After a run of copper theft off building sites and infrastructure, South Australia passed the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2025. It got a lot of coverage, and a fair few people now believe the rules already changed. They have not.
Where it is up to right now
The Act was passed and assented to in December 2025. The South Australian Legislation website still carries one line across the top of it: this legislation has not come into operation.
It starts on a day fixed by proclamation, and no date has been proclaimed. Until that happens, selling scrap works exactly as it always has.
What changes when it does start
No more cash
Dealers will not be allowed to pay for covered scrap metal with cash, a cheque made out to cash, cryptocurrency, or prepaid and gift cards. Payment has to be traceable, which in practice means a transfer to a bank account in your name.
That is the whole point of the law. A traceable payment and a paper trail is what makes stolen copper hard to move.
ID becomes compulsory
Dealers will have to sight identification and keep records of the transaction, including who sold what and how they were paid. Most decent yards already do a version of this voluntarily.
Dealers have to be registered
The scheme covers who is allowed to trade scrap metal at all, and it leans on the character of the people running the business. The aim is to push the operators who do not ask questions out of the trade.
What it means in practice
- If you are a tradie or a householder selling your own scrap, very little changes. You will need ID on you, and the money lands in your account instead of your hand.
- Get a bank account sorted if you deal in scrap regularly. Payment to an account in your own name is where this is heading.
- Keep your invoices on a job. If you are stripping a site, being able to show where the metal came from is only going to get more useful.
- Be wary of yards still paying cash after it starts. If they are ignoring that, think about what else they are ignoring at the scales.
What already applies, today
Two things that are in force right now and catch people out:
- Burning cable. Inside metropolitan Adelaide the Environment Protection (Air Quality) Policy 2016 only permits open fires for cooking, a charcoal brazier or fire pit, and approved vegetation burning. Cable is not on that list, and burning without a required permit is a $300 fine under section 34 of the Environment Protection Act 1993.
- Batteries and anything with refrigerant in it. Car batteries cannot go in a kerbside bin, and air conditioner refrigerant has to be recovered by someone licensed to do it. Venting it is an offence under the federal ozone protection rules.
Check it yourself
Do not take our word for it. The Act and its current status sit on the South Australian Legislation site under Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2025, and the burning rules are in EPA South Australia's guidance on burning in the open. Both are free to read.
We will update this page when a commencement date is proclaimed.