South Australia is targeting scrap metal thieves by giving police officers more powers and regulating the market.
This week, the Scrap Metal Dealers Bill 2025 was introduced into state parliament to address growing theft of copper piping and metal parts from construction sites.
The Master Builders Association estimates that metal theft is costing the industry more than $70 million a year and delaying home builds.
Police Minister Blair Boyer says they “must act now to make scrap metal theft unappealing for thieves and reduce” crime.
He calls the new law a “responsible, measured and necessary step”.
Master Builders South Australia Chief Executive Will Frogley welcomes the move.
“We applaud the government for introducing legislation to stop unscrupulous scrap metal dealers from paying cash for copper, which is frequently being stolen from building sites,” he says.
“This type of theft is costing builders over $70m each year and delaying move in times for new home owners.”
Housing Industry Association South Australia Executive Director Stephen Knight was more blunt about the problem.
“People who steal copper from building sites are idiots; they are endangering their own lives, (that of) their coworkers and the public’s,” he says.
“They need to be shut down, and these new laws should do it.”
He says the Bill has “been a long time coming” and “(goes) further than we had asked for”.
“Stealing copper from building sites impacts on build times and the cost of new homes, it must be stamped out.”
Urban Development Institute of Australia (SA) Chief Executive Liam Golding says: “All too often copper theft hits housing estates right as houses are nearing completion causing cost and chaos at a critical time.
“More than that, copper theft presents a serious public safety issue as live wires are often left in public places where workers, families, and children playing can be placed at risk of serious harm or even death,” he says.
Government says that in the last four years, scrap metal thefts across the state rose by 39%; there was a 40% increase in metropolitan areas and a 34% jump in regional areas.
Across 2023-24, there were 2134 reports of scrap metal theft.
The government says there are benefits in regulating the scrap metal industry: New South Wales and the United Kingdom both reported a 30% reduction in metal theft after new laws were introduced, it says.
WHAT THE SCRAP METAL LAW DOES
The Bill will enable regulation of legal scrap metal dealers and empower police officers to search, seize and/or remove evidence from a place, vehicle or vessel or anything in or on the premise.
It will make the disposal of stolen scrap metal much more difficult while boosting police powers; examples include taking copper cables from a rail network, light and telecommunications towers, from community venues or catalytic converter theft from vehicles.
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