The Motor Trades Association of Australia says a draft version of the revised smash repair code fails to address issues around fairness and it will not support the proposed changes.

Key provisions lack clarity or reinforce imbalances, while critical elements such as payment fairness, dispute resolution and protections against insurer retaliation are inadequately addressed, the association says in a submission to the code administration committee’s consultation. 

“MTAA believes the current draft code ... is not fit for purpose. Rather than addressing the issues that have long undermined fairness in the industry, the draft risks entrenching insurer dominance, marginalising the professional judgment of repairers, and failing to deliver the transparency, enforceability and governance standards expected of a modern co-regulatory framework.”

The submission says MTAA members have flagged the “extent to which insurers overreach in instructing repairers, who are the technical experts, on how to repair vehicles.

“This includes insurer direction on repair methods, replacement part selection and adherence to time frames or scopes that may not align with manufacturer standards or safe repair practices.”

The revised code must “explicitly” reaffirm repairers’ authority to determine repair methods in accordance with manufacturer guidelines or recognised industry standards, and limit insurer interference in technical decisions, it says.

The voluntary Motor Vehicle Insurance and Repair Industry Code of Conduct is jointly overseen by the MTAA and the Insurance Council of Australia.

Consultation on the committee’s draft code closed last month.

MTAAA says it aims to ensure the final code is “fair, enforceable and workable for all parties”.

It says negotiations with ICA are expected to conclude this year, with the revised code scheduled for implementation early next year.

See the submission here.