Report tallies contractor costs

The Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal has published a KPMG research project report on minimum payments for road transport contractor drivers involved in both distribution and line-haul work.

The research uses a four-step process to allow a contractor to determine the minimum payments required to recover their operating costs, based on the sort of work they perform, what sort of truck or truck/trailer combination is used, and where the vehicle is typically driven.

A number of influencing factors are taken into account, including labour costs, finance, consumables, maintenance and servicing, registration and insurance, administration costs and more.

The findings have been tabled in both per hour and per kilometres cost models, along with a single hourly rate.

While the RSRT is quick to stress that the report's findings do not represent the views of the Tribunal or form part of a road safety remuneration order, the data could well be of some assistance to contractor drivers seeking to gain a clearer picture of their work's associated operating costs.

The research comes after a report published late last year following a series of conferences on payments for road transport drivers conducted by RSRT members Deputy President Ingrid Asbury and Tim Squires.

The RSRT says it will conduct a short hearing on April 17, 2015, for interested parties wishing to address future action the RSRT can adopt in its approach to fair payments for road transport drivers.

Click here to view the RSRT links to the KPMG research.