Consumers want products that last longer and are easier to fix when something goes wrong. There is strong community support for a right to repair. Our research has found 75% of people agree that Australians need a stronger right to repair the products they own, with only 4% of people disagreeing.
In this submission, CHOICE supports the recommendations in the Productivity Commission's Draft Report, particularly those that would provide consumer regulators with greater powers to resolve complaints and the introduction of a super complaints process to help raise major issues spotted by consumer advocacy organisations.
However, not all consumer needs were fully captured in the Draft Report. The Final Report should recommend a suite of reforms to put quality information into the hands of consumers. People should be able to clearly see:
- how long a manufacturer expects a product to last (to know how long consumer guarantee rights apply)
- the minimum period essential software updates will be provided by the manufacturer
- how durable and repairable a product is in comparison to others.
CHOICE also wants to see strong penalties for companies that mislead people about their right to get a product fixed under the Australian Consumer Law.
Download submission (PDF)
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