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There are laws hirers and freight brokers must follow when engaging owner drivers or forestry contractors. Failing to comply with some of these laws is a crime.
If you are an owner driver or forestry contractor, the hirer or freight broker who engages you must adhere to the laws set out below. You can report a business you think is breaking these laws through our online form.
Requirements for hirers and freight brokers
Providing information
If you are engaging an owner driver or forestry contractor for a total of 30 days or more in any 3-month period, you must ensure they receive the relevant:
Information booklet
Rates and cost schedules
- Owner driver rates and cost schedules
- Tip truck driver rates and cost schedules
- Forestry contractor rates and cost schedules
This information must be provided at least 3 business days before they start work.
Where the engagement was initially for fewer than 30 days within a 3-month period but is extended, this information must be provided on the 30th day of the engagement.
Tip truck owner drivers in construction must receive this information for engagements of any length of time.
The rates and cost schedules are regularly updated. You must provide the current version of these documents, which are available at the links above.
Who is an owner driver?
An owner driver is someone that runs a business transporting goods using up to 3 vehicles supplied by them. The owner of the business must also operate one of the vehicles.
Who is a forestry contractor?
A forestry contractor is someone that runs a business to:
- harvest forest products using motorised equipment that they supply
- transport forest products.
The contractor supplies the vehicles and operates at least one of them.
Contracts must be in writing
You must use written contracts if the engagement is for 30 days or more or has no fixed end-date. The contract must include the:
- guaranteed minimum hours of work or income level
- rates to be paid
- minimum notice to end the contract or payment to be made instead of notice.
More information on written contracts, including a model contract you can use, is available from Business Victoria.
Protections for contractors
You must not subject or threaten an owner driver or forestry contractor to any detriment for:
- raising health and safety issues
- claiming their rights under the Owner Drivers and Forestry Contractors Act 2005 or the Code of Practice
- seeking to negotiate a proposed engagement or contract
- seeking to renegotiate an existing engagement or contract.
Record keeping
You should keep records that show you are meeting your obligations under the Owner Drivers and Forestry Contractors Act 2005 because you may have to provide them to an investigator monitoring compliance.
Hirers must record:
- copies of any regulated contracts
- the name and contact details of the contractor
- the date on which the contractor was engaged
- if the hirer undertook a tender process to engage a contractor, the date on which the tender was lodged and the date the hirer accepted
- the period of the contractor’s engagement
- the date or dates on which the contractor was given the information booklet or the applicable rates and costs schedule and any records of them being given
- if an information booklet or the applicable rates and costs schedule was given by hand, a signed acknowledgement of receipt by the contractor
- if the hirer terminated the engagement of the contractor, the date on which the hirer terminated the engagement
- if the hirer provided payment in lieu of notice to the contractor, the date it was provided to the contractor and the amount paid.
Freight brokers must record:
- the name and contact details of the contractor
- the date on which the contractor was engaged
- the period of the engagement
- the date or dates on which the contractor was given the information booklet or the applicable rates and costs schedule and any records of them being given
- if the freight broker gave an information booklet or the applicable rates and costs schedule by hand, a signed acknowledgement of receipt by the contractor.
Resolving disputes
Owner drivers, forestry contractors and hirers can arrange low-cost dispute resolution through the Victorian Small Business Commission for disputes relating to:
- the Owner Drivers and Forestry Contractors Act 2005
- the Code of Practice
- a contract.
More information on dispute resolution is available from Business Victoria.
Our role
Our role is to:
- provide information to contractors and hirers
- monitor compliance with the law
- investigate potential contraventions.
If we find contraventions of the law we may:
- issue a warning letter
- issue a penalty infringement notice
- start a criminal prosecution.
Report a business breaking the rules
Use our online form to report non-compliance with the law or to submit additional documents for an existing report.
More information
The Owner Drivers and Forestry Contractors Act 2005 and Owner Drivers and Forestry Contractors Regulations 2017 outline the requirements you must follow when engaging an owner driver or forestry contractor.
More information on the requirements is available on Business Victoria’s website, where you’ll also find an industry Code of Practice and information for:
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