ACCC Takes Subaru Australia to Court Over Repair Information Access

Key Takeaways

• ACCC Takes Subaru to Court: The ACCC has commenced Federal Court proceedings against Subaru Australia over alleged breaches of the Motor Vehicle Service and Repair Information Sharing Scheme.
• Independent Repairers Allegedly Received Unequal Access: The regulator alleges Subaru failed to offer independent repairers the same required software and technical information it provided to Subaru dealerships between July 2022 and August 2024.
• Access Conditions Are Central to the Case: Allegations include requiring certain hardware purchases, offering some information only through annual access, and failing to provide requested information immediately or at all to two independent repairers.

Deep Dive

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission filed proceedings in the Federal Court on Friday against Subaru, accusing the company of breaching Australia’s Motor Vehicle Service and Repair Information Sharing Scheme, or MVIS.

The case covers Subaru Australia’s conduct between July 1, 2022, and Aug. 31, 2024. The ACCC alleges that during that period the company failed to offer independent repairers required software and other technical information in the same way it supplied that information to Subaru dealerships.

That distinction matters because equal access is largely the point of the law. The MVIS requires data providers, including vehicle manufacturers in some circumstances, to offer Australian repairers the information needed to diagnose, service and repair passenger vehicles on fair and reasonable commercial terms.

“We allege Subaru Australia failed to comply with the Motor Vehicle Service and Repair Information Sharing Scheme, which is designed to promote competition between Australian car repairers,” ACCC Commissioner Luke Woodward said. “As a result, consumers may have been unable to use an independent, local or family-run repairer rather than using Subaru’s dealerships.”

The allegations have not been proven. The ACCC is seeking declarations, penalties, costs and other orders.

What the ACCC Says Subaru Got Wrong

The regulator’s case is not confined to whether information was technically available. Much of it concerns the conditions attached to getting it.

The ACCC alleges that Subaru Australia failed to offer independent repairers the same scheme information it provided to dealerships, or made some information available only through remote assistance. It also alleges the company required independent repairers to purchase certain hardware to connect the software to a vehicle.

According to the ACCC, Subaru Australia offered certain scheme information only through annual access when it was required to offer daily or monthly access, or alternatively access for another period nominated by an Australian repairer. For a mechanic who needs information for a particular job rather than an entire year, the difference is a practical one as much as a contractual one.

The regulator also alleges that two independent repairers requested scheme information and did not receive it immediately as required, or did not receive it at all. The ACCC alleges, those practices denied independent mechanics the fair and equal access needed to compete with dealerships.

“The MVIS was designed to promote competition by enabling consumers to go to a local mechanic of their choice,” Woodward said. “To make that possible, independent mechanics need to be given fair and equal access to motor vehicle service and repair information so that they could compete on a level playing field with dealerships.”

A Scheme Gets Its First Court Case

Australia made the MVIS mandatory after years of friction over who gets access to the increasingly important information sitting behind modern cars. The scheme grew out of recommendations from the ACCC’s 2017 new-car retailing industry market study, which found that independent repairers continued to have difficulty obtaining information needed to service and repair vehicles. Under the resulting framework, service and repair information must be made available for purchase by Australian repairers at a price no higher than its fair market value.

The ACCC enforces the scheme under the Competition and Consumer Act. The Australian Automotive Service and Repair Authority handles its day-to-day operation as Scheme Adviser.

The regulator has enforced the rules before, though not through court proceedings. In September 2024, Honda Australia paid an AUD 18,780 penalty after the ACCC issued an infringement notice. The ACCC alleged Honda had offered repair software only through an annual subscription without giving independent repairers the option of purchasing less expensive daily or monthly access.

The Subaru case goes further. Rather than resolving an alleged breach through an infringement notice, the ACCC is asking the Federal Court to determine whether Subaru Australia contravened the scheme and, if so, what consequences should follow.

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