The Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA) is urging the NSW Government to rethink proposed electric vehicle repair licensing reforms, arguing regulations should reflect the risks associated with individual repair tasks rather than simply the vehicle’s propulsion system.
In a submission to NSW Fair Trading, AAAA said none of the three reform options currently proposed should proceed in their present form.
AAAA director of government relations and advocacy Lesley Yates said the proposals risk treating every job performed on an EV as carrying the same level of danger.
“Changing a tyre, replacing a cabin filter or working on a conventional suspension component does not suddenly become high-voltage work because the vehicle happens to be electric,” Yates said.
“Our message to NSW is simple: regulate the risk, not the propulsion system.”
AAAA has instead proposed a tiered model distinguishing between conventional work that does not interact with high-voltage systems, jobs requiring depowering or electrical isolation, and direct high-voltage diagnosis and repair.
The association is particularly concerned about battery repairs, arguing clearer distinctions are needed between inspection and servicing, high-voltage diagnosis, component replacement, complete battery removal and internal battery repair.
“There is a real danger here of over-qualifying people doing routine work while at the same time under-qualifying genuinely specialist battery work,” Yates said.
AAAA wants detailed skills and risk mapping undertaken before NSW finalises repair classes or mandatory qualifications and has urged the government to consider national work already underway through AUSMASA on EV training and battery competency pathways.
The association said regulatory uncertainty was already affecting independent workshops making investment decisions around training, equipment, workshop layouts, recruitment and future services.
“Workshops are investing now,” Yates said.
“They need to know what skills their staff will require, what work they will legally be allowed to perform and whether the rules are going to change again before those investments have even paid for themselves.”
AAAA stressed its members were not resisting EV training, with independent workshops already investing heavily in specialised equipment, skills and procedures.
“What they want is a system that is practical, proportionate and technically sound,” Yates said.
“NSW has moved in the right direction by recognising that not all EV work carries the same risk. Now it needs to finish the job.”