Fleet management procedure

Audience

Department-wide

Purpose

This procedure provides requirements and processes for the management and use of the Department of Education's (the department) fleet vehicles and car parks. 

Overview

The department’s motor vehicle fleet enables employees to deliver services effectively and efficiently in various locations across Queensland. By setting out consistent requirements and processes, this procedure ensures the effective, efficient and safe operation of departmental fleet vehicles and managed car parks. It applies to all registerable fleet vehicles leased and owned by the department across all regions, schools and central office, and also covers car parking and parking of private vehicles at departmental locations.

This procedure should be read in conjunction with the Public Service Commission (PSC) policy on the Use of government owned motor vehicles and parking of private vehicles on official premises and the Code of Conduct for the Queensland Public Service, the department's Finance delegations, HR delegations (DoE employees only) and Domestic travel procedure. The Fleet management handbook contains supporting information on the management of departmental fleet vehicles and car parks.

Persons may be allocated private-plated government vehicles as part of their conditions of employment (i.e. Senior Executive Service or certain employees engaged under s188 or 189 of the Public Sector Act 2022 (Qld)). These persons are not subject to the PSC policy or to this procedure (unless otherwise indicated), provided that such vehicles are available at a departmental work location for official use during normal working hours.

Responsibilities

Note: Key responsibilities for roles in this procedure are listed below. Situations where these and other roles have approval authorities are provided in the Summary Approval Matrix within the Fleet management handbook.

Queensland government employees and non-government employees

• Queensland government employees and non-government employees apply to be an authorised driver using the fleet vehicle authorised driver agreement before driving a departmental fleet vehicle.
• senior leadership roles sign and submit a fleet vehicle authorised driver agreement, however do not need to seek approval to become an authorised driver.

Authorised drivers (including senior leadership roles)

• meet their obligations under the fleet vehicle authorised driver agreement
• maintain currency of driver's licence
• must accept and resolve any infringement notices and fines, including parking fines, incurred during the vehicle booking and report any incidents or infringements to their line manager and the fleet officer.

Authorised officers

• approve requests for non-government employees to drive departmental fleet vehicles
• approve requests for transporting students and children in departmental fleet vehicles
• approve requests for Queensland Government employees to have an extended car park allocation to park private vehicles on departmental property
• conduct annual reviews of the strategic management and utilisation of car parks
• consider human rights when approving requests and make decisions that are compatible with the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) as outlined in the Fleet management handbook.

Line managers

• approve requests and retain evidence for their employees to:
  • become an authorised driver
  • transport non-government employees (excluding students or children) in a departmental fleet vehicle
  • short-term home garage a fleet vehicle.
• report any accident or incident to the fleet officer in the event that the authorised driver is unable to
• consider human rights when approving requests and make decisions that are compatible with the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) as outlined in the Fleet management handbook.

Principal Fleet Officer

• leads the team that manages departmental fleet vehicles and may manage visitor car parks in accordance with this procedure and the Fleet management handbook.
• coordinates requests for long-term home garaging approval.

Fleet officers

• manage departmental fleet vehicles and visitor car parks (for fleet or private vehicles) in accordance with this procedure and the Fleet management handbook.
• approve requests for Queensland Government employees to park private vehicles short-term on departmental property in accordance with the Fleet management handbook.

Assistant Director-General, Finance, Procurement and Facilities and Chief Finance Officer (or their delegate)

• approves requests for long-term home garaging of fleet vehicles by Central Office based employees
• considers human rights when approving requests and makes decisions that are compatible with the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) as outlined in the Fleet management handbook.

A/Deputy Director-General, School and Regional Operations and Performance (or their delegate)

• approves requests for long-term home garaging of fleet vehicles by regional and school-based employees
• considers human rights when approving requests and makes decisions that are compatible with the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) as outlined in the Fleet management handbook.

Process

Becoming an authorised driver

Queensland Government employees (including DoE employees) and non-government employees (such as contractors or Parents and Citizens representatives) may access departmental fleet vehicles where available for official purposes only.

• The Queensland Government employee (including senior leadership roles) or non-government employee completes and signs the fleet vehicle authorised driver agreement. Senior leadership roles do not require approval of the driver agreement but must upload the signed driver agreement to Service Centre Online (DoE employees only).
• For approval:
  • Queensland Government employees (excluding senior leadership roles) provide it to their line manager
  • non-government employees provide it to the relevant authorised officer related to their use of a fleet vehicle.  
• The line manager:
  • approves and signs the fleet vehicle authorised driver agreement for Queensland Government employees
  • retains the signed agreement and provides a copy to the Queensland Government employee, now an authorised driver.
• The authorised officer:
  • approves and signs the fleet vehicle authorised driver agreement for non-government employees
  • uploads the signed driver agreement to Service Centre Online (DoE employees only) and provides a copy to the non-government employee, now an authorised driver.
• The authorised driver:
  • retains a copy of the approved agreement
  • uploads the approved driver agreement to Service Centre Online (DoE employees only) if they are a Queensland Government employee (noting that senior leadership roles will upload the driver agreement they have signed which does not require line manager approval). 
• The fleet officer:
  • saves a copy of the signed agreement in Content Manager
  • notes in the vehicle booking system that the driver is an authorised driver. 

Short-term use of fleet vehicles

• For round trips of 30km or less to and from locations where there is reasonable availability of taxis or rideshare services (i.e. expected wait time of 10 minutes or less), taxi or rideshare is the preferred mode of transport. This is to maximise the availability of fleet vehicles for staff who are travelling longer distances or where it may not be safe or practical to use taxis or rideshare e.g. carrying equipment, some home visits or travel for sensitive reasons.
• For travel where taxis or rideshare are not reasonable, authorised drivers may book a fleet vehicle noting that:
  • non-government authorised drivers must seek approval from the authorised officer to book a fleet vehicle.
  • Queensland Government authorised drivers do not require approval to book a fleet vehicle.
  • senior leadership roles do not need to confirm they will comply with the additional obligations set out in the Best practice guide Heavy Vehicle National Law (DoE employees only) or seek line manager or authorised officer approval to short term home garage a vehicle, transport any adult non-government employees, or transport children or students.
  • where an employee has an arrangement allowing them to work across two or more locations, they are not eligible to use a department fleet vehicle to travel to these locations.
• Authorised drivers (except senior leadership roles) submit an email to their line manager or authorised officer (as outlined in responsibilities) to:
  • confirm that if the requested vehicle is a bus, truck or other vehicle with a gross vehicle mass (GVM) over 4.5 tonnes, they will comply with the additional obligations set out in the Best practice guide Heavy Vehicle National Law (DoE employees only).  
  • request approval to short-term home garage a fleet vehicle, where:
    • the fleet vehicle will be garaged away from its base location from one night up to two weeks
    • the booking request is for a consecutive period and has a fixed end date
    • the booking request complies with the conditions for garaging of government owned motor vehicles at private residences in paragraphs 5 to 9 of the PSC Use of a government owned motor vehicle and parking of private vehicle on official premises and the Code of Conduct for the Queensland Public Service. Refer to the Short-term home garaging process and the Fleet management handbook Appendix 1 Vehicle collection and home garaging decision tree.
  • transport any adult non-government employees
  • transport children or students, attaching:
    • all information around the transport, including names, carer approval, destinations, vehicle and reason for travel
    • details of how they will ensure duty of care considerations are met, including consideration of child safety restraints
    • for excursion travel, all information and approvals required in the School excursions procedure.
• The line manager or authorised officer will:
  • consider the request, ensuring the authorised driver has provided all of the required information in their request
  • notify via email the authorised driver of their decision to approve or decline the request.
• An authorised driver books a fleet vehicle for official purposes through:
  • the Utilisation Management System (UMS) (DoE employees only). If the authorised driver is not yet registered in UMS, the authorised driver contacts the fleet officer.
  • the fleet officer for school owned or leased vehicle bookings at schools that do not use UMS and for non-DoE employees).
• The fleet officer allocates an available fleet vehicle for the booking and confirms the vehicle allocated to the driver. If there are no departmental fleet vehicles available or none are suitable for the travel, the authorised driver may consider alternative travel options.
• At the allocated booking time, the authorised driver:
  • collects the vehicle pack from the kiosk and checks the vehicle out in the vehicle booking system
  • visually inspects the vehicle and makes note of any damage to report back to the fleet officer
  • notes the odometer reading for entry into the vehicle logbook.
• At the end of the booking (or as soon as reasonably practicable after returning from travel), the authorised driver:
  • returns the vehicle to its allocated car parking bay
  • for a petrol or diesel vehicle, ensures the fuel tank is at least half full. If refuelling is required during the journey, use the fuel card by following the instructions in the vehicle pack, making sure the correct odometer reading is entered.
  • for electric vehicles (EVs), where reasonable and safe, returns the EV charged to 80% (using a public charger and the charge cards in the vehicle pack) to ensure the vehicle is ready for use by the next driver who may collect the vehicle shortly after it is returned. If time does not permit, the driver tops up the EV charge if possible. The driver connects the EV to the department charging station on its return.  
  • removes all personal and departmental items and secures the vehicle
  • completes the logbook located in the vehicle pack
  • returns the vehicle pack to the kiosk and checks the vehicle in in the vehicle booking system
  • reports any damage or incidents that have occurred (including traffic offences and infringements) to their line manager and the fleet officer. Note this is in addition to the immediate actions taken as per the section below on Accident or incident reporting and management.
• In addition to the above processes for all authorised drivers, senior leadership roles:  
  • must ensure they have no exclusive use or near exclusive use of a single fleet vehicle
  • who receive the Executive Vehicle Allowance (EVA) may still book a fleet vehicle for official purposes
  • who are provided with a government supplied motor vehicle (private plated) may be provided with a fleet vehicle if that privately plated vehicle is temporarily unavailable due to mechanical service or repair requirements.

Long-term home garaging of fleet vehicles

An authorised driver may request long-term home garaging (greater than 2 weeks) of a department fleet vehicle, in exceptional circumstances, where the situation meets one of the following criteria:

• Disaster or emergency response or recovery for a continuous duration of more than 2 weeks; or
• Where suitable garaging facilities are not available at official premises.

Requests that do not meet the above criteria will be considered on a case-by-case basis where genuine operational need of the department has been demonstrated and subject to vehicle availability. Refer to the Fleet management handbook - Appendix 1 Vehicle collection and home garaging decision tree.

• The authorised driver:
  • completes the Application for long-term home garaging form demonstrating how the situation meets one of the above criteria or outlines the alternative reason for their request.
  • completes a Service Catalogue Online (SCO) fleet enquiry (DoE employees only) and attaches the completed application form. The maximum period permissible for a long-term home garaging approval is 12 months. If home garaging needs to be requested beyond 12 months, the authorised driver submits a new application.  
• The Principal Fleet Officer coordinates requests for approval from:
  • the Assistant Director-General Finance, Procurement and Facilities and Chief Finance Officer (or their delegate) for Central Office based staff requests; or
  • the A/Deputy Director-General, School and Regional Operations and Performance (or their delegate) for region and school-based staff requests.    
• The Assistant Director-General Finance, Procurement and Facilities and Chief Finance Officer or the A/Deputy Director-General, School and Regional Operations and Performance (or their delegate/s) approves applications for long-term home garaging based on the criteria and availability of suitable departmental fleet vehicles.
• The fleet officer allocates vehicles to approved applications, advises the authorised driver, and records the approval in Content Manager (220/10/5).

During the long-term home garaging approved period, the fleet officer schedules and arranges vehicle servicing according to the manufacturer’s recommended service requirements and intervals.  

During the long-term home garaging period, the authorised driver complies with the conditions for garaging of government owned motor vehicles at private residences in paragraphs 5 to 9 of the PSC Use of a government owned motor vehicle and parking of private vehicle on official premises.

Authorised drivers of long-term home garaging approved vehicles are required to maintain logbooks and provide these to the fleet officer monthly. This will be used to verify the approved criteria and as evidence of business use for fringe benefits tax (FBT) reporting purposes.

Refer to the Fleet management handbook for guidance around long-term vehicle usage or other options.

Depending on the portion of private use of the vehicle, long-term home garaging may incur FBT. Refer to business versus private travel (DoE employees only) information.

Accident or incident reporting and management

Immediately following an accident or incident where the authorised driver is unharmed, the authorised driver:  

• refers to the instructions, insurance and contact information provided in the vehicle pack
• does not admit liability for an accident or make statements concerning the accident, except to police
• provides their name, address and vehicle particulars to any person involved in the accident, or any person having reasonable grounds for requiring such information
• where an accident or breakdown results in the need for a fleet vehicle to be towed, secures the vehicle and, where possible, removes any personal and departmental items of value, e.g. vehicle pack, records or files, laptop computers, etc.

Within 24 hours of the accident or incident, the authorised driver (or the line manager if the authorised driver has been injured and is not capable of completing the task):

• contacts the fleet officer for assistance with information and insurance claims
• completes the incident report form inside the vehicle pack
• returns the vehicle pack to the kiosk
• completes any required forms for an insurance claim for the accident or incident and provides them to the fleet officer.

Extended allocation of car parks for private vehicles on departmental premises (excluding schools)

Queensland Government employees who meet the eligibility and priority criteria outlined in the Fleet management handbook, may request an allocated car park to park their private vehicle on the department's premises, using the following process:

• The Queensland Government employee completes and submits the Application for central/regional office car park form to the fleet officer.
• The fleet officer sends the request to the authorised officer for approval.
• The authorised officer considers the request according to the eligibility and priority criteria outlined in the Fleet management handbook, and emails the requestor the outcome.

Authorised officers will conduct annual (or by exception) reviews of all car parks to assess utilisation and demand based on the order of priority outlined in the Fleet management handbook.

Visitor parking (including DoE employees)

Visitors (including DoE employees) on official business attending departmental premises may be able to access a dedicated visitor car park, where available, for use during the period of their official business.

Note: Where an employee has an arrangement allowing them to work across two or more locations, they are not eligible for visitor car parking at any of these locations.

• Visitors on official business to:
  • central office departmental premises with parking facilities apply for a car park bay by completing the Visitor parking booking form (DoE employees only) and forwarding it to the email address outlined on the booking form for processing. DoE employees are required to submit the form on behalf of visitors who are not employees of the department.
  • regional departmental premises with parking facilities, apply for a car park bay by following the process advised by the fleet officer. DoE employees are required to apply on behalf of visitors who are not employees of the department.
• The fleet officer will send the outcome of the request via email to the applicant, including the allocated bay number and the period the car parking bay has been allocated.

Definitions

Legislation

• Commission Chief Executive Directive: Senior Officer – Employment conditions (Directive 10/23)
• Commission Chief Executive Directive: Senior Executive Service - Employment conditions (Directive 09/23)
• Commission Chief Executive Directive: Executive Remuneration Package – Motor Vehicles and Allowances (Directive 13/13)
• Fringe Benefit Tax Assessment Act 1986 (Cwlth)
• Heavy Vehicle National Law Act 2012 (Qld)
• Motor Vehicle Allowances (Directive 20/16)
• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Public Sector Act 2022 (Qld)
• Department of Education State School Teachers’ Certified Agreement 2022
• Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld)

Delegations/Authorisations

• Financial Delegations (DoE employees only)
• HR Delegations (DoE employees only)

Other resources

• Visitor parking booking form (DoE employees only)
• Australian Taxation Office – Fringe benefit tax – a guide for employers
• Code of Conduct for the Queensland Public Service
• Department of Transport and Main Roads’ Vehicle Standards
• Domestic travel procedure
• Driver Safety Guide
• Driver safety training and resources
• Expenditure policy
• Employ officers under a Section 122 contract
• Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) – for reportable fleet vehicles (DoE employees only)
• National Heavy Vehicle Regulator
• QFleet – Government motor vehicle lease provider
• QFleet driving a vehicle for work induction
• School excursions procedure
• Queensland Government - Electric vehicles zero emissions
• Use of government owned motor vehicles and parking of private vehicles on official premises

Superseded versions

Previous seven years shown. Minor version updates not included.

1.0 Fleet management procedure