This is what I came across.
The constitution states there must be fair trade between states. I would say that a vehicle that was modified and certified as legal in one state would have to be legal in another. I would also say that the registration falls under the same constitutional law. Otherwise your registration would be void once you left the state.
The Australian Constitution of 1901 established a federal system of government, under which powers are distributed between the federal government and the states. The states and territories have independent legislative power in all matters not specifically assigned to the federal government. Where there is any inconsistency between federal and state or territory laws, federal laws prevail. Federal laws apply to the whole of Australia. So a police officer that fined you/impounded your car would be breaking constitutional law yes?
Section 18 of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) states 'A person must not, in trade or commerce, engage in conduct that is misleading or deceptive or is likely to mislead or deceive'. However, the Competition and Consumer Act (CCA) is an act of the Parliament of Australia, so section 51 of the Australian Constitution (which sets out the division of powers between the federal and state parliaments) restricts the application. Section 18 is based on the corporations power (s51(xx) of the Constitution). The requirement 'in trade or commerce' creates a significant threshold issue.
Individuals may be ancillary liable for breaches of s18 if they are "knowingly concerned" in the breach (s75B of the CCA).
The prohibition on misleading conduct is set out in section 18(1) of the Australian Consumer Law:
"A person must not, in trade or commerce, engage in conduct that is misleading or deceptive or is likely to mislead or deceive."
Section 4(2)(a) of the CCA defines conduct as:
"...doing or refusing to do any act, including the making of, or the giving effect to a provision of, a contract or arrangement, the arriving at, or the giving effect to a provision of, and understanding or the requiring of the giving of, or the giving of, a covenant;"
So I would say a government organisation that licenses a person to issue modified vehicle reports in accordance with their state laws and does not have in place forms THAT STATE “the modified vehicle report is NOT valid in any other state or territory is guilty of an offence. In other words, the government agency that fails to disclose the limitations of the certificate/contract it charges for and issues is guilty of misleading conduct. You like that!
If your vehicle is defected in NSW but certified as compliant in any other state or territory, I’d say you could sue the Australian government, local and federal for breeches of the fair trade act and for denying your constitutional rights. Not to be prejudice toward modified vehicles, the individual states and territories would have to NOT recognise any other states registrations or standards across the board. If they did, they would be guilty of prejudice behavior.




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