Today’s correspondent reports that an
.. RFS tanker rolled while being driven by a RFS State Mitigation team member. Thankfully he only suffered a broken collar bone.
My question is that the tanker has no number plates and is being used under the exemption of being used for a bona fide brigade activity. The tanker doesn’t have a brigade name on it only the Zone name. So isn’t this incorrect as it’s not aligned to a brigade and should have number plates on it? And how does it sit with the RFS using the exemption for rego when being used by staff in their work duties.
The Road Transport (Vehicle Registration) Regulation 2017 (NSW) sch 1 lists ‘Vehicles that are not subject to registration provisions’. Clause 12 says (emphasis added):
12 Vehicles used to fight rural fires
The registration provisions do not apply to any registrable vehicle that is used on a road or road related area if the vehicle–
(a) is attached to a rural fire brigade formed under the Rural Fires Act 1997 and has painted on it, or securely affixed to it, a sign clearly identifying the rural fire brigade to which it is attached, and
(b) is used to convey persons or equipment to or from the work of preventing, mitigating or suppressing fires in rural fire districts (including clearing fire breaks or removing inflammable material), and
(c) is travelling on the road or road related area for the purpose referred to in paragraph (b) or any of the following purposes–
(i) to attend a fire, incident or other emergency in accordance with the Rural Fires Act 1997,
(ii) to assist other emergency services organisations (within the meaning of the State Emergency and Rescue Management Act 1989) at incidents and at emergencies under the control of those organisations,
(iii) to convey persons or equipment for the purpose of training those persons in relation to any of the purposes referred to in this paragraph,
(iv) for a purpose necessary or incidental to the service or repair of the vehicle,
(v) to perform any other functions of the NSW Rural Fire Service that the Commissioner of the NSW Rural Fire Service or a fire control officer within the meaning of the Rural Fires Act 1997 may approve for the purposes of the exemption.
There is nothing in the exemption that says it only applies to volunteers. The registration exemption applies, where it applies, regardless of whether the driver is a volunteer or not.
Further the mitigation team are presumably using the vehicle ‘to convey persons or equipment to or from the work of preventing [or], mitigating … fires in rural fire districts (including clearing fire breaks or removing inflammable material)’. Even if they are not if they are using the vehicle to perform functions approved by the Commissioner for that purpose then the exemption can apply. The exemption does not refer to ‘bona fide’ brigade activities.
The critical issue is cl 12(a) that is the vehicle must be ‘attached to a rural fire brigade formed under the Rural Fires Act 1997 and has painted on it, or securely affixed to it, a sign clearly identifying the rural fire brigade to which it is attached’. We’re told that the ‘tanker doesn’t have a brigade name on it only the Zone name’. Prima facie that takes it outside the exemption.
Conclusion
To be exempt from registration a vehicle must be ‘attached to a rural fire brigade formed under the Rural Fires Act 1997 and has painted on it, or securely affixed to it, a sign clearly identifying the rural fire brigade to which it is attached’. It would appear that a vehicle that is attached to the RFS State Mitigation team and that ‘doesn’t have a brigade name on it only the Zone name’ does not meet those requirements.
This blog is made possible with generous financial support from (in alphabetical order) the Australasian College of Paramedicine, the Australian Paramedics Association (NSW), the Australian Paramedics Association (Qld), Natural Hazards Research Australia, NSW Rural Fire Service Association and the NSW SES Volunteers Association. I am responsible for the content in this post including any errors or omissions. Any opinions expressed are mine, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or understanding of the donors.
Australian Emergency Law 
All NSW RFS ‘State Mitigation’ vehicles are road registered and carry number plates. The vehicle your correspondent appears to be referring to, a rollover at Glanmire a few days ago, was Chifley 1A, marked as such and part of Chifley Operations Support Brigade. A photo of the vehicle showing the markings is at https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=122158895114052346&set=a.122107687106052346
Does being exempt from registration have any disadvantage if injured in an accident?
In NSW, nominal defendant provisions appear to apply only when a vehicle is either registered or used on a road or road related area open for use by the public. An accident on a fire/management trail, private land might or road closed due to an emergency may not be covered.
Without nominal defendant provisions, would common law or workers compensation protection offer less compensation or be a more onerous process?
No, the nominal defendant covers vehicles that are not required to be registered – Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (NSW) ss 2.29 and 2.37(3). This Act ‘applies in respect of the death of or injury to a person that results from the use or operation of a motor vehicle’ (s 1.9) so I’m not sure why you think the ‘NSW, nominal defendant provisions appear to apply only when a vehicle is either registered or used on a road or road related area open for use by the public’. The nominal defendant doesn’t deal with vehicles that are registered, so I’m not sure what you’re reading.
It was my understanding from reading Sect 33 of Motor Accidents Compensation Act which allows claims on roads open to the public (subsection 1) and on road related areas open to the public (subsection 3A). I had wondered if the fact that Sect 33 was silent on other areas that meant claims for uninsured vehicles in other circumstances were not permitted.
Thank you for bringing this to my attention:
The Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (NSW) replaced the Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999 (NSW) though the former Act remains in force for accidents that occurred before the 2017 Act commenced. Section 2.29 of the 2017 Act is in the same terms as s 33 of the 1999 Act. They both say (emphasis added):
Road means a road or road related area (Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (NSW) s 1.4). Road related area includes areas such a dividing median strip, footpath, road shoulder, cycle areas ‘that is open to or used by the public for driving, riding or parking vehicles’ (Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW) s 4(1)).
Section 2.3 of the 2017 Act says that a compulsory third-party insurance policy must indemnify the driver and owner of any registered vehicle from claims arising from death or injury if the vehicle is driven anywhere in Australia whether or not on a road. If the vehicle is the subject of an unregistered vehicle permit, then the cover only applies if the vehicle is driven on the road.
A number of vehicles that have conditional registration are deemed to have an unregistered vehicle permit eg golf buggies, over snow vehicles, agricultural appliances etc (Motor Accident Injuries Regulation 2017 (NSW) r 5).
I agree therefore, that it a person injured as a result of an accident with a motor vehicle, that is exempt from registration, can only claim under the Motor Accidents Act (s 10.1) if the accident occurs on a ‘road’. That is consistent with the approach to the conditionally registered vehicles deemed to be subject to an unregistered vehicle permit, a person can claim under the Motor Accident Injuries Act if they are injured on the road, but not if they are inured, for example, on the golf course. Similarly, Given vehicles that do not require registration can be driven in many places the nominal defendant only wants to be liable, and it appears is only liable if the accident occurs on a road or road related area.
That would suggest that volunteer firefighter injured due to the negligence of the driver of a fire appliance that was exempt from the requirement to be registered, and that was not a road at the time of the accident would need to rely on the Workers Compensation (Bush Fire, Emergency and Rescue Services) Act 1987 (NSW) rather than the Motor Injuries Act 2017 (NSW). It would mean that a person who was not a firefighter who was injured by the negligence of the driver of a fire appliance that was not on the road would have an action under common law against the Crown in Right of NSW. The Crown would meet any liability from the state’s self-insurance fund.