What are PTD authorisations?

The Department of Transport (DoT) does not mandate who must have a PTD authorisation. It is up to you, as the driver's licence holder, to consider your intended purpose in driving a vehicle. If you need an authorisation due to the nature of your driving, you can apply for a PTD authorisation via DoTDirect.

The first question for consideration, is whether the vehicle is being used for carrying passengers for hire or reward.

You are generally driving for hire or reward if:

• the passengers or hirers of the vehicle have paid, or are required to pay, an amount to use the service; or
• you get paid to drive the vehicle as a primary part of your job, even if the passengers aren’t paying for the service; or
• you get paid directly by the passengers for the service.

Please note, the information below is provided as a guide only. You should consider your personal circumstances carefully in determining whether or not you require to become authorised as a PTD. 

For further information, the Regulations provide guidance outlining circumstances when passengers are or are not carried for hire or reward.  

You can apply for a PTD authorisation if you: 

• are aged 20 years old or more; and 
• hold a current and valid WA drivers licence; and
• have held a driver’s licence, or the equivalent driving authorisation from another jurisdiction for a period of three (3) years; and
• have not been disqualified from holding or obtaining a PTD authorisation (i.e. committed a disqualification offence).

You apply for a PTD authorisation online, via your DoTDirect account. Applications for a PTD authorisation cannot be completed using a paper form or by attending a Transport Services Centre. 

To get ready to apply, there are some things you can do now:

1. Check that you meet the eligibility criteria for applying for a PTD authorisation.  
2. Get a DoTDirect account if you don’t already have one.
3. Apply for a National Police Certificate (it’s quicker to do this online!) – it will need to be less than 3 months old when you apply for a PTD authorisation. 
4. If you’ve received a medical renewal letter from DoT recently, you’ll need to complete this to ensure your medical record is up-to-date.  

Visit How to apply for a PTD authorisation for more information, or read the Applying for a PTD authorisation – Quick Guide below.

Disqualification offences are safety and criminal offences that point to the criminality, violent tendency or dishonesty of an individual, as well as serious road traffic, drugs and weapons offences.  They are recognised in the Transport (Road Passenger Services) Act 2018, associated regulations and other State and Commonwealth law that are more serious in nature.

If you have been charged or convicted of a disqualification offence, this will impact on how the Department of Transport assess your application for a PTD authorisation. 

The impact on your application for PTD authorisation will be determined by:

• the type of disqualification offence; and
• whether you have been charged or convicted.

If you have been charged with a disqualification offence, your application for PTD authorisation may be refused. Your application may also be refused if you are assessed as not a fit and proper person.

If you have been convicted of a disqualification offence, your application for PTD authorisation must be refused unless:

• the conviction has been quashed or set aside; and/or
• the disqualification period for the offence has passed since the conviction.

When does disqualification begin?

If you are already a PTD or an ODBS Responsible Officer, your disqualification from operation in the on-demand transport industry begins the day after the DoT authorisation cancellation letter is sent. The letter is generated after the courts notify the department of your conviction.\

If you are not yet in the on-demand transport industry, the disqualification begins from the date of your conviction.

Spent convictions

You can apply to get your conviction spent – this means you can avoid disclosing certain old convictions and they will not appear on your National Police Certificate. Please note that some convictions are not able to be spent.

Visit the WA Police Spent Convictions FAQs for further information on how to apply for a spent conviction, or Legal Aid Western Australia for further support.

There are two costs associated with a PTD authorisation:

• an initial $43.00 application fee, when a driver first applies for a PTD authorisation; and
• an annual $94.00 authorisation fee. 

The application fee is only payable when you first apply for a PTD authorisation. If you renew your authorisation before it expires you will only need to pay the annual authorisation fee in subsequent years. If you do not renew your PTD authorisation by the renewal date and allow it to lapse, you will need to pay the application and authorisation fees to apply for a new PTD authorisation. 

The annual PTD authorisation fee will recover the cost of the ongoing monitoring of drivers’ suitability to drive a vehicle for hire or reward – previously this cost has been covered by the taxpayer. 

WA Police and Department of Justice shares data with DoT that allows us to monitor convictions and charges against people authorised to drive for hire or reward. With the introduction of PTD authorisations, the cost of maintaining public safety will be met by the passenger transport industry. Previously, this cost was borne by the taxpayer.

You must be granted a PTD authorisation before you start driving a vehicle for hire or reward. Visit How to apply for a PTD authorisation for more information.

If you hold an F or T extension, you must have applied for or been granted a PTD authorisation by 11.59pm, Wednesday 30 June 2021 to continue driving for hire or reward. F and T extension holders who submitted a PTD authorisation application by this date can continue operating using their extension until either their application is finalised, or Monday 31 January 2022 (whichever is first). 

If you had not applied for or been granted a PTD authorisation by 11.59pm, Wednesday 30 June 2021, your F or T extension has now ceased. You are unable to drive for hire or reward until you have applied for and been granted a PTD authorisation. 

Under the Transport (Road Passenger Services) Act 2018, drivers must hold a passenger transport driver (PTD) authorisation to drive a vehicle for hire or reward.  

Passengers are encouraged to only take trips through authorised providers for their safety.

It is important that you display the correct driver identity information, including your PTD authorisation number, so passengers can easily identify your authorisation number. 

Your driver identity information must be made available to passengers. 

If you’re driving a taxi, your driver ID needs to be on display in the vehicle. 

If you’re driving a charter vehicle (which includes rideshare, limousine and party bus services), your driver identity information can be provided to the hirer when they book, provided in the booking app, displayed in the vehicle or worn on your uniform.

The List of authorised passenger transport drivers below can be used by the public to check the authorisation status of a passenger transport driver – just enter the PTD authorisation number.

My PTD authorisation is not showing in the search

If you cannot find your PTD authorisation on this list, you may not be properly authorised. Please contact the Department of Transport on 13 11 56 or via email at ondemandtransport@transport.wa.gov.au for assistance.

Note: this search service is provided as a guide to the authorisation status of a driver at the time of the check. It is, however, not conclusive proof that a driver holds a passenger transport driver authorisation. If you are concerned about the status of a driver’s authorisation after using this search, you can contact On-demand Transport.