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Sorry in advance for the novel:

I bought a car on 28/01/14 (Nissan Tiida 2005, $8300) through a car dealer. I'm a young woman and have no experience with buying cars and I don't know anything about them.
As silly as it sounds, I didn't have it checked out thoroughly before purchasing because I was assured that the team on site at the dealer's had done a 300 point check and gave it a service so it was ready to take away.

Since then I've taken the car back to the dealer's 3 times for numerous issues:

1. CD player didn't work (notified him on the day he dropped the car off) - He replaced the stereo so all good.
2. Transmission issues - took the car in and he gave us a courtesy vehicle for the day, picked it up later and he said he couldn't find anything wrong with it.
3. Transmission issues, airflow coming through the passenger door, along with some noises in the front left corner of the car. We suspect it has been in an accident before being imported from Japan.
He kept the car for 13 days until I decided it had been too long with no contact about the car and sent him a text, he claims that all the problems were fixed. The transmission has improved but the other issues are still there..

So I sent an email outlining my concerns about the car and asked for a resolution. No reply. My flatmate who is knowledgeable about cars and used to own a workshop checked the car out and found at least another 5 new issues, so I am concerned about the safety of the vehicle and how much more money I'll need to put into it to get it fixed...

Sent a text to the dealer explaining that I want to be refunded (due to his lack of communication via email) and now he's requested a written report of what is wrong with the car. All I want is to be refunded. Given that I bought the car over 30 days ago, and he's had the car for about 14 days in total since I've owned it, what are my rights here?

Because you have bought the car from a Registered Motor Vehicle Trader (not by auction or privately) you are covered by law under the CGA. The CGA states that you are covered for a reasonable amount of time and you need to give the selling dealer the opportunity to put the problems right.

The transmission problem is a concern that needs to be addressed if it isn't operating properly - it could end up being a costly repair.

If necessary you might need to take the vehicle to a workshop for a second opinion and have them write a report on the faults they find - but this will be at your expense. But, you will need to present the report to the seller and take the vehicle back to the seller to have the vehicle repaired.

If the dealer fails to fix the problems after a couple of attempts then you should advise the dealer that you are rejecting the car and that you would like a refund. If the seller refuses, you will need to take him to the Motor Vehicles Disputes Tribunal to have your case heard and hope that they rule in your favour.

However, you will need a legitimate reason for rejecting the vehicle as it is a used vehicle after all.