The landmark case has effectively legalised the service in Victoria.
Nathan Brenner, who at one point served as the manager of Split Enz and Men at Work, accepted a booking in August 2014 only to discover it was in fact a sting made by two Taxi Services Commissioners, who charged him with operating a commercial passenger vehicle without being authorised.
Brenner was ordered to pay a $900 fine and the prosecution costs of the Victorian Taxi Commission in December, after being found guilty. He was offered a lower fine on the condition that he promised the court he would not continue to work as an Uber driver.
This effectively rendered UberX illegal in Victoria, however the service continued to operate throughout the state.
A County Court judge has now ruled in favour of Mr Brenner, striking out the charges and overturning the fine imposed by the Melbourne Magistrates Court. Victoria’s Taxi Services Commission has also been ordered to pay Mr. Brenner’s legal costs in the appeal.
While Uber isn’t deemed legal in the state, the case has effectively made Uber ‘not illegal’ either.
The ruling found that, under the current Victorian taxi legislation which was drafted and enacted in 1941, an Uber vehicle cannot be classified as a commercial passenger vehicle as the act’s definition stipulates. Now it’s up to the Andrews Government to draft and implement the regulatory legislation that would legalise ridesharing in the state.
