The U.S. Department of Labor last month said it would soon propose a rule that could make it easier to classify workers as independent contractors rather than employees, a major issue for the “gig economy” and other industries that use contractors to contain costs.

The potential misclassification of workers as independent contractors has been the subject of renewed scrutiny with the growth of the gig economy. The Obama administration issued informal guidance attempting to limit the scope of independent contractor status, but the current administration withdrew that guidance on June 7, 2017.

NSW government is exploring innovative options available for the taxi industry to assist with contact tracing.

This comes on the back of nine untraceable passengers who travelled in a 13cabs Silver Service taxi on September 7-18, 2020 in NSW, with a driver who was COVID-19 positive. These passengers are yet to be identified, with health authorities finding it increasingly difficult to trace them, as they got into the taxi from a rank or hailed it and did not pay with a credit card.

Currently, a few major challenges in the uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) in Australia is the lack of Government driven incentives and emissions regulations, as well as the high cost of these vehicles for businesses and individuals.

The federal Government will be introducing incentives for businesses to invest in new electric car fleets, in the aim towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. The incentives are then in turn envisioned to bring down the costs of EVs and make them more accessible to Australians.
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A $74.5 million Government package will assist businesses in trialing new technology for fleets, such as hydrogen, electric and biofuelled vehicles, and fund the installation of charging infrastructure in workplaces across Australia.

In order to receive financial assistance from the COVID-19 CPV Industry Assistance Support Grants, Booking Service Providers (BSPs) are required to complete and submit paperwork to the Department of Transport (DoT).

Victorian medium and small BSPs must complete a Survey Application, and large BSPs (eg 13cabs, Silver Top Taxis and Uber) are required to complete a Funding Agreement. The grants are to cover financial hardship due to COVID-19 for the quarter July - October. --> SURVEY LINK <--
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Yet, the DoT is dragging the chain in paying entities which have completed the required Funding Agreement. It has been over 10 weeks since the grants were announced, with only two weeks remaining before the period of assistance has expired.

The final report for the Parliamentary Inquiry into the Commercial Passenger Vehicle Industry Act 2017 reforms was tabled on 26th November 2019. The government initially had 6 months to respond to each of 13 recommendations arising from the inquiry. However, due to COVID, this deadline has been extended to at least the end of 2020.

Rod Barton MP has now been appointed to an advisory panel charged with advising Ben Carroll MP, Minister for Public Transport, to develop the government’s response to the inquiry recommendations. It is a rarity and a privilege to have a non-government member invited to such a position.