The consumer watchdog has gone to the Federal Court over a question every car owner eventually faces: when the warranty runs out, who is allowed to fix it? In August 2026 the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) started proceedings against Subaru Australia, the first case it has brought under the national repair-information scheme, according to Insurance News (opens in a new tab). These are allegations. Nothing has been decided, and the article we read did not include a response from Subaru.
In Australia
The scheme is the Motor Vehicle Service and Repair Information Sharing Scheme. It started in July 2022 as Australia's first right-to-repair scheme, and it requires car makers to give independent repairers access to service and repair information at no more than fair market value (opens in a new tab), as the Treasury ministers' release on the 2026 review puts it.
According to Insurance News's report (opens in a new tab) of the ACCC's claims, Subaru allegedly:
- gave independent repairers less software and technical information than it gave its dealerships, or offered access only through remote assistance;
- required repairers to buy extra hardware to connect the software to the vehicle;
- offered the information only annually, when the scheme requires it to be available daily or monthly;
- failed to supply information to two independent repairers immediately on request.
The ACCC is seeking declarations, penalties, costs and other orders. Commissioner Luke Woodward said "consumers may have been unable to use an independent, local or family-run repairer" instead of a Subaru dealership.
At a glance
- Scheme started
- July 2022
- Case type
- Federal Court, first under the scheme
- Status
- Allegations, not yet decided
The Victorian Automotive Chamber of Commerce said the action "sends an important signal that the obligations on manufacturers are real and will be tested", and its chief executive said the scheme "is only as good as its enforcement".
The government is not standing still either. Its February 2026 review found the scheme is linked to a $2.4 billion annual increase in automotive industry turnover, and the government plans, subject to consultation, to require repairer access to electronic logbooks and to widen access for intermediaries such as tool makers (Treasury ministers' release (opens in a new tab)).
The world view
The same fight is playing out in the United States, with a software twist. Massachusetts voters approved a 2020 ballot measure requiring cars with telematics to carry an open-access platform so owners and independent shops can reach diagnostic data. Carmakers' lobby group, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, argues federal law overrides it. The appeal was argued before the First Circuit on 3 February 2026, where a judge said she was "troubled" by an aspect of the result and the court urged the parties toward mediation, according to law firm Nelson Mullins (opens in a new tab). The appeal was still pending at the time of that article.
Another perspective: United States
The US argument is worth understanding because it will reach us. Manufacturers say open access creates a cybersecurity risk. Owners and independent shops say a car you cannot get diagnostic data from is a car you do not fully own. Both can be partly right, and the court's own suggestion was a technical fix rather than a winner-takes-all ruling.
Our take
This is our view. A repair scheme is a rule on paper until somebody tests it, so we think the ACCC's case matters more than the headline suggests. The older and simpler a car is, the less this matters: a naturally aspirated engine with a standard diagnostic port can be fixed by almost any competent mechanic, or by you, with ordinary tools. As cars become software products, the repair manual becomes a licence, and whoever holds the licence holds the price of the repair.
That is why we keep arguing for simple, repairable machinery, and why we are glad someone is checking whether the law is being followed. If you own a newer car, ask any workshop you are considering whether they can access the manufacturer's tools. If you are buying, a car that independent shops already service is worth more to you than one that only the dealer can touch.
