Timing of Opal Card Rollout for NSW staff 

Well it took 5 years of lobbying behind the scenes at every opportunity by the RTBU and it’s taken several months for TfNSW to give effect to the Transport Minister’s commitment, but Opal cards are finally happening for workers in the Bus sector first, followed by the Trams. We’ve kept Trams on the boil during discussions about Opal cards and this was committed to in recent budget estimates where the Transport Secretary stated-

“The CHAIR: Light rail drivers in particular, I understand, are quite concerned about that. While it’s great for bus drivers, a number of them have contacted our office with concerns. Is that being considered as well?

JOSH MURRAY: Yes, it is. Obviously, our light rail drivers will have counterparts of the same employer, the same umbrella company, who will then receive it because their parent company is a private bus operator as well as a light rail operator. We are obviously conscious of that equity across the transport workforce.”

This is interesting because it ties the light rail passes to companies who also operate bus contracts and only mentions LRV drivers. Regardless of that, once we get them for tram workers, and not just for drivers, we’ll be working to make sure there is no chance of them being lost because the parent company no longer operates a bus contract.

As soon as that process commences, we’ll let our Light rail members in NSW know. For those at CMET in Canberra, once resolved, the FBT advice should help us push for passes from Transport Canberra who always cited the tax as the main issue.

In the meantime, the below applies only to bus drivers.

You should get this or already have it but you can read the employee pack by clicking here. It has no employer name cause apart from that it’s all the same for all workers. Below are the main points for the roll out.

Employers first have to opt in and they have. Employees will then have to opt in as well. This is mainly for Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) purposes. It should be noted that there is a 2k threshold for FBT before it becomes an issue so if you already have FBT items as liabilities, please get financial advice before opting in. This is from section 12 of the employee pack-

“If the total taxable value of the fringe benefits provided to you and/or your family in a FBT year exceeds $2,000, you’ll have a reportable fringe benefits (RFBA) amount in your end of financial year income statement (formerly called a payment summary). While an RFBA isn’t deemed taxable income, depending on your personal circumstances, it will be used to determine whether you’re entitled to, or liable for, a number of benefits and obligations. These may include Family Tax Benefits, Medicare levy surcharge, private health insurance rebate, child support payments, superannuation co-contributions, Higher Education Loan Program (HELP), tax offsets and Financial Supplement repayments.“

Discussions around who gets a pass settled on the RTBU position of the definition of ‘dedicated staff’ they used during privatisation. That means workshop, salaried and bus operators who work out of the depot are all eligible.

The initial roll out will be for any dedicated staff who currently does NOT have a working pass. Ex-STA staff who have working passes will get their pass status changed to allow for travel across all modes, we’ll let you know when TfNSW are ready to do that. It won’t be long, but the Union position was that we wanted to get the cards out to people that have nothing first.

The initial rollout is NOT THE ONLY WINDOW TO GET A PASS. After this is done, you can still opt in but it’ll take a couple months while the current process runs it’s course. That means don’t stress if you’re on leave of some type, you won’t get left behind.

All Full time and Part-time staff are eligible. Casual staff working 15 hours or more are also eligible. We obviously advocated for the hours worked threshold for casuals to be lower but TfNSW lowered their initial number to 15 and would not budge. Sub-contractors are NOT eligible.

We have a 14 day window for this initial rollout where you will need to opt in, go see your staffy today and find out what they need. It will be either a paper or email form and some operators will be sending them out en masse today. The companies will be sending out reminders.

We know that this entitlement doesn’t magically fix things. We know that privatisation has and continues to cost our members, literally, and drove many from the industry altogether. We also know that the recent cost of living crisis is making life difficult in the extreme for some of our members who face difficult choices at home to meet their family and financial obligations. We understand that a pass isn’t going to fix this. What we can promise is just like the return of this rightful entitlement which took half a decade to achieve, we’re not going to stop fighting for dignity, respect and equality in every workplace we have members. No matter how long it takes, we’re going to make sure that we get back what was taken from us and more.

Let’s celebrate this hard-earned victory—it’s been a long time coming.