Right to repair: Productivity Commission says it should be easier for farmers to fix their own machinery

It should be easier for farmers to get machinery fixed at a repairer of their choice, the Productivity Commission has deemed in a landmark report urging the Federal Government to amend laws allowing consumers — including farmers — the “right to repair”. The Productivity Commission released its much-anticipated Right to Repair report on December 1, setting out a raft of recommendations including major changes to consumer and intellectual copyright laws it hopes will be made by the end of next year. During the past decade, a coalition of farmers, repair enthusiasts and vehicles owners have formed a global movement calling for the right to tinker and repair their own technological devices, including farm machinery software. Australia has so far lagged behind other countries when it comes to consumers being able to repair their own products with strict warranty regulations and a limited number of authorised service providers — particularly in the regions — often making it difficult. Farmers have been lobbying for a change to “monopoly” laws with agricultural machinery manufacturers — including John Deere — commonly prohibiting individuals or independent repairers from fixing machinery including tractors, headers, and balers. They say an increasing technological burden being thrust upon them means software malfunctions can leave million dollar pieces of farm machinery sitting idle in paddocks until authorised repairers can fix the problem. It recommended warranty regulations be amended to include the right to remedies under consumer law do not require consumers to have previously used authorised repair services or repair parts. Also included was a recommendation that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission be given greater powers — including the ability to enforce fines on companies that do not comply. Legislation could be amended to require companies to include text in the warranty spelling out that customers do not need to use an authorised repairer to retain their rights under Australian consumer law. GrainGrowers chair Brett Hosking said farmers were worried about limited information provided about warranties — with machinery breaking down during harvest causing delays, price disparities between domestic and international parts and availability of parts. Mr Hosking said the annual growth rate of repair costs was 5 per cent — higher than any other farm cost. GrainGrowers has called for the right to repair but not the right to modify, with third-party or on-farm repairs not voiding warranties where there are “no genuine safety concerns” coupled with a free and fair market for spare parts. Earlier this year, the Tractor and Machinery Association raised concerns about the safety implications of giving third parties information enabling them to modify agricultural equipment. The Productivity Commission’s final report followed a draft in June, which received more than 300 submissions and complaints. The draft revealed agricultural machinery was one of three main sectors where repairs were becoming more difficult — alongside mobile phones and tablets and motor vehicles — and made several recommendations to improve the right to repair in Australia. A survey of 270 farmers included in the final report revealed tractors were the most commonly-repaired item, while John Deere was the most popular brand and the most common repair was the replacement of a broken or degraded machinery part. Nearly 25 per cent of respondents had repaired or asked a friend to repair their own machinery, potentially voiding their warranty. The average timeframe for machinery repairs was one to five days, at 36 per cent, followed by five to 10 days (26.7 per cent), 10 to 30 days (20 per cent) and more than 30 days (17 per cent) — with repairs costing on average between $5000 and $24,999. The rules would apply to international machinery juggernauts doing business in Australia under the Competition and Consumer Act. The UK recently passed laws to make sure companies have spare parts for consumers and US president Joe Biden recently signed an order for the Federal Trade Commission to draft new regulations for the right to repair in America. Report Recommendations 1. Amend Australian Consumer Law to include a new consumer guarantee for manufacturers to provide “reasonable” software updates for a reasonable time period after purchase. 2. Enable consumer groups to lodge “super complaints” on systemic issues associated with access to consumer guarantees with complaints fast tracked by the ACCC. 3. State and Territory Governments should work together to identify opportunities to enhance alternative dispute resolution options to resolve complaints about consumer guarantees. The outcome of this activity should be published. 4. Amend Australian Consumer Law to make it a contravention for suppliers and manufacturers to fail to provide a remedy to consumers when legally obliged to do so under the consumer guarantees. 5. The ACCC should undertake a market study of the mobile phone and tablet market to examine the nature, magnitude of harm from repair barriers and the merits of different policy responses. 6. Conduct an independent, public review of existing medical device regulations to assess whether they strike a balance between repair access and device safety that maximises community wellbeing. 7. Investigate conduct in watch repair markets to determine whether it is contravening restrictive trade practice provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. 8. Add new mandatory warranty text to require manufacturer warranties on goods to include text stating that entitlements to a remedy under the consumer guarantees do not require consumers to have previously used authorised repair services or spare parts. 9. Amend the technological protection measures regime to better facilitate repairers’ access to embedded information protected by technological protection measures. 10. Introduce a new “use” exception in the Copyright Act to include an exception that allows for the reproduction and sharing of repair information. 11. Prohibit contracting out of copyright exceptions by amending the Copyright Act. 12. Develop and Introduce a product labelling scheme with consumer information about product repairability and/or durability. 13. Amend the Recycling and Waste Reduction (ProductStewardship — Televisions and Computers) Rules 2021 to count e-waste products that have been repaired and reused towards the annual targets of the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme. 14. Make greater use of electronic tracking devices to determine the end-of-life outcomes of Australian e-waste collected for recycling. 15. Introduce a repair supplies obligation on agricultural machinery that requires manufacturers to provide access to repair information and diagnostic software tools to machinery owners and independent repairers on fair and reasonable commercial terms.