Rowe v Roads and Maritime Services

Administrative Decisions Tribunal

New South Wales

• Amendment notes

Medium Neutral Citation:

Rowe v Roads & Maritime Services [2012] NSWADT 281

Hearing dates:

30 October 2012

Decision date:

30 October 2012

Jurisdiction:

General Division

Before:

S Montgomery, Judicial Member

Decision:

1. The decision is affirmed in so far as it relates to Mr Rowe's taxi driver authority.

2. The decision is set aside in so far as it relates to Mr Rowes Authority to drive a hire car. In its place the decision is made that the authority to drive a hire car is reinstated.

Catchwords:

Authority to drive a taxi cab - Authority to drive a a private hire vehicle - cancellation - fit and proper person

Legislation Cited:

Passenger Transport Act 1990
Passenger Transport Regulation 2007

Cases Cited:

Assi v Director General Transport NSW [2012] NSWADT 7
Drake v Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs [1979] AATA 179; (1979) 46 FLR 409
Saadieh v Director General, Department of Transport [1999] NSW ADT 68

Category:

Principal judgment

Parties:

James Rowe (Applicant)
Roads & Maritime Services (Respondent)

Representation:

Counsel
I Latham (Applicant)
Smythe Wozniak (Respondent)

File Number(s):

123102

reasons for decision

1. GENERAL DIVISION (S MONTGOMERY, (JUDICIAL MEMBER)): Mr Rowe ("the Applicant") has held authorities under the Passenger Transport Act 1990 ("the Act") that have authorised him to drive a taxi cab and a private hire vehicle.

1. In May 2012 Roads & Maritime Services ("the Respondent") made the determination to cancel those authorities pursuant to sections 33F and 40E of the Act. The Applicant has applied to the Tribunal for external review of that determination.

1. In the Statement of Reasons provided in relation to the determination the decision maker stated:

You have been issued with an infringement by the NSW Police Force for carrying out a private hire vehicle service that was not pre booked in accordance with the Passenger Transport Regulation 2007.

...

The Reasoning process that led to the decision

As the delegate of [Transport for NSW (TfNSW)], [Roads and Maritime Services (RMS)] has a continuing obligation under the Passenger Transport Act 1990, to ensure that persons authorised to drive public passenger vehicles are fit and proper persons with sufficient responsibility and aptitude to drive the vehicle in accordance with the conditions and standards under which the vehicle concerned is operated and in accordance with law and custom.

You were previously issued with a private hire vehicle authority (10 November 2012) and re-issued with your taxi-cab authority (2 February 2012) after the cancelled of your taxi-cab authority in November 2009. The cancellation in 2009 was based upon your complaints history and your convictions, 27 October 2009, where you were sentenced as following:

-in relation to dockets in 2006, convicted of 174 offences and placed on a Bond pursuant to Section 9, to be of good behaviour for two (2) years.

-In relation to the balance of the offences (322) you were convicted and sentenced to periodic detention of 8 months with non-parole period of 6 months. (111) You were…