Unlawful Business Practices

Ms SAVVAS (Newland) (15:01): My question is to the Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs. Can the minister update the house on how the government is seeking to assist consumers in response to unfair practices by a small number of tradespeople?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS (Enfield—Minister for Small and Family Business, Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs, Minister for Arts) (15:02): Thanks to the member for Newland for the question. I know that many people in this place probably have seen the recent media articles about some of the unsettling business practices in particular of Metropolitan Plumbing and its associated businesses.

This week I have actually received more emails through, including one from a couple in my electorate who had fallen victim to Metropolitan Plumbing's high-pressure tactics and overcharging. Can I say, by and large, most tradies are absolutely doing the right thing, but we are seeing, I guess, a particular surge in complaints through largely the media around Metropolitan Plumbing. In the email I received this week, I had constituents who were charged over $6,000 to replace a hot-water system only for them to later compare prices and receive other quotes of between $2,000 and $2,500 for the same job.

Yesterday, the Malinauskas government launched a new campaign to warn South Australians about the practices of rogue tradies charging excessively and also charging for unnecessary work. As I said, there has been a sharp spike in the number of complaints received from South Australians over the past few months, with hundreds more complaints received than usual. South Australians have contacted Consumer and Business Services saying they have been charged excessive amounts, including for unnecessary work and for shoddy work.

CBS, as the state's consumer watchdog, is investigating a significant number of these complaints for potentially breaching Australian Consumer Law, but at the same time, I am urging people to take steps to protect themselves from being taken advantage of in the first place and to be aware of the red flags when hiring a tradesperson, as well as understanding consumer rights under Australian Consumer Law.

When seeking to engage a tradesperson, people should firstly get the scope right and our recommendation is to seek advice from at least three different tradespeople to help you know what tasks need to be carried out and whether anyone is suggesting tasks that are unnecessary. For example, one tradie might insist on a total replacement for a hot water system, while another might suggest repairs for a fraction of that cost.

Of course, requesting quotes is something we should be encouraging our constituents to do, as well as, when seeking advice on the scope of work, inviting each tradesperson to give you a quote, preferably a fixed-price quote, and making sure that you are shopping around. We know that some tradies are charging thousands more dollars than others for the same work.

We are also making sure that people avoid high-pressure situations—a tradie might be trying to convince you that a situation is urgent. It really is important to do that research and make those calls to multiple tradespeople. It is also really important to know who to call. Some companies, like Metropolitan Plumbing, trade under many different names. You might think you are calling different companies, but you need to check the licence number and make sure that you are genuinely getting quotes from different tradies.

There is a simple way to check on the CBS website's licence register to see which business you are contacting. The licence number needs to be displayed on any advertising, including social media, so make sure you are paying attention to that and doing those searches and that you are only dealing with a licensed tradie.

Anyone doing work without a licence is of course actually breaching the law, and their work could be substandard. Check if the person is licensed by checking either their card or their digital licence, by looking them up on the CBS register or by calling CBS on 131 882. It's very important that we are making sure our constituents are being protected. There is material provided to all the MPs to provide to their constituents.