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Bus Operator Accreditation - Victoria

Description

You will need this accreditation to operate a bus service with seating positions for ten or more adults (including the driver). This includes community and courtesy bus services provided free of charge. 

If you provide any of the following bus services, you will need to be accredited:

  • commercial bus or minibus service 
  • courtesy bus service using a bus with 10-12 seating positions
  • hire and drive bus service using a bus of any size
  • operators who provide services to school ages children using a bus of any size
  • people who need special care or support due to age or disability using a bus of any size
  • a council using a bus of any size
  • community and private bus service in connection with the activities of a religious, educational, health, welfare, philanthropic, sporting or social body using a bus with 24 or more seating positions. 

If your vehicle has a seating capacity of less than 10 seats (including the driver), you do not have to apply for bus operator accreditation. 

Service type

Licence

A licence defines the need to obtain recognition / certification and registration to undertake a certain business activity.

Exemptions

Certain operators will be exempted from the requirements to be accredited. These operators include:

  • non-commercial courtesy bus service operators
  • community and private bus service operators that only operate with less than 24 seats (this does not apply to council bus operators, bus operators for an educational body for the transport of children, or bus operators for a health or welfare body for the transport of persons who need special care or support)
  • bus service operators that only operate buses from time to time by hiring bus to provide a single bus service.

Eligibility requirements

To be eligible for this accreditation, you must:

  • ensure that your application has evidence of you being a natural person, partnership and all the names of the partners at the time of the application
  • ensure that if you are a unincorporated body or association, that the certificate of business name or other document creating or evidencing the existence of the applicant is present and that all the names of the committee of management is included
  • ensure that your application has copies of current certificates of road worthiness for each bus to be used in service
  • provide any previous licence, registration or accreditation previously held
  • provide a copy of a management information system
  • provide a copy of a maintenance management system
  • provide evidence of a successfully completed, approved training course
  • provide evidence of whether you are subject to be compliant with reporting obligations within the Working with Children Act.

Ongoing eligibility requirements

Bus operators may have to conform to range of different standards. For example:

  • operator of a school bus must ensure that the bus is fitted with complying lights and signs and that the lights or hazard warning device operate when the bus is stationary on the highway when picking up school children
  • operators of bus services must ensure that each bus has operational fire extinguishers
  • operators of a bus service must ensure that signs required by the Safety Director are displayed in each bus
  • operators of a bus must ensure the number plates are displayed.

Fees

Fees Details for this service in table format.

Task Type Business Structure Description
Apply Application All

Fees can be found in the attached resource.

Act(s) name

Bus Safety Act 2009 Victoria

Regulation(s) name

Bus Safety Regulations 2020 Victoria

Additional information

If you were registered as a bus operator prior to 1 March 2022, you will automatically be accredited or will be exempt from the requirements of accreditation. You must also fit accredited operator numberplate to any buses you own and operate. 

Administering agency

Department of Transport and Planning

Safe Transport Victoria

Contact details

Contact Email, Phone and Address Details for this service in simple two column table format, header then data.