Symons v Transport for NSW [2020] NSWCATOD 163

Civil and Administrative Tribunal New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Symons v Transport for NSW [2020] NSWCATOD 163 Hearing dates: 6 August 2020 Date of orders: 12 October 2020 Decision date: 12 October 2020 Jurisdiction: Occupational Division Before: D Dinnen, Senior Member Decision: The Respondent's Reviewable Decision is affirmed Catchwords: ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW – bus driver authority – driving offences - whether of good repute and fit and proper person to be the driver of a public passenger vehicle Legislation Cited: Administrative Decisions Review Act 1997 Passenger Transport Act 1990 Cases Cited: Director General, Transport NSW v AIC (GD) [2011] NSWADTAP 65 McDonald v Director-General of Social Security [1984] FCA 57; (1984) 1 FCR 354, 357 Saadieh v Director General, Department of Transport [1999] NSWADT 68 Texts Cited: None cited Category: Principal judgment Parties: Warren James Symons (Applicant) Transport for NSW (Respondent) Representation: Solicitors: Applicant (Self Represented) Smythe Wozniak Lawyers (Respondent) File Number(s): 2020/00168053 Publication restriction: None

reasons for decision

Background 1. On 20 September 2019 Warren James Symons ('the Applicant') applied to Transport for NSW ('the Respondent') for a bus driver authorisation pursuant to the Passenger Transport Act 1990 and Passenger Transport Act 2014 ('the PT Act'). 2. On 3 February 2020 the Respondent refused the Applicant's application for a bus driver authority. The Applicant sought internal review and on 20 May 2020 the Respondent affirmed its decision to refuse the Applicant's application, on the basis of grounds specified under section 12 of the PT Act. Those grounds included that the Respondent could not be satisfied that the Applicant was of 'good repute' or that he was a 'fit and proper person' to be the driver of a public passenger vehicle, on the basis of the Applicant's extensive traffic record, convictions and licence enforcement action ('the Reviewable Decision'). 3. By application dated 5 June 2020 the Applicant sought administrative review of the Respondent's Reviewable Decision. The grounds for his application were stated as: I believe that neither my bus drivers application and/or subsequent submissions were considered on their merits. The refusal of my bus drivers application is consistent with a pattern of behaviour I suffered between 1990 & 2018 at the hands of the RTA/ RMS following my success in defeating numerous prejudicial prosecutions in the Local and District Courts.