Explanatory note
This explanatory note relates to this Bill as introduced into Parliament.

Overview of Bill

The Road Transport (General) Act 2005 (the NSW Act) requires the Roads and
Traffic Authority (the RTA) to keep a register of written-off and wrecked motor
vehicles. The RTA, like other Australian driver licensing and vehicle registration
authorities, transmits the information on its register to a national database of
written-off vehicles. This allows jurisdictions immediate access to written-off
vehicle information on the written-off vehicles registers of other States and
Territories.

The object of this Bill is to amend the NSW Act so as to accord, generally, with a
national system of notifying, registering and managing written-off vehicles.

In particular, this Bill:

(a) makes the terms and categories used in the NSW Act (such as “late model
vehicle”, “total loss”, “written-off vehicle”, “statutory write-off” and
“repairable write-off”) consistent with those used in the laws of the other
States and Territories, and

(b) enables the body maintaining the national database to have access to the
details on the NSW written-off vehicles register, and

(c) enables the RTA (where appropriate) to correct errors in or omissions from
certain information about written-off vehicles placed on the NSW register or
compulsorily notified to the RTA, and

(d) requires certain persons who are self-insurers with respect to vehicles to notify
the RTA of any vehicle they have determined to be a total loss or disposed of
to an auto-dismantler (that is, any vehicle they have written-off), and

(e) requires the RTA to refuse to register, or cancel the registration of, and to
refuse to renew or transfer the registration of, a vehicle that has the same
vehicle identifier as another vehicle that is listed in the NSW register, or an
interstate register, as a statutory write-off, and

(f) requires written-off warning labels to be attached to vehicles that are statutory
write-offs.

Outline of provisions

Clause 1 sets out the name (also called the short title) of the proposed Act.

Clause 2 provides for the commencement of the proposed Act on a day or days to be
appointed by proclamation.

Clause 3 is a formal provision that gives effect to the amendments to the Road
Transport (General) Act 2005 set out in Schedule 1.

Clause 4 provides for the repeal of the proposed Act after all the amendments made
by the proposed Act have commenced. Once the amendments have commenced the
proposed Act will be spent and section 30 of the Interpretation Act 1987 provides
that the repeal of an amending Act does not affect the amendments made by the Act.

Schedule 1 Amendments
Schedule 1 [4] transfers the current provisions of the NSW Act dealing with
unauthorised use of vehicles to a more appropriate location.

Schedule 1 [5] replaces the current provisions of the NSW Act dealing with
written-off and wrecked vehicles with the following provisions:

Part 6.2 Written-off vehicles
Division 1 Preliminary
Proposed section 249 restates the objects of the provisions of the NSW Act dealing
with written-off vehicles so as to include the alignment of NSW with the other States
and Territories in relation to the principles for the notification, registration and
management of written-off vehicles and information about them.

Proposed section 250 contains definitions used in the proposed Part. This involves
the adoption of nationally agreed definitions, so that the terms used in the provisions
of the NSW Act concerning written-off vehicles are consistent with those used in the
rest of Australia and a national system of notifying and registering such vehicles can
be effectively maintained.

Division 2 Register of written-off vehicles
Proposed section 251 requires the RTA to keep a register of written-off vehicles (the
register), which includes information notified to the RTA under the proposed Part.

The section differs from the current section 255 (Register of written off and wrecked
motor vehicles) in that the register is required to record, in relation to a vehicle,
whether the vehicle is a statutory write-off or a repairable write-off.

Proposed section 252 enables the RTA to correct errors in or omissions from
information provided to the RTA under proposed Division 3, before or after it is
placed on the register. This includes, but is not limited to, a change in the
categorisation of a vehicle from being a statutory write-off to being a repairable
write-off (or vice versa), but only if certain conditions are met.

Proposed section 253 relates to access to the register. Access is not generally
available to members of the public. The section lists the circumstances in which
access may be provided. The section differs from the existing law (in current section
255 (6)) in that it also empowers the RTA to allow Austroads Incorporated (the
association of Australian and New Zealand road transport and traffic authorities) to
have access to the register for the purposes only of its national database of written-off
vehicles and information about them.

Proposed section 254 prohibits unauthorised access to, or interference with, the
register.

Division 3 Requirements to provide Authority with
information about written-off, demolished or
dismantled vehicles
Proposed section 255 limits the obligations in the proposed Division, to provide the
RTA with information about written-off, demolished or dismantled vehicles, to
information concerning certain late model vehicles only.

Proposed sections 256, 257, 258 and 259 require an insurer, self-insurer,
auto-dismantler or dealer to provide the RTA, in certain circumstances, with
information concerning each late model vehicle that is determined to be a total loss.

The sections require the person who makes the determination to determine that the
vehicle is either a statutory write-off or a repairable write-off. The sections avoid the
need for duplicate provision of information by providing that, in certain
circumstances, a person is not guilty of an offence in respect of a failure to provide
information concerning a vehicle if the person believes on reasonable grounds that
the information had already been provided by another person.

Proposed section 260 provides for the regulations to extend the obligations to provide
information in the proposed Division to other persons.

Proposed section 261 provides that an insurer, self-insurer, auto-dismantler or dealer
who is required to provide information to the RTA in relation to a written-off vehicle
may use an agent to provide that information to the RTA, but makes it clear that the
insurer, self-insurer, dealer or auto-dismantler concerned (and not the agent) remains
responsible for the timeliness and accuracy of the provision of the information.

Division 4 Restrictions on registration of certain vehicles
At present, section 263 of the NSW Act enables the RTA to refuse to register under
the Road Transport (Vehicle Registration) Act 1997 any vehicle if its vehicle
identifier is the same as the vehicle identifier of a vehicle that has been listed on the
register as being a written-off or wrecked vehicle.

Proposed section 262 instead requires the RTA to refuse to register, or renew or
transfer the registration of, any vehicle if its vehicle identifier is the same as that of
a vehicle that is noted on the register as being a statutory write-off or that the RTA is
aware is listed on an interstate register of written-off vehicles in a category of
written-off vehicles that corresponds to the category of statutory write-off. The new
section also requires the RTA to cancel the existing registration of a vehicle if it
becomes aware that those circumstances apply in respect of the vehicle.

Division 5 Attaching written-off warning labels to statutory
write-offs
Proposed section 263 provides that the proposed Division requiring written-off
warning labels applies only in relation to statutory write-offs.

Proposed section 264 imposes a requirement on insurers, self-insurers, dealers and
auto-dismantlers to attach written-off warning labels to written-off vehicles that are
statutory write-offs.

Proposed section 265 makes provision for the making of regulations concerning
written-off warning labels.

Proposed section 266 provides that an insurer, self-insurer, auto-dismantler or dealer
who is required to attach a written-off warning label to a written-off vehicle may use
an agent to attach that label, but makes it clear that the insurer, self-insurer, dealer or
auto-dismantler concerned (and not the agent) remains responsible for failing to
attach a written-off warning label.

Division 6 General
Proposed section 267 empowers the RTA and the regulations to require insurers,
self-insurers, auto-dismantlers, dealers or other persons to remove, deface, obliterate
or destroy the vehicle identifier of a written-off vehicle.

Proposed section 268 prohibits the unauthorised disclosure of information obtained
in connection with the administration or execution of the proposed Part. A new
feature is that the section authorises disclosure of information on the register to
Austroads Incorporated for the purposes of the national database of written-off
vehicles and information about them.

Proposed section 269 provides for the regulations to vary the application of the
proposed Part.

Proposed section 270 provides for the RTA to exempt any person from the operation
of all or any provisions of the proposed Part.

Schedule 1 [1] and [2] make consequential amendments to a regulation-making
power.

Schedule 1 [3] updates the language used in a provision about certificate evidence.

Schedule 1 [6] provides for the making of savings and transitional regulations
consequent on the enactment of the proposed Act.

Schedule 1 [7] updates a reference to the existing register in a savings provision.

Schedule 1 [8] inserts savings and transitional provisions consequent on the
enactment of the proposed Act, which relate to the changes that will need to be made
to the existing register to reflect the new statutory scheme.

Note: If this Bill is not modified, these Explanatory Notes would reflect the Bill as passed in the House. If the Bill has been amended by Committee, these Explanatory Notes may not necessarily reflect the Bill as passed.

 

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