In anticipation of next year’s federal election, the MTAA has zeroed in on ten crucial issues that will frame the future of the automotive industry in Australia but there are two that directly impact crash repairers.
For repairers, two of these priorities could directly impact their businesses, with an opportunity to have their say opening this month.
When he speaks to automotive body repairers, MTAA CEO Matt Hobbs says almost without fail, the two issues that are affecting their daily work are shortages of staff and relations with insurers.
This is why the MTAA is pressuring government for action on a raft of skills policies and other training and equipment support. But it also wants government support on another of its highest priorities, one that is specific to collision repairers, forceful advocacy for the key document governing relations between insurers and repairers, the MVIRI Code of Conduct.
“We’ve got this window of opportunity to create the best possible document that will really serve the industry,” Hobbs says.
The MTAA has long argued that to be effective, the code needs to be mandatory and wants government to enshrine that nationally in legislation. It also wants an independent chair to resolve disputes and keep all parties accountable.
But Hobbs also stresses the sense of urgency involves the repairers themselves, not only to ensure the final working code was a collaborative document but an effective document at addressing their issues.
In its submission, the MTAA has said “the power imbalance between small to medium automotive retailers and large corporate entities, including multinational automotive companies and insurers,” is a top priority and the code will be crucial in addressing it.
“Body repairers are currently encountering several challenges in their interactions with insurers. For instance, insurers are bypassing the need for skilled assessors by outsourcing these evaluations overseas. Furthermore, the existing Code lacks enforcement mechanisms, which limits accountability towards insurers,” it notes.
While the Code is mandatory in NSW and SA, and is under consideration in Tasmania, the MTAA wants a national approach and argues the absence of penalties for non-compliance, results in a lack of accountability and undermines its value.
Keeping track
The motor trades associations have three seats on the Code Administrative Committee as well as financially supporting its operations, so Hobbs sees it as important in representing the interests of the 4500 repairers and ensuring a new code that can help solve their problems.
The issues repairers are facing are documented, fed back to the committee and regularly tabled at meetings of the Australian Motor Body Repairers Association to ensure this is exactly what the code is targeting.
“Part of the pain point, and I’ve talked to a lot of body repairs people now, is we keep telling them about this, and it doesn’t seem to change. And so, my way of changing that situation, is to say let’s document where we think the pain points are, and what’s the process to address them.”
Making progress
Hobbs says he understands some of the frustration of repairers who are busy trying to run their businesses under pressure and have experienced years of issues that have not been resolved. But he assures them progress was being made on the code.
In September the draft rewrite of the code should be completed by specialist law firm MST lawyers, and this will be followed by a five-to-seven-week consultation period.
Hobbs says this rewrite was a potentially epochal point to improve what has been a difficult history, and for this reason stressed its urgency and the need for repairers to be involved in the consultation.
“I want to try and push it forward. Then we’ll go to stakeholder consultation, and that’s a five-to-seven-week period. Then, I want to lock it down and try and get agreement so we can look at implementation from the end of October through to December.”
He said this timeline is being backed up by the accountability of the bodies involved.
“AMBRA is scheduled to meet every month this year. That’s critical to make sure that we have the discipline of not only having meetings but involve people that know the industry inside out and live it, to help us go on this journey.”
Once the rewrite is complete, the discussion from the industry will be critical, he says.
“It is making sure the people using it are letting us know their feedback and how it’s working, and whether it’s something that they see as an improvement, and where possible tweaks are and what will make this better.”
Collaborate and compromise
The collaboration of the industry will also be vital in ensuring a comprehensive and evidenced based case can be made to government to ensure their support and action.
“I need to make what is a very complicated situation clear and compelling to get change in government. And so, the election blueprints part of that, the code rewrites part of that,” Hobbs says.
Hobbs says effective change will be driven by the collaboration of all the parties including the Code Administrative Committee and the insurers who were critical part of the industry. The Insurance Council of Australia also has three seats on the CAC.
“The ICA, ultimately, they’re a partner, because we’re doing this together. They’re paying for half of it, but they’ve got stakeholders too, so we’ve got to make sure that the process gives us time to get their agreement.”
Hobbs also wants to explode the myth that the code development is being written and controlled by the insurance industry, rumours that have potentially developed from a perception of delay or lack of information.
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” he says. “Our position is, we not only have to show what our future activities are but be held accountable to things that we put in black and white, And we also have to tell people what we’ve been doing. Because there’s a lot of hard work that’s happened.”
Hobbs says the transparency and accountability of the whole code development process were important in establishing the trust of all parties and the cooperation as an industry will be crucial to government support.
And one thing Hobbs is saying is key to getting momentum from government is backing up the advocacy of ideas with urgency and action.
Expanding automotive skills
In other issues affecting repairers, the MTAA has also put skills support and addressing the recruitment shortfall in the automotive industry on the top of their list to government.
While the problem is well documented, and its urgency highlighted by a shortfall of about 40,000 workers across the automotive repair sector, the MTAA is also seeking practical solutions and has outlined some key steps where it can take demonstrable steps toward to meeting the gap.
They want the government to fund national industry school pathway programs led by automotive industry groups to encourage young people to undertake a career in automotive.
To back this up they also want support for an industry-led mentorship scheme to improve apprenticeship completion rates and ensure qualifying candidates are suitable to continue in the workforce.
The MTAA wants the $15,000 Priority Hiring Incentive to be reinstated and linked to retention to encourage apprentices to complete their training. In addition, they want the added incentive for employers by halving the training levy for businesses who demonstrate evidence of a strong investment in training or sponsoring skilled migrants.
They also want the government to create tax incentives or direct subsidies to alleviate engaging mature-aged apprentices, given the costs of over 21-year-old employees.
Investing in the future
Like the AAAA, that has made a strong case to government about the urgent need for training in the aftermarket, Hobbs believes government support is important to ensure the whole ecosystem of servicing and repairing new low emissions vehicles is ready for the transition.
“We could have over two million EVs on the road by 2030,” Hobbs says. “That’s a conservative forecast we’re potentially looking at. We think around 30 per cent EVs will make up sales in passenger vehicles by 2030 and even if it’s a margin of error of five per cent up or down, that’s a lot of cars and a lot of workshops that need to be ready for them in the years after that.”
Hobbs believes safety of automotive workers repairing EVs is one of the imperatives and this lead-in time allows the Australian industry the opportunity to learn from mistakes that have occurred overseas.
The MTAA is advocating for support co-ordinated skilling pathways for the existing workforce to develop EV skill sets, including the critical ability to power vehicles down and work on them safely.
They also want the government to provide automotive retail businesses with direct subsidies or tax offsets for investment in new tools and safety equipment for EVs, including new hoists and safety equipment for workers.
Part of this is a request for a $3,000 tool allowance to eligible automotive technicians to support technicians to assemble the necessary tools needed to service and repair EVs.
The MTAA also wants the instant asset write-off and increase it to a total of $50,000 to assist automotive retailers to invest in EV related equipment for their businesses.
Other key items on the MTAA wish list
- Ensuring a fair implementation of the NVES by rebuilding the ROVER system and constantly monitoring the scheme’s implementation
- Abolish the Luxury Car Tax and adjust the Fringe Benefit Tax to better support the uptake of hybrids, plug in hybrids and EVs
- Strengthening the Franchising Code of Conduct
- Enhancing consumer protection measures under the Australian Consumer Law
- Establishing an end-of-life vehicle program
- Expanding the Motor Vehicle Service and Repair Information Sharing Scheme
- Establishing a National Approved Vehicle Examiners Scheme