Keep The Promise: Right To Repair Must Deliver Real Choice For Motorists
The Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA) has lodged its submission to Treasury’s consultation on improving and expanding Australia’s Right to Repair laws, calling for reforms that ensure the Motor Vehicle Information Sharing Scheme (MVIS) continues to deliver real consumer choice, fair competition and practical repair access as vehicle technology evolves.
AAAA Chief Executive Officer Stuart Charity said Australia’s Right to Repair law has been a significant reform, but the current review presents an important opportunity to ensure the Scheme keeps pace with increasingly connected and software-defined vehicles.
“Australia’s first Right to Repair law was built on a simple promise: that consumers should have real choice in where they service and repair their vehicles, and that independent repairers should have fair access to the information and tools they need to compete,” Mr Charity said.
“That promise remains the right one. The task now is to make sure the Scheme continues delivering it as vehicles become more connected, more software-defined and more controlled by manufacturers.”
The submission supports reforms including intermediary access, electronic logbooks, fair pricing, stronger enforcement, access to telematics and repair-critical vehicle data, extending the Scheme to vehicles up to 4.5 tonnes GVM and expanding Right to Repair to agricultural machinery.
The submission was informed by extensive consultation across the automotive aftermarket, including repairers, industry bodies such as the Automotive Repairers Council of Australia (ARCA) and the Australian 4WD Industry Council, as well as intermediaries, data aggregators, scan tool providers, remote diagnostics providers and regional and rural businesses.
Mr Charity said the consultation confirmed broad agreement that the success of Right to Repair depends not simply on information being available, but on independent repairers being able to access and use it in practice.
“For workshops, the question is not whether information exists somewhere behind a portal, subscription model or proprietary system,” Mr Charity said.
“The question is whether repairers can access it in a form that is practical, affordable, timely and usable for the businesses Australians rely on to keep their vehicles safe, roadworthy and productive.”
A key reform supported by AAAA is the formal inclusion of intermediaries, including data aggregators, scan tool providers, diagnostic platform providers and tool manufacturers, recognising they provide the practical pathway through which many independent workshops access manufacturer repair information.
“Intermediaries are not peripheral to Right to Repair — they are central to making the law work in the real world,” Mr Charity said.
“Most workshops cannot practically navigate dozens of individual manufacturer portals, subscriptions and access systems. They rely on the diagnostic tools and platforms they use every day.”
AAAA also supports giving independent repairers the ability to update electronic logbooks and digital service histories, ensuring electronic records do not become a new barrier to consumer choice.
“As service records move from paper to digital, consumers should not be forced back to the dealer simply to preserve their official service history,” Mr Charity said.
“If an independent repairer has carried out the work, they should be able to record it in the vehicle’s electronic service history.”
AAAA also supports the Government’s proposal to extend Right to Repair to agricultural machinery, recognising the importance of repair access for regional and rural communities.
“Whether it is a family car, a work ute or a tractor, Australians should have genuine choice about where they have their vehicles repaired, supported by independent businesses with fair access to the information and tools they need to do the job safely,” Mr Charity said.
View AAAA’s Submission – HERE