West Australian repairers looks to way ahead without NTAR

It’s a win-win situation for the repair industry in Western Australia with repairers and insurers looking to work together to come up with a viable way of doing business.

New times and rates will not be implemented in Western Australia after repairers and insurers got together to work out how to best go forward.

NTAR has been trailed in WA to see how effective it would be and how many repairers were prepared to make the change.

In the end, the industry has decided not to implement the system, according to Motor Traders Association of Western Australia’s body repair division chairman Wayne Phipps.

Phipps said SGIO would not push NTAR in WA, but would allow repairers who had trailed NTAR to continue to use the system if they wanted to.

Despite not embracing NTAR, Phipps said repairers in the west were still looking to develop some form of workable system.

“We are setting up a working group including the MTA and local West Australian insurers to come up with a workable result,” Phipps told Australasian Paint & Panel.

He said the decision not to take up NTAR after local repairers had watched the roll out of the system in NSW. “The MTAWA independently trialed the system using SGIO and NSW data,” Phipps said. “The response was ‘cool’, but repairers still want reform.

“Western Australia is different to NSW. NSW repairers are like seagulls at the beach fighting over a chip.”
The high number of repairers in the eastern state all vying for work meant competition was strong and the implementation of NTAR and the growth of two quotes was easier than in WA where fewer repairers mean they can be more choosey with the work they do.

“Two quote does not work in Western Australia because everyone here is busy,” Phipps said.

However, some two quotes jobs are being undertaken and Phipps said the majority of complaints through the MTA relate to either the quality of a re-spray or the quality of work carried out after a two-quote job.