Thursday, 30 July 2026

 Anthony CIANFLONE (Pascoe Vale) (17:24): (1756) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Industrial Relations, and the action I seek is for the minister to provide an update on the work the Victorian Labor government continues to undertake to support stronger wages, conditions and protections for transport workers across our state, including in my electorate of Pascoe Vale.

Our transport workers carry our nation, state and community, carrying our goods, services and resources that keep our livelihoods functioning. Without our transport workers, our community stops. Thanks to the advocacy from the mighty Transport Workers’ Union (TWU), many of our transport workers across our skies, highways, freight rail, gig economy and rideshare sectors continue to benefit from fairer wages and conditions, including through bus driver safety screens that we introduced, tougher laws for assaulting and threatening transport workers, rideshare, road safety and transport safety reforms since 2014.

Notwithstanding the strides we have made over the years, the reality remains that the transport sector remains one of the most dangerous and hazardous places to work. In 2025, 210 people died in trucking incidents, for example. This needless loss of life is a tragic outcome of the pressures of an industry in need of ongoing reform. When it comes to owner-drivers in Victoria, the industry pressures are even more acute. An owner-driver is usually someone who owns or leases their truck, van or vehicle and pays for the operating costs such as fuel, insurance, registration, servicing, repairs, tyres and finance repayments, and who contracts with one or more transport companies or directly with consumers. However, currently owner-drivers have no practical avenue for collective bargaining and limited access to timely, affordable dispute resolution. Existing rates and conditions schedules are advisory only, whilst disputes can take months to progress through the existing and limited available processes. This absence of protections creates safety issues for drivers and our broader community. Research consistently shows that pressures on rates and conditions leads to longer hours, lower pay, deferred maintenance on vehicles and unsafe road practices for everyone.

As fatalities in the heavy vehicle and transport industry have risen, Victoria must act to address these risks. That is why I was so pleased today to meet with the TWU delegation that visited here at Parliament to brief us on their experiences and concerns, including Michael Kaine, the TWU national secretary; Sam Lynch, TWU director of organising; Frank Guarnaccia from Boral; Mandeep Singh from Prixcar; Leigh Shepherd from FBT Transwest; Charlie Albisi from Team Global Express; and Peter Green from FBT Transwest. Drivers told us of their fight for fair rates, the same rights and safer roads for Victorian owner-drivers. We heard how owner-drivers are small business owners running off their trucks, vans and cars. These workers, as I said, have significantly fewer rights. As I said, they are forced to work longer hours with lower pay just to get by, creating serious safety conditions.

Both New South Wales and Queensland have already established a framework that delivers enforceable minimum standards, binding determinations and specialist dispute resolution processes for owner-drivers. The TWU is calling on the Victorian government to urgently do the same for Victorian owner-drivers by amending the Owner Drivers and Forestry Contractors Act 2005 to introduce legislative reform to create a road transport commission with the powers to (a) resolve disputes involving independent contractors, including through mandatory arbitration, (b) make binding determinations on rates and conditions for owner-drivers and (c) set rates and standards across the transport supply chain. This will also help people across Pascoe Vale, Coburg and Brunswick who work in transport.