American moves to give farmers the right to repair their own agricultural machinery will not work in Australia, a key group says.
The Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association believes only government intervention would give Aussie farmers a right to repair their own machines.
After years of debate, a deal has been struck between the American Farm Bureau Federation and John Deere, which will provide farmers with increased access to repair their machinery.
It was hoped the memorandum of understanding would be a global ground breaker in terms of the long running issue where the machinery manufacturers demand the right to repair their machines, even after they move into private ownership.
Farmers say the freedom to choose where equipment is repaired, or to repair it themselves, would help control their costs.
Globally the agricultural right to repair movement has centred around farmers and independent technicians having access to diagnostics and manuals to service machinery, rather than having to go through original equipment manufacturers and their dealers.
The Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association represents independent repair workshops.
"The voluntary MoU between John Deere and the American Farm Federation is an interesting development but, sadly in our experience we know that it simply won't work," AAAA chief executive Stuart Charity said.
"All our efforts to make a voluntary MoU work in our industry failed, with the ACCC firmly concluding that our industry's MoU was ineffective.
"Our view is that real reform in the agricultural machinery market will not occur without formal legislative intervention," Mr Charity said.
The association said Australian farmers should have the right to use an independent repairer of their choice.
"In the same way the automotive right to repair law has transformed the automotive industry, an agricultural right to repair law would be a game-changer for farmers.
"It would also support local industry, with many independent repairers located within the local communities they serve," Mr Charity said.
The AAAA says the battle to create an automotive right-to-repair law for independent automotive workshops was only won with government support.
New federal laws from July 2022 requires all car manufacturers to make all repair and service information available to independent repairers on fair and reasonable commercial terms.
Significant penalties now apply if manufacturers withhold repair and service information.
No such right-to-repair law exists for the agricultural industry, and the AAAA, on behalf of the independent regional and remote auto repair sector, has been calling for this reform.
"An agricultural right to repair law would allow farmers to have their machinery repaired by their preferred local repairer or make simple repairs on the farm without fear of voiding warranties.
"A right to repair law could significantly reduce costly downtime due to repair and part supply delays, reducing the impact to farming operations."
The National Farmers' Federation has renewed its calls for the government to step in.
NFF president Fiona Simson said right to repair regimes were being introduced across most advanced economies around the world, including specific protections for agricultural machinery.
"It's essential the Australian government keeps pace with the world to ensure Australian farmers can fix their machinery on-farm," Ms Simson said.
Chris McLennan
ACM national rural property writer based in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. Career journalist. Multi award winner.
ACM national rural property writer based in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. Career journalist. Multi award winner.
