Page 1587 - Week 04 - Thursday, 25 March 2010
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currently regulated through a registration scheme governed by the Fair Trading (Motor Vehicle Service and Repair Industry) Code of Practice established under the Fair Trading Act 1992.
The bill will replace the existing registration system with a new business licensing scheme, and will enable disciplinary action to be taken against offending repairers in the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The bill otherwise largely reproduces the significant aspects of the code, including the obligations and responsibilities of repairers and consumers, into legislative form.
While the bill will deliver significant benefits to the repair industry and consumers through improved enforcement, it will not significantly change the day-to-day operation for existing repair businesses and their employees. Key stakeholders in the motor vehicle repair industry had queried why the bill did not go further and introduce a more comprehensive licensing model which would result in the licensing of all participants in the industry and require employers and employees to possess formal qualifications or undergo training. This is currently the approach in New South Wales. A similar approach is also adopted in Western Australia, the only other jurisdiction to formally legislate in relation to motor vehicle repairers.
This proposal would involve a significant policy shift from the existing regulatory scheme and as such would need to be supported by a thorough and extensive analysis of the impact on the market, on employers and employees, as well as business costing to assess the value of such an approach. I communicated to the Assembly on introduction of this bill that I remain open to consideration of this proposal and I made a commitment to working with key stakeholders in this regard.
Since the introduction of this bill, I have been working closely with the motor vehicle repair industry and consumer representatives and I will be moving a number of government amendments in the detail stage which arose out of these discussions. One of the amendments, which I will discuss in detail later, affirms my commitment to working with industry in considering wider reforms in the future.
The bill develops a business licensing model for persons carrying on business as a motor vehicle repairer in the ACT. This captures persons who perform motor vehicle repair work for reward. The definition of motor vehicle repair work in the bill replicates the existing definition of repairs in the code.
There are a number of exceptions to this general rule, the main exception ensuring that individuals who perform repair work in the course of their employment are not regarded as carrying on the business of a repairer. This exception maintains the status quo under the existing system, which does not require registration of employees. Other exceptions in the bill include members of a partnership, where one of the members of the partnership holds a licence, and publishers of advertisements relating to a business carried on, or a service provided, by a repairer.
The bill ensures that action can be taken against persons, including partnerships and corporations, who carry on a business of motor vehicle repair work for reward without a licence.
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