On 29 October 2019 the Federal Government released an update paper on its consultation with industry into the development of a mandatory scheme for the sharing of motor vehicle service and repair information.

The key points to emerge from the Consultation Update Paper are that:

1. The scheme will be implemented through primary legislation, as opposed to a mandatory code of conduct under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. According to the consultation update paper, this is because primary legislation will give the Government greater flexibility for the design of the mandatory information sharing scheme;
2. The scheme will initially apply only to passenger and light goods vehicles manufactured after 2002;
3. It will be mandatory to share information unless it is on a list of excluded information for ‘Safety, Security or Environmental’ reasons. The Government has identified categories of information such as information necessary to reset a vehicle’s immobiliser which will be excluded from any mandatory obligation to share; and
4. The ACCC will have enforcement responsibility over the scheme with penalties to apply for contraventions after a transition period has elapsed.

The Consultation Paper concludes by stating that the Government will seek advice from key stakeholders on issues outlined in the Paper to further develop the design of the scheme and the development of draft legislation.

Following the further consultation of key stakeholders, there will be a public consultation on draft legislation.

Click here to access the Consultation Update Paper.

This article was written by Evan Stents, Partner and Christian Teese, Senior Associate.