Road Transport Act 2013

In the road transport legislation, the responsible person for a vehicle means—

in relation to a vehicle that is registered in Australia—each of the following persons—

an Australian registered operator of the vehicle, except where the vehicle has been disposed of by the operator,

if the vehicle has been disposed of by a previous Australian registered operator—a person who has acquired the vehicle from the operator,

a person who has a legal right to possession of the vehicle (including any person who has the use of the vehicle under a lease or hire-purchase agreement, but not the lessor while the vehicle is being leased under any such agreement), and

in relation to a vehicle to which a trader’s plate is affixed that is not registered in Australia—each of the following persons—

the person to whom the trader’s plate is issued,

a person who has a legal right to possession of the vehicle (including any person who has the use of the vehicle under a lease or hire-purchase agreement, but not the lessor while the vehicle is being leased under any such agreement), and

in relation to a vehicle that is not registered in Australia and to which no trader’s plate is affixed—each of the following persons—

a person who was last recorded in an Australian registrable vehicles register as being responsible for the vehicle,

a person who has a legal right to possession of the vehicle (including any person who has the use of the vehicle under a lease or hire-purchase agreement, but not the lessor while the vehicle is being leased under any such agreement), and

any other person (or class of persons) prescribed by the statutory rules for the purposes of this definition.

For the purposes of subsection (1)(d), the statutory rules may prescribe different persons for different provisions of the road transport legislation.