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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-11-12 Daily Xml
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Bills

Scrap Metal Dealers Bill

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. B.I. BOYER (Wright—Minister for Education, Training and Skills, Minister for Police) (15:44): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to regulate the scrap metal industry, and for other purposes. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. B.I. BOYER (Wright—Minister for Education, Training and Skills, Minister for Police) (15:45): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

Today, I introduce the Scrap Metal Dealers Bill 2025, which will not only assist in reducing opportunistic metal theft within South Australia but also reduce costly disruptions to the building and construction industries and reduce victims of and people affected by metal theft throughout our entire community.

This bill will enable South Australian legislation to be aligned with other Australian jurisdictions and countries around the world. The bill responds to a growing and deeply concerning trend: the theft of copper, piping and catalytic converters across the community and the incessant theft of countless metal components from construction and mining sites, which have an ongoing and significant impact on the state's economy.

The Master Builders Association of South Australia has found the estimated cost of metal theft to the industry in excess of $70 million per annum. The lack of regulation of the scrap metal industry has resulted in a significant amount of metal theft and associated illegal activities. Our government is committed to reducing crime, creating safer worksites and ensuring that our state continues to support businesses and economic growth. We are focused on reducing criminal activity, service disruptions and significant financial losses experienced by South Australian businesses and residents within the South Australian community.

This bill is necessary, as the regulation of the scrap metal industry is already occurring interstate. The key provisions of the bill are as follows:

1. Registration of legitimate and conscientious scrap metal dealers who are not a part of or involved in criminality.

2. Transaction records to be provided to police to assist with their investigations and identification of suspicious activity.

3. Prohibition of cash, cheque and in-kind payment for transactions, enabling transactions to be traceable and reducing the incentive for opportunistic theft.

4. Enforcement through the establishment of powers for police to enter, search and inspect any premises, vehicle or vessel and issue disqualification notices where necessary.

The bill does not target legitimate scrap metal businesses or stop people in the community from recycling their cans and bottles. Let me be clear about that. It targets the unregulated trade resulting from the theft of metal from construction and mining sites, public utility sites, transportation locations, community sporting venues, event venues and people's homes and businesses for illegitimate and illegal gain. The bill provides flexibility to expand or exclude prescribed metal items and classes of persons defined as prescribed scrap metal dealers, such as manufacturers, allowing responsiveness to emerging crime trends and situations.

I thank the Ai Group for their ongoing discussions with SA Police and my office around the drafting of regulations for manufacturers. I give the same commitment again that we will continue to work not just with the Ai Group but industry on both sides—the housing, motoring and manufacturing industry and also the scrap metal dealers—in finalising the regulations. In developing the bill, we have consulted with interstate law enforcement, industry stakeholders and the broader community.

The message is clear: we must act now to make scrap metal theft unappealing for opportunistic thieves and reduce the rates of criminal activity and harm to both the community and our economy. This is responsible, measured and necessary reform. It reflects our Labor values: protecting communities, supporting business, economic growth, protecting the environment and making worksites safer for all workers. I seek leave to introduce the explanation of clauses into Hansard without me reading them, and I commend the bill the house.

Leave granted.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

This clause is formal.

2—Commencement

Commencement of the measure is by proclamation. Section 27(6) of the Legislation Interpretation Act 2021 is disapplied.

3—Interpretation

This clause defines terms and phrases used in the measure.

4—Meaning of scrap metal and prescribed scrap metal

This clause defines what is scrap metal for the purposes of the Act, and also what is prescribed scrap metal.

5—Meaning of prescribed scrap metal dealer

This clause defines who is a prescribed scrap metal dealer for the purposes of the measure.

6—Presumption of carrying on business of buying and selling prescribed scrap metal

This clause sets out when a person who is buying and selling prescribed scrap metal is taken to be carrying on a business of doing so.

7—Application of Act

This clause clarifies the interactions between this measure and other Acts and laws, in particular the Second-hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Act 1996, the Second-hand Vehicle Dealers Act 1995 where there is some crossover between the items regulated under the respective Acts.

8—Criminal intelligence

This clause is a standard power for the declaration by the Commissioner of Police of certain information as criminal intelligence, and rules around its disclosure.

Part 2—Prescribed scrap metal dealers

9—Disqualification from carrying on business of buying and selling prescribed scrap metal

This clause creates an offence for a person to carry on a business buying and selling prescribed scrap metal if they are disqualified under this measure from doing so. The clause sets out how a person is, or may be, disqualified and sets out the grounds for that happening.

10—Interim disqualification

This clause enables the Commissioner of Police to disqualify a person from carrying on a business buying and selling prescribed scrap metal on an interim basis.

11—Notification of intention to carry on business etc

This clause requires a person who is proposing to carry on a business of buying and selling prescribed scrap metal to give the Commissioner of Police written notice of that fact. Failure to do so is an offence.

The clause creates a similar offence for a person who, on or after the commencement of the section, carries on a business of buying and selling prescribed scrap metal to fail to give the Commissioner of Police written notice of that fact.

12—Notification of change of information

This clause requires a person who has given the Commissioner of Police notice of certain information under proposed section 11 to give notify the Commissioner of any changes in that information. Failure to do so is an offence.

13—Register

This clause requires the Commissioner of Police to keep a register containing the information specified in the clause.

Part 3—Dealing in prescribed scrap metal

14—Prohibition on certain forms of payment for prescribed scrap metal

This clause creates an offence for a person who is buying prescribed scrap metal to pay for it using the payment methods specified.

15—Prohibition on advertising certain forms of payment for prescribed scrap metal

This clause creates an offence for a person to advertise the fact that they will buy scrap metal using one of the payment methods prohibited under the measure, or to offer to do so.

16—Records of certain prescribed scrap metal transactions

This clause requires certain records to be made and kept by prescribed scrap metal dealers in relation to certain transactions involving prescribed scrap metal.

17—Verification of identity

This clause requires prescribed scrap metal dealers to verify, in accordance with the regulations, the identity of a person from whom they buy prescribed scrap metal. Failure to do so is an offence.

18—Duty to report and retain stolen prescribed scrap metal

This clause requires prescribed scrap metal dealers to notify a police officer where they suspect prescribed scrap metal bought or received by them may have been unlawfully obtained. The clause prevents such prescribed scrap metal from being disposed of or altered by the prescribed scrap metal dealer until certain notification is made, and further enables police officers to give directions in relation to the disposal or alteration of the prescribed scrap metal.

Part 4—Enforcement

Division 1—Authorised officers

19—Authorised officers

This clause sets out who are authorised officers for the purposes of this measure.

20—Powers of authorised officers

This clause sets out the powers of authorised officers under the measure.

21—General provisions relating to exercise of powers

This clause clarifies the interaction between the measure and the Summary Offences Act 1953 in respect of the powers of authorised officers who are police officers. The clause also creates an offence to hinder or obstruct an authorised officer.

Part 5—Review of certain decisions

22—Review of certain decisions

This clause confers jurisdiction on the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal to review certain decisions of the Commissioner of Police under the measure.

Part 6—Miscellaneous

23—False or misleading information

This clause creates an offence for person to provide false or misleading information under the measure. A maximum penalty of $20,000 is fixed.

24—Statutory declaration

This clause enables the Commissioner of Police to require that information provided under the measure be verified by statutory declaration.

25—Liability for act or omission of officer, employee or agent

This clause provides that an act or omission of an officer, employee or agent of prescribed scrap metal dealer will be taken to be an act or omission of the prescribed scrap metal dealer unless it is proved that the officer, employee or agent acted outside the scope of their usual and ostensible authority.

26—Offences by bodies corporate

This clause is a standard provision imputing liability of a body corporate to each director of the body corporate.

27—Self-incrimination

This clause partially abrogates the privilege against self-incrimination in respect of certain requirements under the measure.

28—Limitation of liability etc

This clause provides that compensation is not payable for things done under the Act, and further limits any liability of the Crown, the Commissioner of Police and others performing functions under the Act.

29—Annual report

This clause requires the Commissioner of Police to provide to the Minister an annual report on the operation of the measure.

30—Evidentiary

This clause allows certain evidence to be given in proceedings by way of certificate.

31—Confidentiality

This clause is a standard confidentiality provision, limiting disclosure of certain information obtained by a person in the course of the administration, operation or enforcement of the measure.

32—Victimisation

This clause prohibits a person from victimising another person on the ground, or substantially on the ground, that the other person has disclosed or intends to disclose information, or has made or intends to make an allegation, that has given rise or could give rise to proceedings against the person under this measure. An act of victimisation may be dealt with as a tort or as if it were an act of victimisation under the Equal Opportunity Act 1984.

33—Regulations and fee notices

This clause provides power to make regulations and to prescribe fees by fee notice.

34—Review of Act

This clause provides for a review of the operation of the measure to be undertaken after the measure has been in operation for a period of 3 years.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Teague.

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