Your right to repair laws don’t cover the data that matters most

Repairers risk being locked out of vehicle data. Growing concern over the data connected vehicles collect has put a spotlight on how much control motorists actually have over that information, including who can access the repair and maintenance data their vehicle generates.

The Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association is calling on the Federal Government to bring telematics data into its proposed reforms of the Motor Vehicle Service and Repair Information Sharing Scheme.

AAAA CEO Stuart Charity said recent reporting had focused attention on how much information modern vehicles collect, including location, driving behaviour and vehicle performance. “Motorists are rightly asking what information connected vehicles are collecting, where it is going and how it is being used,” he said. “But there is another important question. If a vehicle is already generating the information needed to diagnose, maintain and repair it, why can’t the owner choose to share that information with the qualified repairer they trust?”

Australia’s right to repair laws require manufacturers to share service and repair information with independent workshops, but they don’t cover telematics data, which Charity said is increasingly where diagnostics are heading. “As vehicle technology evolves, diagnostics are steadily moving beyond the workshop plug and onto manufacturer controlled telematics platforms,” he said. “If the law doesn’t evolve as well, manufacturers will increasingly have exclusive access to information about the condition of a customer’s vehicle, while the independent repairer chosen by that customer is locked out.”

The AAAA said privacy and right to repair should work together, giving consumers strong privacy protections alongside the right to authorise secure access to their vehicle’s repair data. “This isn’t about unrestricted access to personal information. It is about giving motorists control over who can access the repair information produced by the vehicle they own,” Charity said.

The Association wants the Government’s review to capture this information as part of the scheme, arguing it’s needed to keep competition and consumer choice alive as vehicles become more connected.

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