Leased taxi licences
Under the Road Transport (Public Passenger) Regulations 2002, all vehicles used as a taxi must be appropriately licensed and operated by an accredited taxi service operator.
Read about taxi service accreditation.
There are 4 different types of taxi licences in the ACT:
- perpetual taxi licences (privately owned)
- standard (transferable) government leased taxi licences
- standard (non-transferable) government leased taxi licences
- wheelchair accessible (non-transferable) government leased taxi licences.
Pre-approval for a government lease
To get an ACT Government lease for a taxi licence, you need to apply for pre-approval.
Pre-approval means you’re placed on a waiting list. The waiting list is for an offer of a taxi licence.
Eligibility
To be considered for pre-approval you must:
- be an Australian citizen or permanent resident; or hold an appropriate visa and working rights
- not have had your taxi service operator accreditation or a taxi licence suspended, cancelled or surrendered in the last 2 years.
There are special conditions that apply to operating a wheelchair accessible taxi licence.
Specific eligibility is detailed in the Information sheet for pre-approval and issue of a standard or wheelchair accessible taxi licence [PDF 239 KB] [DOC 935 KB].
Non-accredited applicants
You can apply for pre-approval before getting your taxi service accreditation.
Read about taxi service accreditation.
Accredited applicants
If you’re an existing accredited taxi service operator you can apply.
There are eligibility requirements and restrictions on the number of taxi licences operated by you at the time of offer.
Make sure you read the Information sheet for pre-approval and issue of a standard or wheelchair accessible taxi licence [PDF 239 KB] [DOC 935 KB] to see which restrictions apply to you.
Apply for pre-approval
To apply for pre-approval complete the Application for pre-approval for a standard or wheelchair accessible taxi licence [PDF 129 KB] [DOC 930 KB] and attach any relevant supporting documents.
Submit your application by:
- email to taxiservices@act.gov.au
- post to PO Box 582, Dickson ACT 2602
Access Canberra will email you a confirmation letter if you’ve been successful to be placed on the waiting list.
A pre-approval expires 2 years after it has been issued.
Accept an offer
Access Canberra will contact you if a licence becomes available for lease.
You’ll only receive an offer if you:
- haven’t been issued with more than 5 taxi licences in the previous 12-month period
- hold or operate fewer than 25 taxi licences at the time of offer.
To accept an offer
- Complete a Application for a taxi licence [PDF 198 KB] [DOC 2.62 MB] form
- Submit your application by:
- email to taxiservices@act.gov.au
- visiting an Access Canberra Service Centre
Use the Public transport payments form to pay the fee.
Government leased taxi licences are issued for a maximum period of 6 years. Fees can be paid quarterly or yearly.
The lease fees are:
- $5,000 per year for a standard taxi licence
- $100 per year for a wheelchair accessible taxi licence.
You can use the same forms to renew your taxi licence after 6 years.
Transfer or sell a perpetual taxi licence
Perpetual taxi licences haven’t been issued since 1995.
To get a perpetual taxi licence you’ll need to approach the owner of one.
The lease fee and duration for a perpetual taxi licence is a private arrangement between you and the owner of the perpetual taxi licence.
If you’ve come to an agreement with an owner of a perpetual licence to purchase the taxi licence:
- Complete an Operation of a taxi licence [PDF 105 KB] [DOC 902 KB] signed by both you and the owner of the taxi licence.
- Complete a Transfer of a leased licence [PDF 147 KB] [DOC 910 KB] form signed by both you and the owner of the taxi licence.
- Call Access Canberra on 02 6207 0050 to arrange an appointment to organise the transfer. For the appointment you’ll need:
- the sale agreement, property settlement orders or probate documentation
- photo identification of all parties involved in the transaction
- the transfer fee.
Once the transfer happens, you can’t use the taxi lease until you’ve completed the taxi service accreditation process.
Read about taxi service accreditation.
Transferring a taxi licence
You can only transfer a taxi licence to someone else if it is a standard taxi licence (not a wheelchair accessible taxi) and meets one of these criteria:
- It was issued before 14 June 2006.
- If it was issued after 14 June 2006 as a transferrable licence.
If the taxi licence was issued as a non-transferable licence Access Canberra (the Road Transport Authority) won’t make the transfer.
Apply for a transfer
Complete a Transfer of a leased licence [PDF 147 KB] [DOC 910 KB] form
You can pay the fee online using the Public transport payments form.
Read about taxi service accreditation.