Queensland licenses car wreckers. The Office of Fair Trading’s motor dealer (wrecker) licence lets its holder obtain used vehicles, whole or in parts, and sell them as parts, and anyone can search the Office’s register of motor licences online at no cost. The registration, the plates and any unreported write-off stay the owner’s to settle with Transport and Main Roads before the car goes.
General information about Queensland’s licensing rules, not legal advice about a sale. The Office of Fair Trading licenses the motor trade and is the place to check a licence or ask about one.
What a wrecker’s licence covers
Working as a motor dealer (wrecker) in Queensland needs a current licence of that kind. The Office of Fair Trading draws its limits plainly, and the two columns below set them side by side.
| It allows the holder to | It does not allow the holder to |
|---|---|
| Obtain used motor vehicles, whole or in parts, in order to sell them as parts | Sell complete vehicles |
| Sell the used vehicles it has acquired, as parts | Auction vehicles, parts or other goods, unless it also holds a chattel auctioneer licence |
To get one, an applicant must be at least 18 and have passed the set training subjects, and must be suitable. The Office lists, among the reasons a person is unsuitable, being insolvent under administration, a conviction for a serious offence in the past five years, and being subject to a court control order over involvement in serious criminal activity. Every place the business operates from must be registered, and the person in charge at each one must hold a current individual licence. One person cannot be in charge of two places at once, unless the two sit on adjoining blocks of land with no public road between them. A company running a wrecking business applies for a corporate version of the wrecker licence, and salespeople working for a licensed wrecker must be registered too.
Checking a licence
Search the public register
The Office of Fair Trading keeps a public register of every licensed motor dealer, salesperson and corporation, searchable online for free.
Read the result for what it is
The Office says a search result is for your own information, not evidence for legal proceedings.
Ask for an extract if you need a record
For a written record, the Office of Fair Trading issues a paid extract of the register; its check-a-licence page sets out what the extract shows and how to order one.
Second-hand dealers: a separate licence
The Office of Fair Trading licenses second-hand dealers as well: in Queensland, working as one needs a valid licence of that kind. It covers trading in second-hand goods generally: acquiring, selling or disposing of them, or giving exchanges on them, whether on commission or not.
Its exemptions include two that touch old cars: a person who sells only motor vehicle batteries, or only used tyres, does not need a second-hand dealer licence. Second-hand dealer and pawnbroker licences have their own free public register, kept by the Office, which works the same way as the motor register above.
What the buyer writes down
A motor dealer taking a used car from its seller needs the seller’s signed, dated statement about themselves and the car; the Office of Fair Trading’s page on acquiring a used car lists everything it records.
The Office also requires motor industry traders to keep a transactions register at each place of business, written up within 24 hours of each transaction, and buying or selling vehicle parts counts as a transaction.
The owner’s side, before the car goes
- An unreported write-off. If the car is a total loss that no insurer or other notifier has reported, Transport and Main Roads requires the owner to report it before selling or disposing of the car. The written-off vehicles guide sets out which cars this covers.
- The registration. A refund of unused registration is possible only while the registration is current and in your name when you ask to cancel.
- The plates. Standard plates go back to Transport and Main Roads with the cancellation; personalised or customised plates can stay with you. The registration and plates guide covers the form.
- The receipt. Plates handed in are receipted; keep it.
- A car from a deceased estate. The registration is first transferred into the estate, or to another person, by the executor, administrator or next of kin, and only then cancelled, so that any refund reaches the right person.
Where else an old car can go
Brisbane City Council’s own answer to getting rid of an unwanted car names four kinds of business: scrap car removalists, private tow truck operators, second-hand car dealerships and scrap metal recyclers. Council notes that some may buy the car, and some offer removal for free or at low cost.
A car left on the street instead of going anywhere becomes Council’s business in a different way, covered in the abandoned vehicles guide. Its oil, fuel and battery have their own drop-off rules, set out in the oil, fluids and batteries guide.