Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2025

This Act may be cited as the Scrap Metal Dealers

Act 2025.

This Act comes into operation on a day to be fixed by proclamation.

Section 27(6) of the Legislation Interpretation Act 2021 does not apply to this Act or to a provision of this

Act.

In this Act—

buy includes—

buy under an agreement to sell; or

receive under an agreement to sell; or

accept under an agreement to sell; or

offer to receive or accept under an agreement to sell;

or

cause or permit any of the above to be done;

Commissioner of Police means the Commissioner of

Police or the person for the time being acting in the office of Commissioner of

Police;

criminal intelligence means information relating to actual or suspected criminal activity (whether in this State or elsewhere) the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to prejudice criminal investigations, enable the discovery of the existence or identity of a confidential source of information relevant to law enforcement or endanger a person's life or physical safety;

director of a body corporate includes—

a person occupying or acting in the position of director or member of the governing body of the body corporate, by whatever name called and whether or not validly appointed to occupy or duly authorised to act in the position; and

any person in accordance with whose directions or instructions the directors or members of the governing body of the body corporate are accustomed to act;

disqualified, from carrying on a business of buying and selling prescribed scrap metal, includes disqualification under an interim disqualification notice;

premises means—

any land, building or structure; or

any vehicle;

prescribed electrical and telecommunication fixtures and fittings means electrical and telecommunication fixtures and fittings (including, to avoid doubt, cabling, switchboards, lights, poles and related infrastructure), or electrical and telecommunication fixtures and fittings of a class, prescribed by the regulations;

prescribed hot water system means a hot water system, or hot water system of a class, prescribed by the regulations;

prescribed organisation and member of a prescribed organisation have the same meanings as in the

Tattooing Industry Control

Act 2015;

prescribed rail fixtures and fittings means railway or tramway fixtures and fittings, or railway or tramway fixtures and fittings of a class, prescribed by the regulations;

prescribed scrap metal—see section 4;

prescribed scrap metal dealer—see section 5;

prescribed water meter means a water meter, or water meter of a class, prescribed by the regulations;

scrap metal—see section 4;

sell includes—

sell by wholesale, retail, auction or tender; or

barter or exchange; or

supply for profit or gain; or

offer for sale, receive for sale or expose for sale;

or

consign or deliver for sale; or

have in possession for sale; or

cause or permit any of the above to be done;

Tribunal means the South Australian Civil and

Administrative Tribunal.

For the purposes of this Act, 2 persons are close associates if—

1 is a spouse, parent, brother, sister or child of the other;

or

1 is a domestic partner of the other (within the meaning of the

Family Relationships

Act 1975, whether declared as such under that Act or not); or

they are members of the same household; or

they are in partnership; or

they are related bodies corporate (within the meaning of the

Corporations

Act 2001 of the Commonwealth); or

1 has a right to participate (other than as a shareholder in a body corporate) in income or profits derived from a business conducted by the other;

or

1 is in a position to exercise control or significant influence over the conduct of the other.

For the purposes of subsection (2), a reference to a parent, brother, sister or child of a person will be taken to include a reference to a step‑parent, step‑brother, step‑sister or step‑child (as the case requires) of the person.

For the purposes of this Act, an item will be taken to be

scrap metal if the item—

is metal, or contains or includes a substantial proportion of metal; and

is either—

used, discarded, abandoned, broken, worn out or at the end of its useful life; or

an item, or an item of a class, prescribed by the regulations, or both.

However, an item (whether an item referred to in subsection (1) or otherwise) will be taken not to be scrap metal if the item, or a class of items to which the item belongs, is declared by the regulations not to be scrap metal.

For the purposes of this Act, scrap metal consisting of or including any of the following items or classes of items will be taken to be

prescribed scrap metal:

catalytic converters;

items comprised of copper (whether in a pure form or otherwise);

prescribed electrical and telecommunication fixtures and fittings;

prescribed hot water systems;

prescribed rail fixtures and fittings;

prescribed water meters;

any other item, or item of a class, prescribed by the regulations.

However, an item referred to in subsection (3) will be taken not to be prescribed scrap metal if the item is declared by the regulations not to be prescribed scrap metal.

For the purposes of this Act, a person is a prescribed scrap metal dealer if—

the person carries on the business of buying or selling prescribed scrap metal; or

the person undertakes any other activity in relation to prescribed scrap metal of a kind prescribed by the regulations.

However, the following persons (being persons who are genuinely acting in the course of their business or employment) will not be taken to be prescribed scrap metal dealers, or to be carrying on a business of buying or selling prescribed scrap metal merely because they buy or sell prescribed scrap metal in the ordinary course of their business or employment:

licensed electricians, plumbers, gas fitters, builders or other tradespeople;

a person operating a vehicle collision repair, vehicle mechanical repair or auto‑electrician business;

an employee of a person referred to in a preceding paragraph;

any other person, or person of a class, prescribed by the regulations.

To avoid doubt, subsection (2)(b) does not include a person operating an automotive dismantling business.

Subsection (2) does not apply in relation to a person, or person of class, or in circumstances, prescribed by the regulations.

For the purposes of this Act, a person will be taken to be carrying on a business of buying and selling prescribed scrap metal, and will be taken to be a prescribed scrap metal dealer, if the person buys or sells prescribed scrap metal (or both) on not less than 12 occasions within a

12 month period.

If in proceedings for an offence against this Act it is established that, within the period of 12 months immediately preceding the date of the alleged offence, the defendant bought or sold prescribed scrap metal on more than the prescribed number of days, it will be presumed, in the absence of proof to the contrary, that the defendant was carrying on a business of buying and selling prescribed scrap metal, and was a prescribed scrap metal dealer, on the date of the alleged offence.

However, nothing in this section limits the ways in which a person may carry on a business of buying and selling prescribed scrap metal.

In this section—

prescribed number of days means—

if the regulations prescribe a number of days for the purposes of this section—that number; or

in any other case—12.

The provisions of this Act are in addition to and do not derogate from the provisions of the Second-hand

Dealers and Pawnbrokers Act 1996, the

Second-hand Vehicle Dealers

Act 1995 or any other Act or law.

In particular, nothing in this Act prevents—

a person who may lawfully buy or sell second‑hand goods (within the meaning of the Second-hand

Dealers and Pawnbrokers Act 1996) under that Act from doing so; or

a person who may lawfully buy or sell second‑hand vehicles (within the meaning of the Second-hand

Vehicle Dealers Act 1995) under that Act from doing so.

However, nothing in the Second-hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers

Act 1996, the Second-hand Vehicle Dealers Act 1995 or any other Act or law authorises a person who is disqualified from carrying on a business of buying and selling prescribed scrap metal under this Act to carry on such a business.

Information that is classified by the Commissioner of Police as criminal intelligence for the purposes of this Act may not be disclosed to any person other than the Minister, the Tribunal, a court or a person to whom the

Commissioner of Police authorises its disclosure.

If the Commissioner of Police, the Tribunal or a court—

makes a decision under this Act; and

the decision to do so is made because of information that is classified by the Commissioner of Police as criminal intelligence, the Commissioner of Police, the Tribunal or the court (as the case requires) is not required to provide any grounds or reasons for the decision other than that it would be contrary to the public interest if the person were to carry on business as a prescribed scrap metal dealer.

In any proceedings relating to this Act, the Tribunal or the court determining the proceedings—

must, on the application of the Commissioner of Police, take steps to maintain the confidentiality of information classified by the Commissioner of Police as criminal intelligence, including steps to receive evidence and hear argument about the information in the absence of the parties to the proceedings and their representatives; and

may take evidence consisting of, or relating to, information that is so classified by the Commissioner of Police by way of affidavit of a police officer of or above the rank of superintendent.

The Commissioner of Police may not delegate the function of classifying information as criminal intelligence for the purposes of this Act except to a Deputy Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner of

Police.

A person must not carry on a business buying and selling prescribed scrap metal if the person is disqualified under this Act from doing so. Maximum penalty: $50 000.

A person is disqualified from carrying on a business of buying and selling prescribed scrap metal if—

the person is, or was at any time within the preceding

5 years, a member of a prescribed organisation; or

the person is, or was at any time within the preceding

5 years, a close associate of a member of a prescribed organisation or a person subject to a control order under the Serious and Organised Crime (Control)

Act 2008; or

the person is found guilty, or has within the preceding

10 years been found guilty, of an offence prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this section; or

the person is an undischarged bankrupt or subject to a composition or deed or scheme of arrangement for the benefit of creditors; or

the person has, during the preceding 5 years, been a director of a body corporate wound up for the benefit of creditors—

when the body was being so wound up; or

within the period of 6 months preceding the commencement of the winding up.

The Commissioner of Police may, by notice in writing served personally (a disqualification notice), disqualify a person from carrying on a business of buying and selling prescribed scrap metal if the

Commissioner of Police believes, on reasonable grounds—

that the person—

has been in possession of stolen prescribed scrap metal on at least

3 separate occasions during the previous 12 months;

and

did not, on any of those occasions, notify a police officer in respect of the prescribed scrap metal under section 18; or

that such an action is appropriate for the purpose of averting, eliminating or minimising a risk, or a perceived risk, to the safety of members of the public; or

that to allow the person to deal in prescribed scrap metal, or to continue to deal in prescribed scrap metal, would otherwise not be in the public interest.

A disqualification notice has effect from the date specified in the notice and continues in force—

indefinitely; or

for the period specified in the notice; or

until the notice is revoked in accordance with this or any other

Act, whichever is the sooner.

Subject to this section, a disqualification notice given by the

Commissioner of Police—

must state the ground or grounds on which the notice has been given; and

must contain a statement advising the recipient that they are entitled to seek a review of the Commissioner of Police's decision to give the notice in accordance with this Act; and

must contain such other information as may be required by the regulations.

A statement of the grounds on which a disqualification notice has been issued must not contain information that is classified by the Commissioner of Police as criminal intelligence (however a failure to comply with this subsection does not invalidate a disqualification notice).

The Commissioner of Police may, by notice in writing served personally (an interim disqualification notice) and in accordance with any requirements in the regulations, disqualify a person from carrying on a business buying and selling prescribed scrap metal if the

Commissioner of Police believes on reasonable grounds—

that the person—

has been in possession of stolen prescribed scrap metal on at least

3 separate occasions during the previous 12 months;

and

did not, on any of those occasions, notify a police officer in respect of the prescribed scrap metal under section 18; and

that a disqualification notice is likely to be given to the person under section 9(3); and

that it is not in the public interest for the person to deal in prescribed scrap metal, or to continue to deal in prescribed scrap metal, during the period of the interim disqualification.

An interim disqualification notice has effect from the date specified in the notice and continues in force—

for the period specified in the notice (not exceeding

30 days); or

until the notice is revoked; or

until the person on whom the notice is served is disqualified under section 9, whichever is the sooner.

Subject to this section, an interim disqualification notice—

must state the ground or grounds on which the notice has been given; and

must contain a statement advising the person to whom it is given that they are entitled to seek a review of the Commissioner of Police's decision to give the notice in accordance with this Act; and

must contain such other information as may be required by the regulations.

A statement of the grounds on which an interim disqualification notice has been issued must not contain information that is classified by the

Commissioner of Police as criminal intelligence (however a failure to comply with this subsection does not invalidate an interim disqualification notice).

The Commissioner of Police must not give an interim disqualification notice within 30 days of the expiry of a previous interim disqualification notice.

A person who proposes to commence to carry on a business of buying and selling prescribed scrap metal must, at least 1 month before so commencing, give the Commissioner of Police written notice of that fact. Maximum penalty: $2 500.

A person who, on or after the commencement of this section, carries on a business buying and selling prescribed scrap metal must give the

Commissioner of Police written notice of that fact—

in the case of a person who is carrying on such a business immediately before the commencement of this section—within

1 month of the commencement of this section; or

in any other case—within 1 month of commencing to carry on such a business. Maximum penalty: $2 500.

However, subsection (2) does not apply to a person, or persons of a class, prescribed by the regulations.

A notice under this section must—

be made in a manner and determined by the Commissioner of Police;

and

contain such information as may be required by the regulations;

and

must be accompanied by the prescribed fee; and

must comply with any other requirements set out in the regulations.

A person who provides information to the Commissioner of Police under section 11 must notify the Commissioner of Police of any change in the information so provided. Maximum penalty: $2 500. Expiation fee: $210.

A notification under subsection (1) must be made—

in a manner and form determined by the Commissioner of Police;

and

as soon as is reasonably practicable (and in any case within

14 days) after the change.