Do you engage owner drivers in New South Wales? GCCD changes commence on 1 January 2019

Last year, the New South Wales Industrial Relations Commission varied the General Carriers Contract Determination to revise the minimum rates payable to owner drivers and to extend minimum rates obligations to additional geographic areas of New South Wales. Phase two of the Determination takes effect on 1 January 2019 and expands the coverage of the Determination.

Who is caught by the GCCD?

The GCCD applies to ‘contracts of carriage’ generally, as defined under Chapter 6 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 (NSW).

A ‘contract of carriage’ is an agreement for the transportation of goods by motor vehicle or bicycle in the course of a business of transporting those goods, but only where, if the carrier is a:

• sole trader – no person other than the carrier is employed in driving the vehicle in the course of that business
• partnership – no person other than a partner is employed in driving the vehicle in the course of that business
• company – no person is employed in driving the vehicle in the course of that business other than:
  • a director of the company or family member of a director
  • a person who, together with members of their family, has a controlling interest in the company
  • a member of the family of a person, who together with the members of his or her family, has a controlling interest the company.

If a carrier satisfies this definition of ‘contract of carriage’, any contract of carriage it enters into will be covered by the GCCD unless the contract falls within one of the excluded categories in the GCCD.

How will the obligations change on 1 January 2019?

The obligation to pay minimum rates currently applies to contracts of carriage for the transportation of goods within the County of Cumberland (which covers most of metropolitan Sydney) or for the transportation of goods locally (anywhere in New South Wales) over distances of not more than 50 kilometres.

From 1 January 2019, the new rates will also apply to a contract of carriage for a single journey commencing within the County of Cumberland and finishing within:

• a 50 kilometre radius of the Newcastle GPO
• a rectangular area being 50 kilometres north, 20 kilometres east, 50 kilometres south and 20 kilometres west of the Wollongong GPO.

From 1 January 2019, the rates obligations will also apply to the following categories of cartage work that were previously excluded from Part 4 of the GCCD:

• refrigerated goods in refrigeration vehicles
• cash in armoured vehicles
• furniture
• goods in the private pathology industry.

If you have any questions in relation to your obligations, or would like assistance in complying with the Determination, please contact our team.