Page 4270 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 23 October 2019

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Amendment agreed to.

Original question, as amended, agreed to.

Consumer protection—second-hand vehicles

MS CHEYNE (Ginninderra) (5.38): I move:

That this Assembly:

(1) notes that the Sale of Motor Vehicle Act 1977 (ACT) provides;

(a) a statutory warranty of up to 5000 kilometres or up to three months for second-hand motor vehicles less than 10 years old or driven less than 160 000 kilometres;

(b) no warranty for second-hand motor vehicles 10 years old or more or driven 160 000 kilometres or more; and

(2) notes that under Australian Consumer Law:

(a) suppliers must guarantee goods, including second-hand goods, are of acceptable quality, that is, fit for purpose, free from defects, safe and durable;

(b) if there is a major fault that cannot be fixed or is too difficult to fix within a reasonable timeframe, the consumer can choose between a repair, replacement or refund, or compensation for decreased value; and

(3) further notes that:

(a) Australian Consumer Law only applies to goods purchased after 1 January 2011, with ACT consumer protection laws applying before that date;

(b) in practice, the supplier of goods generally determines if a fault is major or non-major rather than the consumer due to technical knowledge;

(c) a lack of statutory guarantees for second-hand motor vehicles has encouraged the emergence of third-party warranty companies that have attracted criticism from consumers; and

(d) the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal jurisdictional limit is $25 000 for consumer law matters; and

(4) calls on the Government to review existing legislation and consider:

(a) expanding consumer protections by introducing 30-day warranties for second-hand motor vehicles purchased through dealerships, including cars, motorcycles, caravans and motorhomes, that are 10 years old or more or driven 160 000 kilometres or more;

(b) raising the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal’s jurisdictional limit for motor vehicles, including cars, motorcycles, caravans and motorhomes, so consumers can more easily enforce their rights;

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