Not every purchase from our wishlist or our favourite brands is an ideal experience. Sometimes we receive that thing we’ve been really looking forward to and are disappointed because it isn’t working the way we expected or breaks down. It’s even more of a problem if you’ve made a significant purchase like a car, agricultural machinery, or IT hardware.
Customers in this situation may want the product to be repaired by the supplier under the customers’ consumer rights. In some situations, especially in the context of large-scale equipment, customers may also want the right to access information and technology to repair the equipment themselves.
Consumer rights to have goods repaired
The right to have goods repaired is one of a range of consumer rights under Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. When these rights apply, a supplier may be required to replace, repair or refund for goods that don’t meet the consumer guarantees. Specific remedies will depend on whether the issue is a major or minor failure.
In some cases, for example where goods have stayed in good working order for a reasonable length of time, the supplier may be entitled to charge for repair services. Some customers will want to be able to have access to the information and technology needed to repair the goods themselves, or use a third party repairer, but this may run into conflict with the supplier’s intellectual property rights in firmware, manuals, underlying analysis, and equipment patents.
What about a customer’s right to repair goods without using the supplier’s services?
Many US jurisdictions have longstanding rights for a customer to repair goods, or use a third party supplier, without going back to the original supplier, and for third parties to resell repaired goods as long as they are correctly described and don’t infringe trade marks of the original provider. This has been particularly relevant in the automotive, healthcare and IT industries.
The EU recently introduced right to repair rules which require manufacturers to provide parts and tools at a reasonable price. Under these rules, manufacturers will be obliged to provide spare parts and tools at reasonable prices, and will not be permitted to restrict repairs by contract terms or IT techniques. Manufacturers also won’t be able to refuse to repair a product just because it was previously repaired by a third party. The EU’s reasoning included extending product life and reducing e-waste.
In Australia, so far the right to repair is limited. In 2022, legislative changes introduced an obligation for suppliers to share vehicle service and repair information. The Motor Vehicle Repair and Service Information Sharing Scheme requires manufacturers, importers and others to provide information covered by the scheme to repairers and Registered Training Organisations at a fair market price.
Recent policy considerations
The Australian Productivity Commission has advocated for a broader right to repair, across industries, to provide Australian consumers with wider repair options that are less costly.
Author: Zaki Zeini, graduate lawyer