Australian Car Owners Need A Tough Cop on the Beat

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Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association

Recently, at the AAA Aftermarket National Conference, The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) revealed that the Federal Government had been advised, under existing legislation, it was not illegal for car manufacturers to restrict access to data and codes to thousands of independent car repair and servicing workshops.

Report on ACCC Comments: http://premium.goauto.com.au/our-hands-tied-on-data-sharing-says-accc/?pgnc=

Stuart Charity, Executive Director of the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA) welcomed this statement saying, "We have been urging the ACCC to tell the Government that they need to act to close this loophole in the interest of every Australian car owner.

"The current daily data blockade is also undermining the financial stability and employment of an industry which employs 300,000 Australians and contributes $15 billion annually to the Australian economy."

The AAAA is urging both the Federal Government and the Opposition to commit to giving the ACCC stronger legislation to become the Tough Cop on the Beat for 13.5 million Australian car owners by establishing a National Automotive Repair and Servicing Portal.

Mr. Charity said both Europe and the United States had adopted mandatory systems of data and information sharing, requiring the motor companies to share repair data with independent companies or face sanctions.

"The problem with a voluntary solution is there is no oversight from government, there are no ramifications for non-compliance."

The National Automotive Repair and Servicing Portal would be paid for by the industry through membership fees and could be established with twelve months. It is suggested that the Portal be monitored by the ACCC.


Click here to view the USA National Portal in Action

Note
In an average three-month period, 43% of Australian motorists (or 6,484,000 people) take their main vehicle to a professional for some kind of service or repairs. Routine services are especially common, accounting for 39% of all automotive work done; well ahead of work pertaining to oil/lubricants (26%), tyres (20%) and brakes (16%).

Media Enquiries:
Ron Smith, Corporate Media Communications, AAAA - Mobile: 0417 329 201