New Regulations about Cars to be Introduced 2018

New regulations about Cars on Australian roads are set to be introduced to Parliament for approval in 2018. To read an article about it go to:

If you would like to read the “Exposure Drafts” and further Government supplied information about the changes go to:

For a brief outline there is this pdf:

Some of the changes are good to see such as the tougher stance on Safety Recalls, such as the Takata Airbag issues. I think the fines could go further considering the money Car manufacturers make but at least it is an increase.

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At last I can get that rare, left-hand-drive supercar I’ve always wanted :smile:

Good to see there is some attention paid to fines for selling unsafe vehicles, but it would be better if the fines extended to existing vehicles still requiring safety work (such as the many vehicles still waiting for a replacement for potentially dangerous takata airbags). Also, the odomoter tampering fines will be good for tackling problems with dodgy grey imports.

Here’s a video on odometer fraud, featuring @ScottOKeefe’s experiences.

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Ahh you must have lots of money or a very friendly bank/loan manager :slight_smile:

I agree with the older vehicle recalls but I think the Federal Govt is averse to introducing Retrospective Legislation in these matters. This is because of a number of factors, but including, I suspect, unintended issues due in part but not entirely to poor drafting of the Laws that would affect older cars.

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Several people have asked how this story ended.

Long story short, the dealership was pursued through the local court, but the assets of the company were all gone ( surprise ! ) and the company had been wound up, so I got no recompense.

Final footnote: I sold the van last week ( and yes, the buyer was aware of the whole sorry saga ).

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Do the principles of the Company still trade? Have they been reported to the ASIC, Fair Trading & ACCC investigators if they still are trading as other companies?

I guess you have looked in to all this, so my questions are probably un-needed, and/or obsolescent.

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As far as I can determine, the principals of the companies concerned are no longer trading. During the process of pursuit, I involved ACCC, ASIC, NSW Fair Trading, and NSW Police. It was a frustrating, time-consuming, and expensive process that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.

My initial concern was that they had phoenixed the business, but that wasn’t the case.

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As was mine :slight_smile: Thank you for the response.

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Such a shame you didn’t get the right result. It makes me wonder, in a situation like yours, the proposed fines would probably be equally ineffective? Unless they also…

Actually nope, that’s probably no good either.

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Be careful what you post ASIO may have you in their sights :laughing: Ahhh what am I thinking, they probably already have a file on you because you work for that subversive organisation that promotes Consumer Rights called Choice Australia :slight_smile:

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Haha that’s okay, I think watching me would be pretty boring work for ASIO to be fair. The occasional ‘koala blowing up a water tower’ joke is about as exciting as it gets

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Didn’t read the details, but I hope that the new regime applies to ALL road vehicles such as imported camper vans, caravans, trailers, etc.

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The irony is they are in many ways relaxing the laws while we had a discussion in another thread about some of the problems of modern vehicle designs.

and then tracking recalls?

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It appears the design rules have a different purpose than safety these days. What could they be? nb. Nissan’s response makes technical/visual sense, but.

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Regardless of whether they were a phoenix company, corporate law is clearly inadequate to deal with criminal behaviour. Why were the principals not charged with fraud, for instance? This seems like another example of how individuals can hide behind incorporation and leave their crimes behind them - something that occurs on the individual and the international scale, as we all see way too often.

Unfortunately, corporations are not people and are able to avoid the kinds of punishment that deter Jill Average from all sorts of awful behaviours. Worse, they actively encourage their staff to do Bad Things - as we see with the banks - and then claim that it’s all the fault of ‘a few bad apples’ (who saw what behaviours were being rewarded).

I’m sorry to hear your story, Scott - and sorry to hear the ending. It is a shame that you were left to pay for others’ crimes.

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In the NT, especially for a large segment of my local community, left hand drive cars are not only NOT a problem, but they are plentiful. Not a day goes by where I don’t see dozens of them …

Unsure why its such a big problem elsewhere in Australia - I know all the arguments about visibility/etc but really it’s just adaptation and consideration, and most people don’t even bother to look out the windows these days anyway …

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