisfying working with vulnerable people character tests.

More information on the specific state/territory rules and application processes can be found online at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet website.

Superannuation
The May 2021 Budget proposed changes to superannuation were passed by both houses of parliament on February 10, 2022. The changes aim to fast track Australia’s economic recovery following Covid-19, with a particular focus on women and part-time and casual employees.

There are very important rule changes that apply from July 1, 2022.

From an employer perspective the main changes are:

• the removal of the monthly income threshold. The $450 monthly income threshold to receive employer contributions under the superannuation guarantee rules will be removed. This means, from July 1, 2022, employers will need to pay superannuation guarantee (SG) contributions for low-income earners, being those that earn less than $450 per month
• an increase to the superannuation guarantee which will increase by 0.5% taking the guaranteed amount to 10.5% of income received.

The new superannuation rules also bring some changes to the work test for those aged 67 to 74 for voluntary (member) contributions and non-concessional contribution caps. 

For more information, go to the Australian Tax Office website.

Bus driver tax returns
The ATO has asked the BIC to circulate information and resources to help bus drivers in preparing their tax returns for the 2022 financial year. The ATO is concerned that the working situations of many bus drivers may have changed due to Covid-19.  It is important to note that bus drivers whose income is around $60K or less may also be eligible for the ATO’s free Tax Help program to help them complete and lodge their tax returns. Also for noting, Covid-19 tests purchased for work are also now tax deductible. 

Information on what bus drivers can claim are provided in detail on the ATO website.

BIC welcomes new members to our team of National Industry Navigators