In case you missed this in our May/June edition.... Labour pains and land prices. We caught up with Jason Miller of Rhino Crash Repair to find out where SA repairers are feeling the pressure.
Jason Miller has long been a fixture in the South Australia repair scene and is one of only a few MSOs in the area. He takes a pragmatic outlook on the challenges facing the trade.
“We’d sort of stayed where we were for a while,” Jason says, reflecting on the business’s steady presence in the market. “But then we took over another shop down south. So now we’ve got coverage north, south, east and west.” That recent expansion wasn’t about empire-building—it was strategic. Affordable land, accessible labour, and support from work providers helped seal the deal.
Jason estimates that about 95% of Rhino’s work comes from a core group of insurers: RAA, Allianz, CGU and QBE. But not every insurer makes the cut anymore. “We’re pushing away from some companies. We’re just refusing to quote for them—too hard to deal with,” he says.
Talent shortage
Like most in the trade, his biggest challenge isn’t work volume—it’s people. “Every angle is hard—estimators, painters, panel beaters. We’ve been lucky recently, employing a number of Ukrainian refugees under humanitarian visas. They're unskilled in the trade, but they're eager and hardworking. We’ve been training them up, hoping some will get permanent residency. Among them are people with engineering degrees and IT businesses back home—they just need the work.”
In a market starved for tradespeople, Rhino’s long-term strategy has always included apprentices. “Right now, I’ve got about six or seven that started with us and stayed on as tradespeople,” he says. “We’ve always run with around 10 apprentices. That’s been our model for 8 to 10 years.”
Adult apprentices have been a success story too. “We’ve had a few—early 30s, brilliant workers. One’s got a 10-year-old daughter and took a big pay cut to do the apprenticeship. We pay him above award, but it’s still tough.” Jason would like to see more government support here—subsidies to help adult apprentices get across the line, or to make it easier for businesses to employ them.
He's also encouraged by industry-led initiatives like careers expos and student nights. “MTA SA does a good job getting out there.”
But labour pressures aren’t going away anytime soon—especially with major infrastructure projects, like the completion of the Torrens to Darlington upgrade, competing for skilled workers. “They are going to be looking for thousands of workers so we’re worried that is going to affect us.”
Then there’s the property market. “Land is just unaffordable now,” Jason says bluntly. “Rents are through the roof. We looked at a shop that’s been around 20, 30 years—it needed a new booth, a big refresh. The numbers just didn’t stack up. It couldn’t generate the volume needed to justify the investment.”
That’s part of why Rhino’s most recent expansion headed further south, where land and housing are more affordable. “It’s where the young tradies can actually afford to live.”
In the background of all this is a significant shakeup from RAA. “They’ve just changed their whole repair model this week,” Jason explains. “They’ve reduced their approved repairers list by about 50% and moved to a self-assessing model. It’s becoming standard across insurers, but it means more work for repairers to ensure the volume.”
Compounding things is the arrival of new competitors from interstate. “One big player is opening up in Adelaide and they are throwing money around. It just drives up staff costs for everyone.” Jason’s not against competition—but in a labour-starved market, he’s skeptical. “It’s not like more work is going to get done. It’s just a reshuffling of resources.”
Despite the pressures, Jason remains focused on Rhino’s people. Many of his managers and assistant managers have come up through the ranks. “All from the floor,” he says. His succession plan is to continue that path—cultivating young leaders, and eventually stepping back. “Whether they become part-owners or earn some sweat equity, the idea is for them to take more responsibility. I took two months off last year—that was a start.”
After so many years with his nose to the grindstone Jason is beginning to imagine a future where he’s less hands-on. But that doesn’t mean he’s checked out. When asked if he’d take on another site, he grins. “Never say never, but don’t tell my wife I said that.”
As for the newly acquired southern site, the transition has gone well. “We’ve gained an awesome crew. Their knowledge and great systems have improved the group’s performance overall.”
Looking ahead, Jason is keeping an eye on shifting insurer dynamics, the tight labour market, and the ever-changing economics of running a modern repair business. But at Rhino, the philosophy remains simple: grow your own talent, invest in good people, and build a business that lasts.