Transport service licence holders, other than a rental service licence holder, must keep and retain records relating to RUC vehicles.
RUC records should include the distance the vehicle has travelled and what the RUC weight is.
Records include:
You may need to produce these records for inspection. If you cannot produce these records it could result in a fine of up to $25,000 for an individual and up to $100,000 for an organisation that is convicted of an offence.
It is an offence to provide false records or information, and can result in a fine of up to $15,000 for an individual and up to $75,000 for an organisation.
The Transport Agency may also access business records held by third parties. Anyone who has serviced, maintained, supplied or contracted/leased a RUC vehicle may be required to produce records in relation to that vehicle. Failure to comply without reasonable excuse is liable to a fine of up to $15,000.
These guidelines provide a summary of RUC vehicle records that must be kept and an indication of the main reasons why the Transport Agency, as the RUC collector, may require production of records that must be kept under the RUC Act 2012 (the act). These guidelines are intended as a summary and do not limit or replace the legal requirements in transport legislation.
Section 65 and the definition of ‘records’ in section 5 of the act specify the records that must be kept for certain periods if the records relate to the use and maintenance of RUC vehicles:
Section 66 of the act provides that, for the purposes of assessing unpaid road user charges or for ascertaining whether the act is being complied with, the RUC collector can require any person to which the act applies to produce records or other information relevant to the use or maintenance of a RUC vehicle, including the records specified above that must be kept.
Section 67 of the act empowers the RUC collector to require third parties to provide information if the owner/operator of the RUC vehicles has failed to produce records, or records produced are believed to be false, inaccurate or misleading.
There are three primary situations where RUC collector staff may require access to records:
The majority of hubodometer changes result in a refund. It is therefore in the interests of the customer to cooperate with the RUC collector when requests for additional information are made. A RUCHO records request will usually be made to allow the RUC collector to determine the distance a hubodometer should have recorded had it been working correctly.
In the first instance the RUC collector will generally look at vehicle inspection data for distance readings. The distance recorder reading at the time of vehicle inspection is provided to the RUC collector each time a vehicle is inspected. There may be instances where other RUC records may be required to substantiate an application.
For off-road refunds section 30(3) of the act requires the RUC collector to be satisfied as to the accuracy of the application and quality of information provided to substantiate the application. Applicants should therefore provide sufficient information to support an application. If the relevant information is not provided then the RUC collector may decline the application.
Under the new act it is envisaged that most assessments of unpaid RUC will relate to distance-based evasion. For a distance-based evasion assessment the RUC collector will be looking to establish the actual distance a vehicle may have travelled. Much of the information required to be retained under section 65 of the act may be useful for this purpose.