Motor Vehicle Dealers (Licensing) Regulations 1974

The Regulations are structured around a small set of concepts that implement the licensing architecture created by the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act 1973. These concepts are:

• Licence categories and business descriptions, prescribed by regulation and captured in Schedule 4. The Regulations list categories A to E, and allow any nominated combination of those categories (reg 8; Schedule 4). Each category is defined by the type of activity: buying, selling and auctioning (A); dismantling for parts (B); acting as an agent (C); hire and hire-sale activity (D); consignment sales (E) (Schedule 4).
• Authorisations and the register of authorisations. The Commissioner must keep a register of authorisations under s 24(1) of the Act, and the Regulations prescribe the particulars that must be recorded for dealer licences, yard manager licences and salespersons licences (reg 7A). The prescribed particulars include personal and business identifiers such as name, licence number, residential address for yard managers and salespersons, business names, directors and secretary for corporate licensees, authorised premises and yard manager names (reg 7A(2)-(4)).
• Notification duties for employees with operational responsibility. Yard managers and salespersons are subject to an express duty to notify the Commissioner in an approved form within 14 days of any change in information relating to their employment or place of employment (reg 7B).
• Fee structure. The Regulations identify specific fees and the payment points, with amounts in Schedule 3. Notable features include a base dealer licence application/renewal fee of $1,010 plus $1,120 for each additional authorised premises (Schedule 3 Item 1), and separate fees for yard managers ($602), salespersons ($408) and car market operator registration (Schedule 3 Items 2-4).
• Exemptions. The Regulations specify a set of sales and exchanges that are treated as exempt sales or exchanges for the purposes of s 5B(4) of the Act (reg 9). These cover sales to licensed dealers, financiers and related companies, sales by financiers of repossessed goods at public auction or by public tender, certain private treaty sales by financiers, public sales of vehicles previously owned by government employees, liquidator or court-ordered disposals, and specified disposals of Class B licensed vehicles with club or historic vehicle concessions under the Road Traffic (Vehicles) Regulations 2014 (reg 9(2)-(3)).
• Transitional phasing. The Regulations contain transitional provisions that preserve the effect of a dealer’s licence as if particular Commerce Regulations Amendments had not come into operation until the licence expires or would have expired if renewed (regs 10-11).

Each of these concepts ties back to an Act provision that delegates detail to regulations. The Regulations therefore function as the detailed, operational rulebook for how licence periods, fees, registers and limited exemptions work under the Act, rather than creating separate regulatory regimes.

These Regulations affect the following population groups in clearly delineated ways.

• Licensed vehicle dealers. Dealers are directly affected by the fee schedule (Schedule 3), the definitions of permitted business categories (Schedule 4), and the register particulars required of dealer licence-holders (reg 7A(2)). The fee structure applies per licence and per authorised premises, so multi-site dealers face incremental costs for each additional authorised premises listed under section 20E(3) of the Act (Schedule 3 Item 1).
• Yard managers and salespersons. Yard managers and salespersons must maintain up-to-date employment particulars with the Commissioner, notifying any change within 14 days in the approved form (reg 7B). The register must include residential addresses for yard managers and salespersons (reg 7A(3)-(4)). Applications for these licences attract distinct fees: yard manager licence $602, salesperson licence $408 (Schedule 3 Items 2-3).
• Car market operators. The registration and renewal fee for a car market operator is set out in Schedule 3 Item 4, including a per-premises charging structure consistent with dealer premises fees.
• Financiers and related companies. The Regulations list certain sales and disposals by financiers as exempt from the Act’s licensing provisions, for example repossessions sold by a financier at public auction or by way of public tender (reg 9(2)(b)). The definition of “related company” imports the Corporations Act 2001 definition of related body corporate, so corporate groups structured under the Corporations Act are affected by that cross-reference (reg 9(1)).
• Liquidators and courts. Sales by liquidators under powers in the Corporations Act, and disposals ordered by the Supreme Court, are prescribed as exempt sales when the vendor company was not a dealer and has been wound up (reg 9(2)(d)(ii)).
• Government departments and statutory authorities. Vehicles last owned or used by government employees, when sold at public auction and used in the course of employment, are prescribed as exempt sales (reg 9(2)(d)(i)).
• The Commissioner and licensing administrators. The Commissioner is the repository of the register and the recipient of notifications under reg 7B. The Regulations specify the particulars the Commissioner must keep in the register (reg 7A), and the Commissioner will therefore have administrative obligations for data capture and record-keeping.
• Prospective entrants and small operators. Entry costs are affected by the fee regime. The base dealer licence fee plus per-premises charges are particularly relevant to small operators who may operate from multiple sites or seek temporary permits (Schedule 3 Items 1 and 6).

Who pays: licence applicants and holders are the payers of the fees in Schedule 3. Who decides: the Commissioner is the administrative decision-maker for record-keeping and for receiving notifications; licensing decisions are made under the Act, with the Regulations specifying operational details such as fee amounts, register particulars and declared exemptions (see regs 7, 7A, 7B, 8, 9).

The Regulations impose specific duties and create administrative rights that fit into the Act’s broader licence framework. Key duties and the practical rights they interact with are as follows.

Duties

• Do not make false statements in applications or notices. A person who makes false or misleading statements in any application or notice commits an offence with a penalty of $2,000 (reg 6). This duty applies to any relevant application or notice under the regime.
• Lodge licence applications on time or pay the late penalty. The prescribed licence period is 3 years for the purposes of s 19(1) of the Act, so renewal timing is set with a three year reference point (reg 6A). If an application is late the Regulations prescribe a penalty equal to 25 percent of the appropriate licence fee for the purposes of s 19(3) (reg 6B).
• Provide and maintain prescribed particulars for the register. Licence-holders and applicants are required by the Act and these Regulations to have certain particulars recorded in the register. The Regulations specify the exact particulars for dealer licence-holders (reg 7A(2)), yard managers (reg 7A(3)) and salespersons (reg 7A(4)). Those particulars include personal details, licence numbers, dates of application and renewal, authorised premises and employer details, and names of directors and managers where the licensee is a body corporate.
• Notify the Commissioner of changes in employment for yard managers and salespersons. Yard managers and salespersons must give notice to the Commissioner in the approved form if there is any change in information relating to their employment or place of employment, within 14 days after the change (reg 7B(1)-(2)).
• Pay fees as prescribed. Applicants and licence-holders must pay fees fixed in Schedule 3 for the relevant matters, including applications and renewals for dealer licences, yard manager licences, salesperson licences, car market operator registration, temporary permits, variations to authorised premises and applications for exemption from the Act (reg 7; Schedule 3).

Rights / administrative effects

• Categories of business entitlement. A dealer may be licensed in one or more categories prescribed in Schedule 4, and may nominate any combination A to E to reflect the business activities for which the dealer requires authorisation (reg 8; Schedule 4). This creates a right to hold a licence that matches the nominated activities, subject to the Act’s substantive licensing tests.
• Transitional protection of existing licences. Dealers holding licences immediately before specified regulatory amendments continue to have those licences operate as if the amendments had not taken effect, until the licence expires or would have expired. That protection is available under reg 10 for the 2021 amendment and under reg 11 for the 2022 amendment, with the temporal limitation described in each subregulation.
• Exemption mechanics. Specific sales and exchanges are declared exempt for the purpose of s 5B(4) of the Act. If a proposed transaction falls within the express categories in reg 9, the dealer licensing obligations in the Act will not apply to that sale or exchange. The exemptions are narrowly described, for example sales to licensed dealers or financiers, repossession-related auctions by financiers, certain liquidation disposals and specified Class B vehicle disposals (reg 9(2)-(3)).

Operational notes tied to duties and rights

• The register particulars include sensitive contact information, for example the residential address of yard managers and salespersons (reg 7A(3)(c) and 7A(4)(c)). The Regulations do not, in themselves, specify public access or privacy protections for the register; they only prescribe which particulars are to be recorded (reg 7A).
• The per-premises fee model means actions that alter the authorised premises of a licence trigger separate application fees for each altered or added premises (Schedule 3 Items 5 and 7).
• Temporary permits and exemption applications are subject to fixed monetary fees (Schedule 3 Items 6 and 8).

Caveat: the Regulations implement particular administrative duties and fees. Broader rights or conditions that affect licensing outcomes, such as grounds for refusal, suspension or cancellation, and enforcement powers, are created by the Act itself. The Regulations supply the numeric, register and procedural detail necessary for administration.

The Regulations set limited and specific penalties, and create reporting obligations that will operate within the enforcement architecture of the Act. The text to consider is compact but operational.

Penalties created by the Regulations

• False or misleading statements. There is a stand-alone offence in the Regulations for making a false statement, misleading statement or representation in any application or notice, with a monetary penalty of $2,000 (reg 6). The offence is expressed in general terms and attaches to the act of supplying false or misleading information in the documents used in the licensing regime.
• Late application penalty. The Regulations prescribe, for the purposes of s 19(3) of the Act, that the penalty for a late application is 25 percent of the appropriate licence fee (reg 6B). The Regulations do not prescribe a separate fine amount here; rather they prescribe the calculation method that attaches to the Act’s late application provision.
• Fees as administrative conditions. Failure to pay prescribed fees is not itself specified as a criminal offence in these Regulations, but the Regulations set out the required fees and thus non-payment will engage the licensing regime under the Act, which contains licensing conditions and consequences. The Regulations make clear which monetary amounts are payable for each application or variation matter (reg 7; Schedule 3).

Enforcement mechanisms implied by the Regulations

• Administrative record-keeping. The Commissioner is required to maintain a register of authorisations with the particulars specified (reg 7A). That record-keeping function is an administrative mechanism which the Commissioner will use to monitor compliance and to verify licence status and authorised premises. The Regulations require notification of employment changes by yard managers and salespersons within 14 days (reg 7B). The requirement to notify in an approved form is an operational enforcement lever, because late or missing notifications can be detected against the register.
• Interaction with Act enforcement. The Regulations supply details that permit administrative enforcement under the Act. For example, the Act’s provisions on licensing, suspension and cancellation are operative against persons who fail to maintain the required particulars, make false statements or fail to pay prescribed fees. The Regulations identify offence elements and fee penalties that feed into the Act’s enforcement mechanisms. Where the Act imposes specific powers or sanctions they remain the primary enforcement route; the Regulations create subsidiary offences and administrative costs that support enforcement.

Limits and omissions in enforcement detail

• The Regulations do not set out investigatory powers, infringement notices, or procedural steps for prosecution. They contain a single defined offence (reg 6) and a prescriptive late application penalty (reg 6B). The broader enforcement toolkit , who prosecutes, evidentiary standards, appeal rights and administrative review , are matters located in the Act or in other instruments and are not reproduced here.
• The Regulations specify the register particulars but do not state whether the register is publicly accessible, nor the contours of privacy protections. This affects enforcement transparency and third party verification, but the Regulations themselves are silent on public access.

Practical enforcement risks for regulated parties

• Making an inaccurate statement in an application or notice carries a fixed $2,000 penalty (reg 6) and may trigger further action under the Act if the false statement is material to licensing decisions.
• Late renewal or late application risks a 25 percent surcharge of the licence fee (reg 6B). Because Schedule 3 contains significant per-premises charges, the late penalty can be material for multi-premises operators.
• Administrative non-compliance with the 14 day notification window for yard managers and salespersons (reg 7B) creates a discrete compliance exposure, even where the substance of the change is minor.

In short, the Regulations create narrow but concrete monetary penalties and administrative obligations that support the Act’s licensing enforcement architecture, while leaving the broader enforcement powers and procedures to the Act itself.

The Regulations operate as subordinate legislation to the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act 1973 and explicitly cross‑reference and import elements from both that Act and other Commonwealth and State instruments. The interactions to note, as set out in the Regulations, are:

• Motor Vehicle Dealers Act 1973. Numerous provisions of the Regulations are preparatory or supplemental to specific sections of the Act. Examples include:
  • Section 5A: the Act allows descriptions of business to be prescribed for categories of dealer’s licence; the Regulations prescribe those descriptions in Schedule 4 (reg 8).
  • Section 5B(4): the Act permits certain sales to be prescribed as exempt; the Regulations specify the exempt sales and exchanges in reg 9.
  • Section 19(1) and (3): the Regulations prescribe a licence period of 3 years for the purposes of s 19(1) and a late application penalty equal to 25 percent of the fee for the purposes of s 19(3) (regs 6A and 6B).
  • Section 24(1): the register of authorisations to be kept under s 24(1) is given detailed particulars by reg 7A.
  • The Schedule 3 fee items reference various sections of the Act for the matters to which a fee attaches, for example applications under s 15 and s 19(3) for dealer licences, yard manager licences under s 16(1), salesperson licences under s 17(1), car market operator registration under s 17B, premises alteration and addition under s 20F and s 21B, temporary permits under s 20H(3), and exemption applications under s 31(1)(a) (Schedule 3).
• Corporations Act 2001 (Commonwealth). The Regulations import the Corporations Act definition of “related body corporate” indirectly by defining “related company” in reg 9(1) as a body corporate that is a related body corporate within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001. That affects exemptions which apply to sales to a financier or a company related to a financier, and sales to employees of a related company (reg 9(2)(a)(ii)-(iii)).
• Road Traffic (Vehicles) Regulations 2014 (WA). The Regulations treat sales or exchanges of vehicles licensed as Class B under regulation 35(1) or (2) of the Road Traffic (Vehicles) Regulations 2014 as exempt in certain circumstances, for example vehicles subject to car club membership, historic/unique vehicles not meeting contemporary standards, or concessional registration arrangements for limited use vehicles (reg 9(3)). That cross-reference links licensing of dealers to an independent vehicle licensing classification under the vehicle regulations.
• Commerce Regulations Amendment instruments. Two transitional regulations (regs 10 and 11) reference specific Commerce Regulations Amendment instruments by title and apply transitional continuance to licences in force immediately before those instruments commended. Those Transitional provisions preserve the prior legal position for existing licences until expiry or renewal, interacting with the timing of regulatory changes enacted in SL 2021/164 and SL 2022/161.
• Fee regulation instruments. The compilation table shows that fee changes and periodic amendments to Schedule 3 have been implemented through various Commerce Regulations Amendment (Fees and Charges) instruments across multiple years. Those fee instruments operate to change the Schedule 3 amounts by amending the Regulations.

What the Regulations do not do in relation to other laws

• They do not modify the Corporations Act, the Road Traffic Regulations, or the Act itself. Instead the Regulations draw on definitions and classifications in those instruments to determine when the motor vehicle dealer licensing regime applies or does not apply.
• They do not set out the full procedural or enforcement regime under the Act, such as the grounds for licence refusal, suspension and cancellation, appeal rights or investigatory powers. Those provisions remain in the Act.

Operational implications of these interactions

• Corporate group structures governed by the Corporations Act can affect whether a sale is an “exempt sale” under reg 9 because the term “related company” uses the Corporations Act concept. Practitioners advising on whether a proposed disposal is exempt must therefore map corporate relationships under the Corporations Act (reg 9(1)-(2)(a)(ii)-(iii)).
• Vehicles with concessional registration or historical classifications under the Road Traffic (Vehicles) Regulations 2014 may be treated as exempt sales in particular circumstances, so sellers of unique or club-registered vehicles should check the vehicle’s registration class to determine dealer licensing obligations (reg 9(3)).
• Fee changes effected by the Commerce Regulations Amendment instruments listed in the compilation table have a direct financial impact on licence costs. The compilation table records a long history of such amendments, indicating that fee levels are periodically updated by separate instruments.

The Regulations display an extensive amendment record captured in the compilation table and by in-text amendment notes. Key, source-stated milestones and insertions are:

• Original promulgation and early amendments. The Motor Vehicle Dealers (Licensing) Regulations 1974 commenced in 1974, with multiple amendments across the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s recorded in the compilation table. The compilation table lists specific amendment instruments in each year, and multiple reprints (e.g. reprints as at 1986, 1996, 2004, 2007, 2012 and 2015).
• 1995: insertion of reg 6A and reg 6B. Regulation 6A prescribes the three year period for s 19(1), and reg 6B prescribes the late application penalty equal to 25 percent of the appropriate licence fee; both were inserted by Gazette 29 Dec 1995 p. 6343 (see reg notes).
• 2002: reg 6 amended. Regulation 6 was amended, with the Gazette note indicating amendment on 13 Aug 2002 (reg 6 amended: Gazette 13 Aug 2002 p. 4156).
• 2002: insertion of reg 8 and Schedule 4. Regulation 8 prescribing categories of licence was inserted on 13 Aug 2002 p. 4156, with later amendments recorded.
• 2012-2015: reg 9 inserted and amended. Regulation 9 (exempt sales and exchanges) was inserted 10 Jan 2012 p. 409-11 and amended on 8 Jan 2015 p. 86, introducing the specific financing and liquidation-related exemptions.
• 2017: insertion of regs 7A and 7B. The particulars for the register of authorisations (reg 7A) and the notification obligation for yard managers and salespersons (reg 7B) were both inserted by Gazette 27 Jun 2017 p. 3413-14.
• 2021: transitional provision linked to Commerce Regulations Amendment (Motor Vehicle Dealers and Repairers) Regulations 2021. Regulation 10 was inserted by SL 2021/164 r 9 and provides transitional continuance for licences in force immediately before that instrument’s commencement.
• 2022: transitional provision for the 2022 Commerce Regulations Amendment. Regulation 11 was inserted by SL 2022/161 r 4 and preserves existing dealer licences from the effect of that instrument until expiry or renewal.
• 2021-2025: fee and schedule updates. The fee provision reg 7 was inserted SL 2021/86 r 47 and subsequently amended by SL 2024/96 r 35 and SL 2025/89 r 27, with Schedule 3 (fees) inserted most recently by SL 2025/89 r 28. Schedule 4 was inserted SL 2021/164 r 10 and amended SL 2022/161 r 5 and r 6.
• Deletions. Several provisions and schedules are noted as deleted in the in-text notes, for example regs 2 and 3-5 (earlier deletions) and the First and Second Schedules (deleted: Gazette 27 Jun 2017 p. 3414).

The compilation table provided in the Regulations gives the authoritative chronology for amending instruments and commencement dates, showing a pattern of periodic fee and procedural updates effected through Commerce Regulations Amendment instruments across the years listed, most recently including SL 2024/96 and SL 2025/89 that updated fees and Schedule 3.

Readers should consult the compilation table entries for precise dates and citations of each amending instrument when tracing the legislative history or verifying which version of the Regulations applied at a particular time.

The Regulations themselves do not cite case law, and the document supplied contains no reference to judicial decisions interpreting these Regulations. The compilation table and in-text notes record legislative amendments and reprints, but do not reference litigation. Therefore, on the basis of the source provided:

• There are no cases, reported judicial interpretations, or tribunal decisions cited within these Regulations that interpret or apply them.
• The Regulations cross-reference statutory instruments and Commonwealth definitions (for example the Corporations Act 2001), which have their own litigation histories, but no such cases are named or discussed in the Regulations.

Practitioners seeking authority on disputed points of interpretation or enforcement arising under these Regulations will need to search case law databases and tribunal decisions outside the Regulations themselves, because the Regulations do not record litigation outcomes or judicial pronouncements.

The Regulations contain a number of detail-level traps and operational frictions that can catch practitioners and regulated entities if not handled deliberately. The following are specific, source-grounded items to watch.

• Residential addresses on the register. The register particulars expressly include the residential address of yard managers and salespersons (reg 7A(3)(c) and reg 7A(4)(c)). That means personal address data will be recorded in the register maintained under s 24(1) of the Act. The Regulations do not specify public access rules in the text provided, so practitioners should confirm whether the register is publicly accessible and satisfy any privacy obligations before lodging particulars.
• Short notification deadlines for staff changes. Yard managers and salespersons must notify the Commissioner in the approved form within 14 days of any change in employment or place of employment (reg 7B(1)-(2)). The 14 day window is tight for recruitment cycles and for corporate restructures. Failure to comply is a discrete compliance breach even where the licensing status remains otherwise unaffected.
• Per-premises fee exposure. Dealer and car market operator fees include a substantial per-premises amount ($1,120 for each premises authorised under s 20E(3) and s 21A(3) respectively) on top of a base fee of $1,010 (Schedule 3 Items 1 and 4). Multi-site dealers therefore face material incremental licensing costs when adding authorised premises or on initial application.
• Late application penalty is percentage-based. The prescribed late penalty is 25 percent of the appropriate licence fee (reg 6B). Because the base fee plus per-premises charges can be high, the late penalty scales proportionally and can therefore be significant in absolute terms.
• Transitional protection ends on renewal. Both transitional provisions (reg 10 for the 2021 amendment and reg 11 for the 2022 amendment) preserve the prior legal position only until the licence expires or would have expired if renewed. Where a dealer intends to rely on the pre-amendment position, expiry or renewal events will trigger immediate application of the new rules. That can create timing arbitrage but also a risk of unexpected compliance changes at renewal.
• Narrow scope of exempt sales. The exempt sale categories in reg 9 are narrowly expressed. For example, repossession-related exemptions for financiers apply under specified conditions, such as public auction or public tender for vehicles returned or repossessed from a person who is not a dealer (reg 9(2)(b)(i)-(ii)). Private treaty sales by financiers are only exempt when the buyer was introduced to the financier by the person from whom the vehicle was repossessed (reg 9(2)(c)). These conditions are fact-sensitive and may require documentary evidence of the circumstances.
• Reliance on external definitions. The term “related company” is defined by reference to the Corporations Act concept of a related body corporate (reg 9(1)). Determining whether a proposed counterparty is a related company may require legal work to map corporate control and shareholdings under the Corporations Act.
• Class B vehicle exemptions hinge on Road Traffic Regulation classification. The exemptions for Class B vehicles depend on the vehicle being licensed as Class B under the Road Traffic (Vehicles) Regulations 2014 reg 35(1) or (2) and meet one of the specific conditions listed, such as car club membership use or historic vehicle exceptions (reg 9(3)). Sellers should check the vehicle’s registration class and supporting conditions.
• Offence for false or misleading statements is not limited to applicants. Regulation 6 applies to any person who in any application or notice makes a false or misleading statement. That language potentially captures third parties who prepare documents on behalf of applicants, so agents and advisers must exercise care in drafting.
• Updated fees require regular checks. Schedule 3 was most recently inserted by SL 2025/89 r 28 and the fee provision has been amended multiple times in the past few years (see reg 7 notes and compilation table). Practitioners must confirm current fees at the time of application rather than relying on older memoranda.

Each of these “gotchas” arises from explicit provisions of the Regulations and the way they link to other instruments. They create practical compliance traps that require documentary practices, record-keeping, timing management and client advice to mitigate.

This section gives a pragmatic, source-grounded checklist for entities and advisers working within the regime created by the Act and these Regulations. The steps are derived from the Regulations themselves and the practical implications of the prescribed particulars, deadlines and fees.

1. Determine required licence category(ies)

   • Map your proposed business activities against Schedule 4 to identify which categories A-E are required (reg 8; Schedule 4). If you perform multiple activities, nominate the appropriate combination of categories listed in Schedule 4.
   • Confirm whether an exemption applies under reg 9 so that no licence is required for the particular transaction.

2. Prepare the application and ensure accuracy

   • Assemble all particulars required to be recorded in the register for a dealer licence, yard manager licence or salesperson licence, as relevant (reg 7A(2)-(4)). For a corporate dealer this includes directors and secretary names, registered office, licence number and authorised premises.
   • Ensure accuracy. Making a false or misleading statement in any application or notice is an offence attracting a $2,000 penalty (reg 6). Agents preparing applications should verify facts and signatures.

3. Plan for fee payment and per-premises costs

   • Calculate fees using Schedule 3. The base dealer licence application or renewal fee is $1,010 plus $1,120 for each premises to be authorised (Schedule 3 Item 1). Yard managers and salespersons have separate fees (Items 2-3).
   • If you add or alter authorised premises, budget for the per-premises application fees stated in Schedule 3 Items 5 and 7.
   • Allow for the late application penalty of 25 percent of the appropriate licence fee where renewal or application is late (reg 6B).

4. Timing: licence period and renewals

   • Use the prescribed licence period of 3 years for renewal planning purposes under s 19(1) of the Act as given effect by reg 6A.
   • File renewals early to avoid the 25 percent surcharge for late applications set by reg 6B.

5. Maintain the register particulars and notify changes promptly

   • Keep the prescribed particulars up to date. Yard managers and salespersons must give notice in the approved form within 14 days of any change in employment or place of employment (reg 7B(1)-(2)).
   • For corporate dealers, ensure that changes in directors, secretary, managers, authorised premises or business names are recorded in the register as applicable (reg 7A(2)).

6. Check exemptions for specific disposals

   • Before undertaking disposals that might be treated as exempt sales, cross-check the exact wording of reg 9. Examples include sales to licensed dealers, certain financier disposals, liquidator sales under the Corporations Act and Class B vehicle disposals per the Road Traffic (Vehicles) Regulations 2014 (reg 9(2)-(3)).
   • Where a disposal purports to rely on an exemption connected to corporate relationships, verify the related company status under the Corporations Act definition referenced in reg 9(1).

7. Use approved forms and follow Commissioner instructions

   • Notices to the Commissioner under reg 7B must be given in the approved form. Confirm the current approved form and submission method with the Commissioner’s office.
   • For applications, use the forms, lodgement channels and payment instructions current at the time of application; fee amounts may change by amendment (reg 7; Schedule 3; compilation table).

8. Manage data privacy and third party disclosure risk

   • The register particulars include residential addresses for yard managers and salespersons (reg 7A(3)-(4)). Assess whether the register is publicly accessible and, if so, consider privacy implications and communications to staff whose residential information will be recorded.
   • Retain copies of notifications and evidence of lodgement within the 14 day window for yard managers and salespersons, to demonstrate compliance in the event of inquiry.

9. Plan for transitional and amendment risk

   • If you hold a dealer’s licence that may be affected by the Commerce Regulations Amendment instruments referenced in regs 10 and 11, note that transitional protection continues only until the licence expires or would have expired. Review the regulatory changes that were the subject of SL 2021/164 and SL 2022/161 to determine whether earlier protections apply and when they lapse.
   • Because fees and other matters have been recently amended by SL instruments (see compilation table), monitor successive Commerce Regulations Amendments for fee and procedural changes.

10. Seek clearance on complex transactions

• For transactions involving financiers, repossessions, liquidations, related companies or Class B vehicle disposals, obtain legal advice or a written administrative position from the Commissioner where the existence of an exemption under reg 9 is fact-sensitive.
• Where corporate structure is relied on to claim an exemption, document the corporate relationships that support the claim, referencing the Corporations Act definition used by reg 9(1).

Practical checklist for applications

• Confirm licence category in Schedule 4.
• Compile register particulars as required by reg 7A.
• Complete the approved application form and supporting documents.
• Calculate fees using Schedule 3 and arrange payment.
• Lodge application with the Commissioner before the renewal deadline to avoid the 25 percent late surcharge (reg 6B).
• After grant, ensure yard managers and salespersons understand their 14 day notification duty (reg 7B).

This compliance plan follows directly from the Rules. The Regulations prescribe the data, the fees, the short notification windows and the limited exemptions. Following the checklist will reduce exposure to the penalty in reg 6 and to fee surcharges in reg 6B. For matters not decided by the Regulations, such as licensing refusals, suspensions, cancellations and the Commissioner’s substantive powers, consult the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act 1973 itself and, where necessary, obtain legal advice.