I know Toyota have held unsold corrollas with CVT issues so why wouldn't a 2nd hand car be same?
My personal view is that when there is a safety recall, any vehicle that is in the possession of a new or used car sales dealer, or comes into the possession of a service agent, gets held over until repairs are completed because it’s a safety issue after all.
So, if you went in for an oil change and a service agent can’t get the recall completed in a day, then a hire car should be provide and the lot billed back to the manufacturer.
But this being Stralia, the land of self regulation, likely there are no laws forcing such embargo conditions as the manufacturers would cry poor and claim imminent collapse of civilisation should such be proposed. Meanwhile you have no choice as to who does recall repairs to your vehicle, it’s the only the manufacturers franchised dealer that can do such work.
About the only relevant Law i know of is the Australian Consumer Law which would likely classify a safety recall as a major fault. In such a case, the owner can request a full purchase price refund as their chosen remedy. However, the ACCC takes an odd view of the law within the documents they have produced. The ACCC imply recalls are somewhat different to other faults...
Obviously if one believes the fault is a major fault under ACL, you should drop off the keys and the car at the dealer and give then a week to refund you as your chosen remedy under ACL. But when/if you go to court, and especially if you win and it’s appealed, the ACCC as a friend of the court, may spruke the manufacturers views of imminent world end should the court apply the law as written. It’s all a symptom of regulatory capture at its worst.