Motorists and small business to benefit from ACCC recommendation

10 August, 2017

Australian motorists will be the big winners if an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) recommendation to mandate the sharing of automotive service and repair information is adopted.

If the mandate is adopted, approximately 40,000 Australian businesses in the automotive mechanical and body repair sectors would be able to operate in a fair and balanced market place, alongside franchised dealerships. The people to benefit from this increased competition would be their customers.

Currently, independent automotive service and repair businesses claim that they cannot always access the required information, and sometimes the correct tools and data equipment, to correctly maintain Australia’s vehicle fleet. If the ACCC recommendation is applied, Australia’s motorists will be able to choose with confidence the business they wish to maintain their vehicles.

The Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce (VACC) welcomes the ACCC recommendation.

“VACC is very pleased that the ACCC has listened to industry and has taken competition in the marketplace seriously. Now what motorists and small business needs is for the recommendation to mandate the sharing of service and repair information to be enshrined in law,” said VACC Executive Director, Geoff Gwilym.

“This is a victory and an acknowledgment of the hard work of VACC and its national body, the Motor Trades Association of Australia.”

The ACCC recommendation is contained within its interim New Car Retailing market study: independent repairers’ guide to the draft report, issued today.

“The ACCC report, in relation to access to repair and service information, is a good outcome from a very complex issue,” said Mr Gwilym.

Mr Gwilym added that access to repair and service information is not intended to divide the automotive industry, but to bring it together.

“VACC wants to be very clear here: this is in no way about undermining Licensed Motor Car Traders. This is about creating a fair market place for consumers and small business.

“In the end, this is about choice. If the ACCC recommendation is mandated, motorists will have genuine choice when assessing their vehicle maintenance requirements and all automotive businesses will become a real part in that decision-making,” said Mr Gwilym.