General information about a scheme that works between businesses. The ACCC enforces it, and its own pages are the place to check the detail: about the Motor Vehicle Information Scheme and information for industry.
Why the scheme exists
The scheme grew out of the ACCC’s 2017 market study of new car retailing. That study found car makers were able to limit technical information to their own networks, keeping it from other repairers, and to steer owners towards authorised dealers or preferred repairer networks.
The ACCC describes the scheme as Australia’s first right to repair law. Its purpose is competition: with fair access to the same technical information, repairers outside those networks can compete on equal terms.
Which vehicles it covers
The line is drawn twice, by the kind of vehicle and by the year it was made.
| Test | In the scheme | Outside it |
|---|---|---|
| Kind of vehicle | Passenger vehicles and light goods vehicles | Two- and three-wheeled vehicles, farm and construction vehicles, heavy vehicles, motor homes and buses |
| Year made | Built on or after 1 January 2002 | Built before 1 January 2002 |
What a repairer can get
Scheme information is the material a repairer needs to do the work, and the ACCC gives three examples of it.
- The information needed to service and repair cars, or to teach others to.
- Software updates that let a newly fitted spare part work with the car.
- Information and codes for the car maker’s computerised systems.
It comes from data providers: car makers, their local distributors and importers, and other affiliates such as data aggregators.
Who counts as a repairer
A repairer, for the scheme, is someone in the business of diagnosing faults in, servicing, repairing, modifying or dismantling motor vehicles. That takes in specialists such as auto electricians and transmission, brake, suspension and windscreen technicians, as well as body and smash repairers. Registered training organisations that teach this work are included too.
Owners are not. Someone who works on their own car as a hobby cannot get information through the scheme, although nothing prevents a car maker from sharing information with them.
Safety and security information
Two kinds of information are held apart and restricted. Safety information covers hydrogen, high-voltage and electric propulsion systems and anything connected to them. Security information covers a car’s mechanical and electrical security, including its locking and immobilising systems.
Getting either takes two things: the information has to be for a repair business or a registered training course, and the person asking must have passed a “fit and proper person” check.
What a data provider has to do
The ACCC sets out the duties in full on its industry page. In short, a data provider has to:
- offer the scheme information for supply, and let repairers view it free of charge on its website;
- tell the Scheme Adviser about the offer, and about any change to it;
- supply the information the makers of covered vehicles prepare, including for diagnosis, servicing and repair, in a form people can use;
- charge no more than fair market value, and supply within the scheme’s time limits;
- compensate any third party that owns copyright in information it must share.
It must not tie access to the purchase of some other product or service.
Who runs it, and what happens when it fails
Day to day, the scheme is run by the Australian Automotive Service and Repair Authority, a joint industry-led body the Government appointed as Scheme Adviser. It provides the website repairers use to reach data providers’ information, guides both sides on how the scheme works, and reports systemic problems to the ACCC. Its website is also where repairers verify their credentials, check whether they meet the criteria for safety and security information, and find each car maker’s scheme information.
The ACCC enforces the scheme. It makes sure data providers understand their obligations and investigates reports that they are not meeting them. A court decides the penalty for a breach, and the ACCC can also issue infringement notices.
When a repairer and a data provider fall out, they are encouraged to sort it out between themselves. If that fails, either can appoint a mediator; if they cannot agree on one, the Scheme Adviser can nominate one. Attending mediation is compulsory, and failing to attend can bring penalties.
What it means for an owner
For a car owner the scheme works out of sight. Its effect is choice: because car makers must make their service and repair information available, an owner can choose a repairer outside the car maker’s dealer network for servicing and repairs. Consumer rights are untouched by it; the Australian Consumer Law still protects motorists.
Choice of repairer does not mean any repairer will do. In NSW, a repair business needs a motor vehicle repairer licence and the person doing the work needs a tradesperson certificate; Western Australia has its own business licence and repairer’s certificate. Both are covered in motor vehicle repairer licences, and how the choice plays out for a car still under warranty is the subject of servicing a new car and the warranty.