Australian Capital Territory
Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Airservices Australia Emergency Worker Declaration 2012
Disallowable instrument DI2012–242
made under the  
Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Regulation 2000, section 66 (1) (g) (power to declare a person to be an emergency worker)
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Section 66 (1) (g) of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Regulation 2000 provides that the road transport authority may declare a person to be an emergency worker.  Subsection 66 (2) of the Regulation makes such a declaration a disallowable instrument.

Clause 1 and 2 are formal provisions relating to the name and commencement of the instrument.  The instrument commences on the day after it is notified on the ACT Legislation Register.

Clause 3 declares that employees of Airservices Australia who are members of the Aviation Rescue and Firefighting Service are ‘emergency workers’.  The declaration is made under section 66 (1) (g) of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Regulation 2000.

The primary purpose of a declaration under section 66 (1) (g) is to enable rule 306 of the Australian Road Rules to apply to the people who are declared to be ‘emergency workers’, when they are driving what are termed ‘emergency vehicles’ under the road transport legislation.  In summary, the effect of rule 306 is to exempt the driver of an emergency vehicle from compliance with a provision of the road rules, where the driver takes reasonable care, it is reasonable that the rule should not apply and the person is driving with the vehicle’s flashing lights displayed and/or while sounding the vehicle’s alarm.

The effect of this declaration will be to exempt personnel from Airservices Australia’s Aviation Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) Service from compliance with the Australian Road Rules when they are using emergency vehicles to respond to an emergency at or near an airport.

Clause 4 contains definitions for the instrument.