Second-Hand Vehicle Dealers (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill

Wednesday 21 February 2024

Ms CLANCY (Elder) (16:24): I rise today in support of the Second-hand Vehicle Dealers (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2023. This bill seeks to amend the Second-hand Vehicle Dealers Act 1995 to improve the process for dealers selling second-hand vehicles, whilst strengthening protections for South Australian consumers. This reform will bring us in line with other jurisdictions and Australian Consumer Law.

Many South Australians choose to purchase a second-hand vehicle from a licensed dealer rather than a private seller to ensure that they have greater consumer protections and applicable warranties in place. The bill before us today aims to strengthen the Second-hand Vehicle Dealers Act 1995 and ensure that it continues to serve its purpose of maintaining the integrity of the second-hand motor vehicle industry and provide strong consumer protections. It is important that we review this legislation now, to ensure it aligns with Australian Consumer Law and accounts for the significant changes to vehicle technology that have occurred in the last few years.

A number of concerning practices within the second-hand vehicle industry have been brought to our government's attention, including licensed dealers avoiding their legal obligations to provide statutory warranties and relevant and necessary disclosures about the state of vehicles by posing as private sellers, the sale of cars with false papers, and the winding back of odometers to misrepresent the kilometres the car has travelled. Such practices often leave families who are already struggling with cost-of-living pressures with more costs to contend with, which is why our government is today putting measures in place that help prevent South Australians from being taken advantage of.

I am currently supporting a family in my community who purchased their family car second-hand from a licensed dealership. Since its purchase, the vehicle has had to be returned to the dealership's mechanic on an ongoing basis for an issue that my constituents were not advised of prior to its purchase. After seeking their own independent mechanical advice, my constituents have been advised that their family vehicle is not roadworthy, due to damages sustained prior to the vehicle being purchased.

As I support this family with their complaint to Consumer and Business Services, and as I stand before you today, I am reminded of the importance of reforms such as the bill before us. While we know that most South Australian businesses will always do the right thing for their workers and consumers, we must not neglect our responsibility to ensure adequate protections are in place against those businesses that do not do the right thing.

This bill seeks to implement a raft of changes to support the interests of dealers and consumers, including ensuring that consumers have a better understanding of vehicle defects prior to purchase. With some exceptions, dealers have a duty to repair a defect that is present in a vehicle or appears in a vehicle after it is sold. The successful passage of this bill will permit dealers to disclose defects in a vehicle that would not be subject to the duty to repair, provided that the vehicle remains safe to drive. Both the dealer and the purchaser will need to sign a prescribed form acknowledging the defects. This amendment will bring South Australia in line with other jurisdictions and consumer guarantees in Australian Consumer Law.

One of the most sought-after reforms included in this bill brought to us by the minister is to substantially increase penalties for odometer tampering. While I am sure many of us thought that the attempt in Ferris Bueller's Day Off to tamper with the odometer of Cameron's dad's 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder—so that his dad would not know that they had taken the car out all day and had a great old time—was very funny, it is not funny at all in real life. Odometer tampering is a serious issue that can have significant consequences affecting the mechanical effectiveness and safety of a vehicle.

This bill seeks to increase the penalty for odometer tampering from $10,000 to $150,000 for first and second offences, and $150,000 and/or two years' imprisonment for third and subsequent offences. These penalties will be the toughest in the nation for this offence. This reform will also provide for a compensation scheme for victims of odometer tampering for vehicle purchases from private sellers. Under the current act, victims of odometer tampering can only seek compensation where a dealer has been previously convicted of a tampering offence. There is no provision for compensation for victims of odometer tampering where the car has been purchased through a private seller.

Additionally, a new offence will be created for dealers providing false and misleading statements about the accuracy of odometer readings. Where a person knowingly makes a false or misleading statement to a purchaser, a maximum penalty of $30,000 or two years' imprisonment will apply. Currently, only dealers can be prosecuted for providing false and misleading statements under Australian Consumer Law. This new offence is intended to deter private sellers from engaging in the same activity.

This bill also seeks to introduce new powers for the Commissioner for Consumer and Business Affairs, allowing them to direct a person to rectify an altered odometer or to refrain from selling a vehicle with an altered odometer unless they have been provided with written approval by the commissioner. This will assist in ensuring that vehicles with altered odometers are not on South Australian roads.

Penalties for unlicensed dealing will also be increased under the bill. For first or second offences, the penalty will increase from $100,000 to $150,000. For third or subsequent offences, the penalty will increase from $100,000 or 12 months' imprisonment or both to $250,000 and/or two years' imprisonment. It is hoped that by increasing these penalties more individuals will be deterred from defying the law.

Dealers currently have a duty to repair a defect that is present in a vehicle or appears in the vehicle after it is sold. There are exceptions to this requirement, including vehicles that are over 15 years old or have more than 200,000 kilometres on their odometer before the sale.

To further protect consumers, amendments to section 33 of the act will remove the ability of purchasers to waive the right to have a vehicle repaired under the duty to repair. This amendment again will bring South Australia in line with Australian Consumer Law requirements that purchased goods must be of an acceptable quality and fit for purpose.

While the increasing prevalence of electric and hybrid vehicles on our roads is very apparent, this bill creates provision for the duty to repair requirements to be expanded to cover the main propulsion battery for these vehicles within the statutory warranty period. This duty will apply to vehicles purchased before or after commencement of the amendment act.

The Second-hand Vehicle Dealers (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2023 will introduce a number of other amendments intended to appropriately and necessarily update the act, including ensuring privacy protections for previous owners and lessees, updates to administrative requirements to create efficiencies and reflect more modern practices and expanding the Second-hand Vehicles Compensation Fund so that the fund can be used for education, research and reform programs.

In closing, I would like to thank the Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs and her team for their work in bringing this bill to this place. I would also like to acknowledge the work of key industry groups, including the Motor Trade Association and the RAA, thank them for their participation in consultation processes related to this bill and for their strong support for the proposed amendments. I commend this bill to the house.