image of car key handover with car in background

The strongest penalties in the nation to crackdown on dodgy second-hand vehicle sellers commenced in South Australia on 1 July 2025.

They include:

  • maximum penalties for unlicensed dealing increase from $100,000 to $250,000 and/or two years imprisonment for individuals, and from $250,000 to $500,000 for body corporates (companies)
  • a 15-fold increase of the maximum penalty for odometer tampering to $150,000, or for three or more offences, and/or two years imprisonment
  • a new offence for providing false and misleading statements in relation to odometers plus powers to require that altered odometers be rectified
  • allowing courts to order compensation for a consumer impacted by a private seller convicted of odometer tampering.

Note: A person who buys, sells or offers for sale 4 or more vehicles within 12 months in South Australia must be licensed. Where a family or household member is also dealing in vehicles, 6 or more between them in 12 months also require a licence. A person carrying on a business as a dealer also requires a licence, even if they only buy or sell less than 4 vehicles. (See s50 of the Second-hand Vehicle Dealers Act 1995).

Changes later in 2025

Additional amendments by state parliament in 2024 are yet to change obligations around a dealer’s duty to repair vehicles, increased consumer protections and make administrative changes to streamline the sales process. Supporting regulations are currently being finalised to commence these in coming months.

Consumer protection steps mean that purchasers will no longer be allowed to waive the dealer’s duty to repair a vehicle.

Other changes follow extensive consultation and feedback from industry to address odometer tampering, recognition of electric and hybrid vehicles as well as administrative changes to forms used in the sales process.

Further state government reforms to the Second-hand Vehicle Dealers Act 1995 include:

  • no longer allowing a purchaser to waive the dealer’s duty to repair a vehicle
  • supporting cost effective pricing by enabling dealers to disclose defects that won’t be subject to the duty to repair, provided that the vehicle is roadworthy
  • expanding the dealer’s duty to repair to include the main propulsion batteries in hybrid and electric vehicles within the statutory warranty period
  • new practicalities:
    • removing the administrative burden of displaying the previous owner’s name and address and potentially alleviating privacy and safety concerns (still available from the dealer/auctioneer on request)
    • removing the need to display the name and details of the last person the vehicle was leased to, if it was used as a taxi or hire car (still available from the dealer/auctioneer on request)
    • allowing dealers to include additional information in a contract of sale without taking away important information for buyers
    • resulting streamlining of the prescribed form for sale of a vehicle or motorcycle.

The government is retaining the statutory warranty period under the Act for cars aged less than 15 years or that have travelled less than 200,000km.

This webpage will be updated when a new commencement date for the latter reforms is announced.

You can report suspicious car sales practices in SA and odometer tampering to Consumer and Business Services on 131 882.