AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

Truck Act 1900    No 55
(New South Wales)
Republication No 2A
As in force on 31 July 1999
Includes all amendments up to Act 1998 No 54

Prepared by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel’s Office
This republication is not an authorised republication for the Legislation (Republication) Act 1996.
As in force on
 31 July 1999

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

Truck Act 1900
 (New South Wales)
CONTENTS
	Page 

	1	Wages payable in money	1
	2	Stipulation as to mode of spending wages	3
	3	Payment of wages	3
	4	No set off to be allowed for goods supplied to worker by employer	4
	5	Employer not to have action for goods supplied to worker	5
	6	Sharpening and repairing tools	5
	7	Payment of wages may be made by cheque	5
	8	Service of legal process	6
	9	Illegal contracts and payments	6
	10	Cases to which this Act does not apply	6
	12	Definitions	7
	13	Short title	8
	ENDNOTES
	1	About this republication	9
	2	About the republished Act	9
	3	Abbreviation key	9
	4	Table of legislation	10
	5	Table of amendments	8
	6	Table of earlier republications	8

As in force on
 31 July 1999

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY 

Truck Act 1900 
 (New South Wales)
An Act to regulate contracts made with respect to, and the payment of, wages; to prohibit such payment being made in goods or otherwise than in money; and to regulate the service of legal process
1 	Wages payable in money
(1)  In every contract hereafter made with any worker, the wages of such worker shall be made payable in money only, and not otherwise; and if by agreement, custom, or otherwise, a worker is entitled to receive, in anticipation of the regular period of the payment of his or her wages, an advance as part, or on account, thereof, it shall not be lawful for the employer to withhold such advance, or make any deduction in respect of such advance, on account of poundage, discount or interest, or any similar charge.
Penalty:
	(a)	if the offender is a natural person—50 penalty units;
	(b)	if the offence is a body corporate—250 penalty units.
(2) 	If, in any such contract, the whole, or any part, of such wages shall be made payable in any manner other than in money, or shall provide for any deduction or charge as aforesaid in respect of any advance of the whole, or part, of the wages of such worker, such contract shall be, and is hereby declared, illegal and void in so far as any promise or consideration made or given by, or arising out of, such contract relates to the payment of such wages otherwise than in money, or as to making any such deduction or 
charge as aforesaid; and such promise or consideration shall be deemed to be severable from the other part of the contract, which shall otherwise be and remain in force.
2 	Stipulation as to mode of spending wages
	No employer shall, directly or indirectly, by himself or herself or his or her agent, impose as a condition, express or implied, in or for the employment of any worker, any terms as to the place where, the manner in which or the person with whom any wages, or portion of wages, paid to the worker are or is to be expended, or any terms requiring the worker to reside upon the lands of such employer; and no employer shall, by himself or herself or his or her agent, dismiss any worker from his or her employment on account of the place where, the manner in which or the person with whom any wages, or portion of wages, paid by the employer to such worker were or was expended, or were or was not expended, or on account of the worker not residing upon the lands of the employer.
Penalty:
	(a)	if the offender is a natural person—50 penalty units;
	(b)	if the offender is a body corporate—250 penalty units.
3 	Payment of wages
	The entire amount of the wages earned by, or payable to, any worker shall be actually paid to such worker in money, and not otherwise, at intervals of not more than 14 days, if demanded, any contract to the contrary notwithstanding; and every payment made to any such worker by his or her employer of, or in respect of, any such wages by the delivering to him or her of goods, or otherwise than in money, except as hereinafter mentioned, shall be, and is hereby declared, illegal and void; and every worker shall be entitled to recover from his or her employer, in any court of competent jurisdiction, the whole, or so much, of the wages earned by such worker as shall not have been actually paid to him or her by his or her employer in money. 
Penalty:
	(a)	if the offender is a natural person—20 penalty units;
	(b)	if the offender is a body corporate—100 penalty units.
4 	No set off to be allowed for goods supplied to worker by employer
	In any action brought or commenced by any worker against his or her employer for the recovery of any sum of money due to such worker as his or her wages—

	(a)	the defendant shall not be allowed to make any set off, nor to claim any reduction of the plaintiff’s demand, by reason, or in respect, of any goods had or received by the plaintiff as or on account of his or her wages, or by reason, or in respect, of any goods sold, delivered or supplied at any shop, store, house, or premises kept by or belonging to such employer, or in the profits of which such employer shall have any share or interest; and
	(b)	the defendant shall not be entitled to any set off in respect of any goods supplied to the plaintiff by any person under any order or direction of the defendant or his or her agent.
5 	Employer not to have action for goods supplied to worker
	No employer shall have, or be entitled to maintain, any action in any court against any worker for, or in respect of, any goods sold, delivered or supplied to any such worker by any such employer whilst in his or her employment as, or on account of, his or her wages, or for, or in respect of, any goods sold, delivered or supplied to such worker at any shop, store, house or premises kept by, or belonging to, such employer, or in the profits of which such employer shall have any share or interest.
6 	Sharpening and repairing tools
	No deduction shall be made from the wages of a worker for sharpening or repairing tools, except by agreement.
Penalty:
	(a)	if the offender is a natural person—5 penalty units;
	(b)	if the offender is a body corporate—25 penalty units.
7 	Payment of wages may be made by cheque
(1)	Nothing contained in this Act shall be construed to prohibit the making of, or render invalid, any contract for the payment, or any actual payment, to any worker of the whole or any part of his or her wages in a cheque or draft, payable to the bearer on demand and drawn upon any bank, credit union or building society carrying on business in the Territory or in an order in writing for the payment of money to the bearer on demand drawn upon any person, company or association carrying on business in the Territory, other than a retail shopkeeper, or publican, if such worker shall freely consent to receive such cheque, draft, or order, but all payments so made with such consent, shall, for the purposes of this Act, be as valid as if made in money.
(2) 	However, if wages shall be paid to any worker by a cheque, draft, or order in writing as aforesaid, and the same shall be dishonoured, such worker shall be entitled to recover from his or her employer, in addition to any wages due or payable to any such worker, such reasonable damages as he or she may have sustained in consequence of the dishonour of such cheque, draft, or order in writing, and such damages shall be recoverable in any court of competent jurisdiction.
8 	Service of legal process
(1)	Service of any legal process for, or incidental to, the recovery of wages, or damages for nonpayment thereof, or with respect to the dishonour of any cheque, draft, or order given in respect of such wages, may be effected on the employer by leaving such process with, or delivering the same to, the manager or overseer for the time being of the works at, or in respect of which, such wages shall have been earned. 
(2) 	This section shall not affect any other mode of service allowed by law.
9 	Illegal contracts and payments
	An employer shall not enter a contract or make a payment declared under this Act to be illegal and void (whether wholly or in part).
Penalty:
	(a)	if the offender is a natural person—50 penalty units;
	(b)	if the offender is a body corporate—250 penalty units.
10 	Cases to which this Act does not apply
(1)	This Act shall not extend or apply—
	(a)	where an employer or his or her agent supplies or contracts to supply, to any worker, any medicine or medical attendance, or any fuel, materials, tools, appliances, or implements to be, by any such worker, employed in his or her trade, labour or occupation; or
	(b)	where an employer of his or her agent supplies, or contracts to supply, to any worker who has engaged with him or her to fell bush, to ringbark trees or to clear land of bush the necessary outfit and means of support and materials or tools requisite for commencing his or her engagement, to any amount, not exceeding, in any case, the amount of 2 months wages, to be earned by such worker in such engagements; or
	(c)	where such employer or his or her agent supplies, or contracts to supply, to any worker any hay, corn or other provender to be consumed by any horse or other beast of burden employed by any such worker in his or her trade, labour or occupation; or
	(d)	where such employer or his or her agent allows such worker the use of a tenement as part of his or her wages, or in addition to his or her wages, or any other allowance or privilege in addition to money wages as a remuneration for his or her services; or
	(e)	to prevent any employer from advancing any money for the relief of such worker and his or her spouse or family in sickness, or from advancing any money to any member of the family of such worker by his or her order, nor from deducting or contracting to deduct any such sum or sums of money as aforesaid from the wages of such worker; or
	(f)	to mariners or domestic servants or to persons employed in or in connection with agricultural or pastoral pursuits.
(2) 	However, no deduction, or stoppage of wages, shall exceed the amount of money advanced, or the value of any fuel, tools, implements, hay, corn, provender, victuals, drink or materials supplied to such worker.
12 	Definitions
	In this Act, unless inconsistent with the context—
contract includes any agreement, understanding, device, contrivance, collusion, or arrangement whatsoever on the subject of wages, whether written or oral, direct or indirect, to which the employer and worker are parties, or are assenting, or by which they are mutually bound to each other, or whereby either of them shall have endeavoured to impose an obligation on the other of them.
employer includes any master, manager, supervisor, clerk, or other person engaged in the hiring, employment or superintendence of the service, work or labour of any worker, within the meaning of this Act.
money means currency of Australia provided for by the Currency Act 1965 of the Commonwealth, Australian notes within the meaning of Part 5 of the Reserve Bank Act 1959 of the Commonwealth or postal orders issued by the Australian Postal Commission.
wages includes any money or thing had, or contracted to be paid, delivered or given, as a recompense, reward or remuneration for any service, work or labour done, or to be done, whether within a certain time, to a certain amount or for a time or amount uncertain.
worker means any person in any manner employed in work of any kind or in manual labour, whether under the age of 21 years or above that age.
13	Short title
	This Act may be cited as the Truck Act 1900. 

ENDNOTES
1	About this republication
This is a republication of the Truck Act 1900 (NSW) as in force on 31 July 1999.  It includes all amendments made to the Act up to Act 1998 No 54.
Amending laws are annotated in the table of legislation and table of amendments.
The Parliamentary Counsel’s Office currently prepares 2 kinds of republications of ACT laws:  authorised printed republications to which the Legislation (Republication) Act 1996 applies and unauthorised electronic republications.  The status of this republication appears on the cover.
Section 13 of the Legislation (Republication) Act 1996 authorises the Parliamentary Counsel, in preparing a law for republication, to make textual amendments of a formal nature which the Parliamentary Counsel considers desirable in accordance with current legislative drafting practice.  The amendments do not effect a substantive change in the law.
In preparing this republication, amendments have not been made under section 13.
Not all amendments made under section 13 are annotated in the table of amendments.  Full details of any amendments can be obtained from the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office.
2	About the republished Act
The Truck Act 1900 (NSW) (the republished Act) was in force in the Territory immediately before 1 January 1911 and was continued in force by the Seat of Government Acceptance Act 1909  of the Commonwealth.
Under the Seat of Government (Administration) Act 1910 of the Commonwealth the republished Act had effect in the Territory as if it were a law of the Territory.  Before self-government, the republished Act continued in effect subject to ordinances made under the Seat of Government (Administration) Act 1910.
The New South Wales Acts Application Ordinance 1986 set out a text of the republished Act in an amended form.  The amendments deemed to be made by the ordinance (and relevant laws amending it) are indicated in the table of amendments.
3	Abbreviation key
Key to abbreviations in tables

am = amended
amdt = amendment
ch = chapter
cl = clause
def = definition
div = division
exp = expires/expired
Gaz = Gazette
hdg = heading
ins = inserted/added
LR = Legislation (Republication) Act 1996
mod = modified
No = number
notfd = notified
o = order
om = omitted/repealed
orig = original
p = page
par = paragraph
pres = present
prev = previous
(prev...) = previously
prov = provision
pt = part
r = rule/subrule
reg = regulation/subregulation
renum = renumbered
reloc = relocated
R[X] = Republication No
s = section/subsection
sch = schedule
sdiv = subdivision
sub = substituted
SL  = Subordinate Law
sp = spent
*  = SL unless otherwise stated
† = Act or Ordinance unless otherwise stated

4	Table of legislation
Part 1—New South Wales legislation
Act†	Year and number†	Assent	Commencement	Transitional provisions	

Truck Act 1900	1900 No 55	22 Nov 1900	1 Jan 1901		
Truck Amendment Act 1901	1901 No 49	19 Nov 1901	19 Nov 1901
		
Part 2—Legislation before self-government
Ordinance†	Year and number†	Gazette
notification	Commencement	Transitional provisions	

New South Wales Acts Ordinance 1986
	1986 No 91	12 Jan 1987	12 Jan 1987		
Part 3—Legislation after self-government
Act†	Year and number†	Gazette
notification	Commencement	Transitional provisions	

Truck (Amendment) Act 1990	1990 No 35	30 Oct 1990	ss 1-3:  30 Oct 1990
remainder:  1 Dec 1990 (see Gaz 1990 No 46  p 1317)	—	
Financial Institutions (Removal of Discrimination) Act 1997	1997 No 88	1 Dec 1997	ss 1 and 2:  1 Dec 1997
remainder : 31 Dec 1997 (see Gaz 1997 No S442)	—	
Statute Law Revision (Penalties) Act 1998	1998 No 54	27 Nov 1998	ss 1 and 2:  27 Nov 1998
remainder:  9 Dec 1998 (see Gaz 1998 No 49  p 1078)
	—	

5	Table of amendments

Provision	How affected†

ss 1-3	am No 35, 1990; No 54, 1998
ss 4, 5	am No 35, 1990
s 6	am No 35, 1990; No 54, 1998
s 7	am No 35, 1990; No 88, 1997; R2 (see LR s 15(1)(e))
s 8	am R2 (see LR s 15(1)(e))
s 9	sub No 35, 1990
	am No 54, 1998
s 10	am No 35, 1990; R2 (see LR s 15(1)(e))
s 12	am No 35, 1990

6	Table of earlier republications
Republication No	Amendments to	Republication date	
(1)	Act 1990 No 35	30 November 1994	
2	Act 1998 No 54	31 July 1999	

©  Australian Capital Territory 1999

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