{"id":"fair-trading-motor-vehicle-insurance-and-repair-industry-code-of-conduct-regulations-2023","name":"Fair Trading (Motor Vehicle Insurance and Repair Industry Code of Conduct) Regulations 2023","slug":"fair-trading-motor-vehicle-insurance-and-repair-industry-code-of-conduct-regulations-2023","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"sa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":235484,"registerId":"sa-fair-trading-motor-vehicle-insurance-and-repair-industry-code-of-conduct-regulations-2023-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-06","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Fair Trading (Motor Vehicle Insurance and Repair Industry Code of Conduct) Regulations 2023","content":"South Australia\nFair Trading (Motor Vehicle Insurance and Repair Industry Code of Conduct) Regulations 2023\nunder the Fair Trading Act 1987\n\nContents\n1\tShort title\n2\tCommencement\n3\tInterpretation\n4\tDeclaration of applicable industry code of conduct\n5\tContravention of code subject to civil penalty\nLegislative history\n\n1—Short title\nThese regulations may be cited as the Fair Trading (Motor Vehicle Insurance and Repair Industry Code of Conduct) Regulations 2023.\n2—Commencement\nThese regulations come into operation on 28 February 2023.\n3—Interpretation\nIn these regulations—\nAct means the Fair Trading Act 1987;\ncode means the Motor Vehicle Insurance and Repair Industry Code of Conduct declared under regulation 4;\nCommissioner means the Small Business Commissioner.\n4—Declaration of applicable industry code of conduct\n\t(1)\tThe Motor Vehicle Insurance and Repair Industry Code of Conduct published in the Gazette (Gazette 05.01.2023 p3) is declared to be an applicable industry code of conduct for the purposes of Part 3B of the Act.\n\t(2)\tPursuant to section 28I(2)(b) of the Act, a provision of the code that relates to the voluntary application of the code is excluded from the code.\n5—Contravention of code subject to civil penalty\nFor the purposes of section 86C of the Act, the expiation fee for an alleged civil penalty contravention involving an alleged contravention or attempted contravention of the code is—\n\t(a)\tin the case of a body corporate—$1 200; and\n\t(b)\tin the case of an individual—$500.\nLegislative history\nNotes\n\t•\tFor further information relating to the Act and subordinate legislation made under the Act see the Index of South Australian Statutes or www.legislation.sa.gov.au.\nPrincipal regulations\nYear\nNo\nReference\nCommencement\n2023\n6\nGazette 23.2.2023 p408 \n28.2.2023: r 2\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulations maintain a narrow, focused scope: declaring a specific pre-existing industry code as enforceable under the Fair Trading Act and setting penalty amounts. There is no evidence of scope creep; the instrument does exactly what its title suggests and no more."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short – only 5 operative provisions","Minimal defined terms – only 3 definitions in the interpretation section (Act, code, Commissioner)","No nested conditional logic or exceptions","Single cross-reference to the Fair Trading Act 1987 (SA) for substantive content","Straightforward declaratory structure: name the code, exclude voluntary provisions, set penalties"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this does:**\nThese regulations make a voluntary industry code legally binding for motor vehicle insurers and repairers in South Australia. The code sets rules for how insurance companies and car repair businesses must treat each other and consumers.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **Motor vehicle insurers** – companies that provide car insurance\n- **Motor vehicle repairers** – mechanics and smash repair shops\n- **Consumers** – car owners who make insurance claims (indirectly, through better industry behaviour)\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThe regulations give the code \"teeth.\" Before these regulations, the code was voluntary – businesses could ignore it. Now:\n- Breaking the code can result in **civil penalties** (fines imposed through the courts)\n- There are set fines: **$1,200 for companies** and **$500 for individuals** for alleged breaches\n- The Small Business Commissioner can enforce the code\n\n**Key point:** This converts a voluntary industry agreement into enforceable law, aiming to stop unfair practices like insurers pressuring repairers to cut corners or delay payments."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"These regulations do not amend the substantive terms of the Motor Vehicle Insurance and Repair Industry Code itself. They declare the Gazette-published code to be an applicable industry code under the Fair Trading Act (reg 4(1)), exclude voluntary-only provisions from application (reg 4(2)), and fix expiation fee amounts for alleged civil-penalty contraventions (reg 5). In effect they change enforcement applicability and penalties but do not alter the code's content."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-references to the Fair Trading Act (Part 3B) and specific Act provisions (reg 4(2) referencing s28I(2)(b); reg 5 referencing s86C) require legal reading across instruments.","The regulation declares an external document (the Gazette-published code) operative; substantive rules sit outside the regulations and must be read together.","Exclusion of provisions that 'relate to the voluntary application of the code' (reg 4(2)) may require factual and legal analysis to identify which code clauses are excluded.","Evidentiary and enforcement mechanics are largely governed by the Act; these regulations set only expiation fee amounts (reg 5) without procedural detail, increasing reliance on Act procedures and enforcement discretion.","Short, prescriptive instrument with limited operational detail: compliance burden and practical application depend on interaction with the code text and enforcement practice."],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations declare the Motor Vehicle Insurance and Repair Industry Code of Conduct (Gazette 05.01.2023) to be an applicable industry code under Part 3B of the Fair Trading Act 1987, exclude any purely voluntary provisions from operation, and set expiation fees for alleged civil-penalty contraventions: $1,200 for corporations and $500 for individuals. It affects insurers, repairers and related businesses by making code breaches enforceable and assigning who bears the penalty fees; the Small Business Commissioner is the named Commissioner."},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as the legislative text was not available for review. No comparison between original intent and final provisions is possible."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was retrievable — the source URL returned a 404 error","Analysis is based solely on the title of the instrument, not its content","Complexity cannot be meaningfully assessed without access to the actual provisions","Regulatory instruments of this type can range from straightforward conduct rules to complex multi-party frameworks — impossible to determine here"],"plain_english_summary":"This South Australian regulation establishes a Code of Conduct for the motor vehicle insurance and repair industry, setting rules to govern interactions between insurers, repairers and consumers. It aims to promote fair, transparent and accountable practices in claims and repair processes, affecting car owners making claims, smash repairers/panel beaters, and insurance companies."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/fair-trading-motor-vehicle-insurance-and-repair-industry-code-of-conduct-regulations-2023","history":"/api/acts/fair-trading-motor-vehicle-insurance-and-repair-industry-code-of-conduct-regulations-2023/history","analysis":"/api/acts/fair-trading-motor-vehicle-insurance-and-repair-industry-code-of-conduct-regulations-2023/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/fair-trading-motor-vehicle-insurance-and-repair-industry-code-of-conduct-regulations-2023/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/fair-trading-motor-vehicle-insurance-and-repair-industry-code-of-conduct-regulations-2023/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/fair-trading-motor-vehicle-insurance-and-repair-industry-code-of-conduct-regulations-2023/documents"}}