Explainer · Murray Brown

Selling scrap metal in Australia: the ID, cash and paperwork rules in every state

What photo ID you need, where cash is banned, and what to do with a scrapped car when selling scrap metal in each Australian state and territory.

Every scrap metal law in Australia exists for the same reason: stolen metal is easy to sell. Copper cabling, catalytic converters and roofing can be stripped from a site and turned into money the same afternoon, and for decades a yard could pay cash without asking who was selling. New South Wales moved first with a stand-alone Act in 2016, Victoria followed in 2018, and Queensland and South Australia both have Bills in train. The rest still rely on older second-hand dealer laws never written with scrap in mind.

The practical upshot is simple. Bring photo ID to every yard, because even where the law does not demand it the yard’s own policy usually will. Expect no cash in NSW or Victoria. And if the load is a whole car, sort the registration before it leaves your driveway. Prices differ by city too, so check your local rates first.

New South Wales

NSW has the strictest regime. The Scrap Metal Industry Act 2016 and the Scrap Metal Industry Regulation 2024 are enforced by NSW Police, and every business dealing in scrap must be registered. Section 12 bans dealers paying cash, a cheque payable to cash, or payment in kind; the statutory review paper describes all trade as electronic or by cheque. The dealer records every transaction, including the parties, and the prescribed photo ID is an Australian driver licence, a NSW Photo Card, or a foreign driver licence with conditions. Records are kept for three years and suspected stolen metal must be reported to police. Dealers cannot buy an unidentified vehicle, so the VIN must be intact. Selling a car with plates to a wrecker means a notice of disposal; without plates or written off, cancel the registration within 14 days and return the plates.

Victoria

Victoria has no stand-alone scrap Act. Scrap dealers and auto wreckers are registered second-hand dealers under the Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Act 1989, and Consumer Affairs Victoria’s scrap metal laws page sets out the rules. Cash has been banned since 30 May 2018: a dealer may only pay by a cheque that is not transferable or payable to cash, or by electronic funds transfer, and e-currency is excluded. The penalty is up to 200 penalty units, or a 12 unit on-the-spot fine. The dealer records the seller’s name, address and identification details: one photo document such as a passport or driver licence, or two non-photo documents. A dealer must not buy a vehicle whose VIN has been removed or altered, and a vehicle 15 years old or newer goes on the written-off register as a statutory write-off. VicRoads cancellation steps could not be confirmed from a fetched page.

Queensland

Queensland treats scrap as second-hand property under the Second-hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Act 2003. Section 47 requires the dealer to obtain and verify the seller’s name and address, but the current Act does not specify photo ID and contains no cash rules. The Justice and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 would change that: a definition of scrap metal, name, date of birth and residential address verified by photo ID, every scrap transaction recorded regardless of value, and higher penalties for unlicensed dealing. The committee report records the Department of Justice calling a cash ban a future policy matter, so cash stays legal. On 2 September 2026 the Parliament’s bills page still listed the Bill at second reading. To scrap a car, lodge form F3517 and hand in both plates; vehicles under 16 years old that are dismantled go on the written-off register.

South Australia

SA currently relies on the Second-hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Act 1996. The SA Law Handbook explains that dealers are not licensed but must notify police, keep detailed transaction records, hold goods for ten days (three if full purchaser details are recorded) and report suspected stolen goods. There is no cash ban and no specific photo ID rule in that Act. The Scrap Metal Dealers Bill 2025, introduced in late 2025, would stop businesses advertising or paying cash, gift cards or cryptocurrency for scrap and require records of customer identification and payment details, with an exclusion for automotive repairers selling to a legitimate scrap dealer or dismantler. Whether it has commenced could not be confirmed because the SA legislation site blocked access, and SA vehicle cancellation steps are also not confirmed.

Western Australia

WA’s Pawnbrokers and Second-hand Dealers Act 1994 only reaches part of the scrap trade. The Regulations 1996 exclude ferrous and non-ferrous scrap from the definition of second-hand goods except gold, silver, copper and copper alloy, including bronze and brass. Dealers in those metals need a WA Police licence and must verify a seller to at least 100 points under regulation 13. Steel and aluminium sit outside the Act. Industry body PACT Site Security reported that the 1 December 2020 change did not stop cash payment but requires copper transactions to be recorded and reported. To scrap a car, surrender the plates at a DTMI centre or lodge Form VL14 if lost, then claim a pro rata refund.

Tasmania

Tasmania’s Second-hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Act 1994 does not mention scrap metal by name, but it is the law a yard operates under. Dealers do not hold a licence; they give the nearest police station one month’s written notice before starting. Section 9 says a dealer must not receive goods unless the seller produces documentary proof of identity showing their correct name and address, with no points system and no weight or value threshold. There is no cash ban in the Act. Dealers keep prescribed records of goods above a prescribed value (section 10) and must not alter or dispose of goods within seven days of receiving them (section 11). Vehicle registration steps for a scrapped car could not be confirmed from a fetched page.

Australian Capital Territory

The ACT has no scrap-specific law. Second-hand dealers are licensed by Access Canberra under the Traders (Licensing) Act 2016, and the Second-hand Dealers Act 1906 requires licensed dealers to make and keep records prescribed by regulation and give copies to police, at 20 penalty units per breach. Second-hand goods are defined as goods of a kind prescribed under the regulations, and none of the fetched pages mention scrap metal, so whether a particular yard is captured is not confirmed. No cash ban was found. Seller ID requirements and vehicle cancellation steps are also not confirmed, because the regulation text and the Access Canberra pages could not be fetched.

Northern Territory

Part 14 of the Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading Act 1990 licenses second-hand dealers, but the 1998 Regulations list ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metals (other than gold or silver), motor vehicles, cans and salvaged building materials as goods not treated as second-hand goods. Ordinary scrap dealing therefore sits outside the licensing regime. Where the Act does apply, such as gold and silver, section 277 requires the dealer to record the seller’s full name and residential address and verify identity with a passport, a photo driver licence or other prescribed means, and giving false details is an offence under section 278. No cash ban was found in the Act or Regulations. Vehicle cancellation steps could not be confirmed. Yards may still ask for ID as a matter of policy.

Container deposit schemes

Every jurisdiction refunds 10 cents per eligible container (CDS versus scrapping covers when that beats the scale):

What to bring

  • Photo ID: a driver licence is accepted everywhere; NSW also takes a Photo Card, Victoria a passport.
  • A bank account: NSW and Victorian yards cannot pay cash, and a BSB and account number speeds up the transfer.
  • For a car: the registration certificate, an intact VIN, and the plates or a plate surrender receipt. The full process is in scrapping a whole car.
  • An answer on provenance: dealers must report suspected stolen metal and will ask where a large copper load came from.
  • Patience with paperwork: dealers in every state record the transaction.

These rules are moving. Queensland’s Justice and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 and South Australia’s Scrap Metal Dealers Bill 2025 will both tighten ID and payment rules once they commence, and neither had been confirmed as in force when this guide was checked on 2 September 2026. Confirm with the yard before you load the ute.