Australia’s Right to Repair: what the Productivity Commission recommended

Australia took a hard look at the throwaway economy. The Productivity Commission’s Right to Repair inquiry, reported in 2021, found there are “significant and unnecessary barriers to repair” for some products — appliances and consumer electronics among them.

Its recommendations point toward cheaper, easier fixes: clear durability and repairability labelling so you can buy a repairable product in the first place; protection so that using an independent repairer or third-party parts does not void your consumer-law rights; and a requirement that software updates be provided for a reasonable time on products that need them. It also backed your existing right to choose your own repairer at a competitive price.

Whether or not every recommendation becomes law, the direction is clear — more repair, less landfill. That is the world OwnWise is built for: it helps you diagnose what failed, find the right part, weigh a repair against replacement, and check what coverage already applies — so a fixable appliance gets fixed.