Archives: Dealer Bulletins

2-year free EV registration incentives in ACT end on 30 June 2024

Discounted registration fees for zero and low emission vehicles will finish on 30 June 2024.  However, a Motor Vehicle Duty Discount continues to apply, and calculation of annual vehicle registration fees in ACT will change from 1 July 2024.

2-year Free registration for EVs

Access Canberra have advised the AADA that vehicles registered from 1 July 2024 onwards are still eligible for the 2 years’ free registration discount if the vehicle was paid for in full between 24 May 2021 and 30 June 2024. However, these applications must be processed manually and cannot be done via the Dealer extranet. In addition, these customers will receive the full fee on renewal notices and will need to attend an Access Canberra Service Centre for each renewal in the 2-year period to receive the discount.

 In order to access the registration discount the vehicle must be paid for in full before 30 June 2024. Applications cannot be done via Dealer Extranet and proof of purchase or a receipt confirming full payment before 30 June 2024 will be required.

Duty exemptions for low emission vehicles in the ACT

The separate Vehicle Emission Reductions Scheme on Motor Vehicle Duty continues beyond 30 June 2024 which applies to eligible Zero and low emission vehicles and as of 1 July 2024, a new system of calculating registration on vehicles is due to be implemented in the ACT.

On their website Access Canberra say:

From 1 July 2024, vehicle registration fees will gradually transition from the current weight-based vehicle registration system to an emissions-based system for most light vehicles.

This means lower registration fees for lower-emissions vehicles, including:

• zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs)
• plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs)
• hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs)
• low-emission petrol and diesel vehicles.

For questions regarding vehicle registration, Access Canberra can be contacted on 6207 7002 or Email lara@act.gov.au or visit the Access Canberra website.

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As per the AADA’s recent bulletin new regulations in Western Australia will come into effect on 7 June requiring Dealers to advise customers if a vehicle they are selling has been written off, with penalties coming to car Dealers who fail to disclose.

The Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety has now issued a Bulletin to WA Dealers describing the changes to the Regulations.

The prescribed forms and vehicle sale contract are changing. Dealers should make sure they are familiar with the new requirements, including new prescribed forms.

Download each of the forms from the Department website.

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On 16 May the Government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) legislation officially passed through Parliament and is now scheduled to become law, subject to Royal Assent. The movement through Parliament has occurred more quickly than anticipated after the Government reached an agreement with the Greens and the Standard remains unchanged from what was tabled in March this year.

While the Standard is very ambitious and will be challenging to achieve, ultimately, the law in its final form is much better for industry than the proposal that was put forward earlier in the year. The AADA and Dealers across Australia have worked hard to bring forward the perspective of new car Dealers and we believe our voice has been heard in this debate.

The standards come into effect on 1 January 2025 with manufacturers beginning the process of earning credits or paying penalties in 1 July 2025. The AADA Secretariat will work with the Government on the implementation of the Standard and will be closely monitoring the market dynamics and impacts of the laws once they have begun.

In particular, we are focused on holding the Government to its word on moving the point of compliance to the point of sale and delivering the $60 million Dealer charging fund.

The Government media release by Minister Catherine King MP is available here and more information about the NVES is available on the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and the Arts website.

Please click here to see the AADA Media Release regarding the NVES.

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The 2024-25 Federal Budget is focused on delivering cost of living relief and building a ‘future made in Australia’. A surplus of $9.3 billion is expected in 2023-24, an improvement of $10.5 billion since MYEFO. This would be the first back-to-back surpluses in nearly two decades.

The Budget includes some welcome measures for the industry, including $60 million for the Dealer charging fund. The fund is designed to assist new car Dealers with installing EV charging infrastructure in their businesses in support of the transition to selling and servicing electric vehicles.

This investment in Dealers is timely, with the introduction of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard set for 1 January 2025, Dealers are being asked by the government to make significant investments to support their goals of decarbonising the transport sector.

The Government also announced $3 million to implement its response to the Review of the Franchising Code of Conduct, which will be used to investigate the feasibility of a licensing model and remake and update the Code prior to its expiration in April 2025.

Disappointingly, outdated taxes such as the Luxury Car Tax and Passenger Vehicle Tariff continue to be a large source of revenue with the Government estimated to collect almost $1.7 billion this financial year from these taxes. The AADA continues to advocate for a comprehensive review of automotive taxes, particularly with the accelerated uptake of EVs and low emissions vehicles.

We have prepared the attached 2024-25 Federal Budget Briefing paper for members which provides a summary and brief explanation of the measures that are relevant.

Further details are also available on the Government’s Budget Website.

2024-25 FEDERAL BUDGET BRIEFING

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The Automotive Insights Report data for the month of April shows the market for used cars in Australia is stabilising with a steady decline in supply and demand holding firm. There were 183,575 used cars sold in April, representing a slight 0.3% decrease on the previous month while vehicles listed for sale reduced by 3.8%, highlighting a trend of declining listings since the end of 2023.

The used market for hybrids and electric vehicles for the third consecutive month sales of hybrids (5.7% growth) EVs (9.5% growth) and PHEVs (2.7% growth) all outperformed the overall market. There is still a significant oversupply of EVs relative to other fuel types, but the mismatch between demand and supply seems to be reducing with EV sales growing at the same time as EV listings decline.

The average time to sell a used car has remained around the 44-day mark for the past three months, significantly down from the 12-month high of 52 days in November. Retained values continue to decline gradually across all segments with passenger vehicles holding up slightly better than SUVs and LCVs.

While sales volumes underline Australia’s love for utes, retained values show that the most in demand cars in the 2-4 year category were sports cars and smaller passenger cars while in the 4-7 year category it is small and large SUVs.

Highlights from the AIR for April were:

• 276,719 vehicles are listed for sale, a decrease of 3.8% compared to the previous month.
• Listings were down in every state and territory, except for the ACT and South Australia which recorded minor increases.
• 183,575 used cars were sold in April, a minor decrease of 0.3% from the previous month.
• The NT and South Australia both outperformed in sales with increases over 6%. New South Wales saw the largest decline with a 4.3% reduction in sales.
• Sales of EVs grew for the third month in a row, this time by 9.5% while PHEVs grew by 2.7%.
• Hybrid sales also saw decent growth with an increase of 5.7% compared to March.
• Average time to sell a used car is 44.3 days, almost exactly the same as last month.
• Retained values continue their gradual decline with passenger vehicles holding their value best for vehicles in the 2-4 year age bracket (84.9%) while utes perform best for the older 5-7 year category (70.6%).
• The Ford Ranger remains Australia’s best-selling used car; the top 6 best-selling cars remained the same in April as they were in March.

Dealers seeking more granular and local data can contact AutoGrab directly for a tailored solution.

If you are a Dealer of a contributing brand and would like access to the monthly report please email Communications Manager Ashleigh Sykes on asykes@aada.asn.au.

As part of the 2024-25 State Budget the Western Australia Government will invest a further $5.2 million for the Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) rebate to meet expected demand for the scheme.

The Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) Rebate Scheme is a financial incentive to encourage the purchase of zero emission vehicles as part of the Government’s Clean Energy Car Fund.

The ZEV scheme provides a $3,500 rebate for people who purchase an eligible vehicle and apply to the Department of Transport.

To be eligible for the rebate, the vehicle must:

• be a zero-emission vehicle and be fully powered by batteries or hydrogen fuel cells;
• be a light vehicle (vehicle with a gross vehicle mass of 4.5 tonne or less), including:
  • light passenger vehicles, such as sedans, hatchbacks and sports utility vehicles (SUVs);
  • light commercial vehicles; and
  • light trucks.
• be granted a vehicle licence in WA on or after Tuesday 10 May 2022;
• have a maximum dutiable value (external link) of $70,000 or less; and
• be brand new and never previously been registered or licensed in Australia or overseas.

Only the person or organisation that first licenses the vehicle is eligible to apply for the rebate. Therefore, if a Dealer has licensed (registered) the vehicle for demonstrator purposes, only they can apply for the rebate.

More information on the scheme can be found here.

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Today the Government released its response to the Independent Review of the Franchising Code undertaken by Dr Michael Schaper, undertaken in late 2023.

The Government has agreed, or agreed in principle, to all of Dr Michael Schaper’s 23 recommendations.

Disappointingly, the Review didn’t address many of the issues the AADA raised during the Code Review, including the need for strong protections against termination and non-renewal and the need for compensation for loss of goodwill. However, the AADA is encouraged by a number of recommendations.

• Recommendation 4: Service and repair work conducted by motor vehicle dealerships should be explicitly captured by the Code.
  Government statement: Agree.
  Service and repair work is an essential part of motor vehicle dealerships.
  When remaking the Code, the Government will clarify that service and repair work performed by motor vehicle dealerships is within the scope of the Code.
• Recommendation 23: The Australian Government should investigate the feasibility of introducing a licensing regime to better regulate most aspects of the franchisee-franchisor relationship.
  Government statement: Agree.
  The Government will establish a Taskforce in Treasury to conduct a comprehensive cost benefit analysis of introducing a licensing regime for the franchising sector. The Taskforce will consult widely and provide advice to Government.

The AADA also supports the Government’s commitment to expand some protections for vehicle dealers in Part 5 of the Code to all franchisees. Including requiring all franchise agreements to provide a reasonable opportunity to make a return on investment, and to ensure that franchisees are appropriately compensated if their agreement is terminated early. This is a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done, and the AADA will continue to advocate that Truck Dealers should enjoy all the protections under Part 5 of the Code.

The AADA is acutely aware that the industry is undergoing significant changes and that policies such as the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard will bring some challenges for Dealers. This highlights the importance of continuing to advocate for stronger franchising protections for Dealers, and that changes imposed on Dealers by their OEMs should be done in a fair and transparent manner with compensation where appropriate.

The AADA will engage with the Government as it seeks to implement these recommendations.

You can view the Government’s Response here.

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On 26 August 2024, some of the amendments made to workplace relations laws under the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Act 2024 come into effect.
Key amendments that may be relevant for dealers are related to casual workers.

• New Definition of Casual

From 26 August 2024, an employee will be a casual employee only if the employment relationship is characterised by an “absence of a firm advance commitment to continuing and indefinite work” having regard to key factors outlined in the below guidance material.

Every 6 months (12 months in a small business) a casual employee will be able to self-assess their employment relationship by virtue of the above criteria and choose to, if they believe they no longer fit within the definition of casual, notify their employer of a conversion request.

• New Conversion Stream

The new right to request conversion completely replaces the previous conversion streams including the requirement for employers to offer casual employees conversion to full-time or part-time at 12 months.

Employees, if they believe they no longer meet the definition of casual above can request conversion under this new right if they meet the criteria outlined in the below guidance material.
Employers must respond within 21 days alerting their employee to their acceptance or refusal of the conversion.

• Casual Employment Information Statement Requirements

To ensure employees are reminded of their rights and ability to change to permanent work, employers will also be required to provide the Casual Employment Information Statement to casual employees:

• for small business employers – after 12 months of employment,
• for other employers – after six and 12 months of employment, and then after every 12 months of employment.

The AADA has provided the below guidance material to assist members.

You can also view the Government’s fact sheet of these amendments here.

The information provided in this Bulletin is general and is intended to assist employers in understanding these changes.

The AADA encourages members to seek their own specialist advice regarding these changes.

AADA GUIDANCE MATERIAL

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Today the Albanese Labor Government announced an expansion of the New Energy Apprenticeships Program which provides incentives to encourage more people into sectors that are playing a critical role in transitioning Australia to a net zero economy.

From 1 June 2024, the program will be broadened to assist more apprentices and trainees to upskill in sectors with exposure to clean energy – such as the automotive sector. This is through the removal of a requirement that an apprentice’s work be solely dedicated to clean energy, whilst retaining a clean energy skilling purpose for the apprenticeship.

The New Energy Apprenticeships Program gives apprentices up to $10,000 in support over the duration of their apprenticeship, helping to offset cost-of-living challenges that apprentices face, especially during their first two years.

The New Energy Apprenticeships Program covers 40 different occupations, encouraging more apprentices to build skills relevant for the net zero transition.

The changes to this scheme removed a requirement that an apprentice’s work be solely dedicated to clean energy and is welcome recognition that along with servicing and repairing new technologies such as EVs and hybrids, automotive technicians will continue to provide services for traditional ICE vehicles well into the future.

For more information about New Energy Apprentices, visit www.apprenticeships.gov.au.

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New regulations in Western Australia will come into effect in June requiring Dealers to advise customers if a vehicle they are selling has been written off, with penalties coming to car Dealers who fail to disclose.

From 7 June 2024, motor vehicle Dealers in Western Australia will have to disclose to prospective buyers if a vehicle under 15-years old is a repairable write-off.

WA Dealers must use amended Motor Vehicle Dealers Act (MVDA) forms which include the addition of the Written Off Vehicle Register (WOVR) status of used vehicles on the Notice of Particulars.

Failure to make this disclosure may result in a $2,000 penalty and any false or misleading statement or representation on the sale form will attract a $5,000 fine under the Motor Vehicle Dealers legislation.

The most complete method of checking in all States is to input the VIN to the PPSR inquiry website.

Dealers should make sure that Dealer Management software systems include the amended forms, and that staff are aware that used repairable write-off vehicles registered on the WOVR must be declared on Form 4 at all times.

The AADA will send Dealers copies of the new MVDA Forms when they are available from Consumer Protection. More information can be found online.

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