The Right to Repair movement emerged in the 2020s demanding that any item purchased can be repaired by individuals or organisations other than the manufacturers or their service agents.
Modern technology, including computers, phones, and vehicles, is becoming increasingly complex and repairing them requires access to specialised parts, diagnostic equipment, and service data. Some companies deny access by the owner of the item to service data making repairs difficult and expensive.
The Right to Repair requires legislation to be enacted by Governments and in 2024 a Bill was lodged in Parliament to amend the Consumer Guarantees Act to improve access to spare parts and service information. The Bill was not passed.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Further information
- Right to Repair at Consumer NZ
- The Repair Association (formerly the Digital Right to Repair Coalition)
- Right to Repair, an organisation advocating for for the Right to Repair in the European Union
- Right to Repair at iFixit
- Right to Repair at Wikipedia
- #RightToRepair at Twitter
- The right to repair: good for consumers and the environment, Alex Sims, University of Auckland, 22 November 2021
New Zealand risks becoming a dumping ground for cheap, unfixable goods if we don’t get cracking on the type of legislation that other countries are adopting, according to Greens co-leader Marama Davidson.
In stark contrast to overwhelming support from almost 1200 businesses, community organisations and individuals, only 41% of 34 supplier and manufacturer businesses (or their industry representatives) made very or somewhat positive submissions on the Bill.
The campaign for the Right to Repair has been steadily building support — and this year, we’ve accelerated that pace even further.
Lee Marshall, the chief executive of the Motor Trade Association, has reservation about the Right to Repair Bill as is is currently drafted.
There are calls for manufacturers to make spare parts, tools and diagnostic information available to consumers for the useful life of a product.
Denver legislators have just passed the first-ever agricultural Right to Repair bill. Today’s landslide 25-8 vote in the Senate followed a 48-12 vote in the House in February.
Gay Gordon-Byrne has been described as the most important political advocate for consumer rights in the United States. In her role as executive director of the Repair Association, she’s spearheaded the Right to Repair movement in the US, focusing on some of the world’s biggest corporations.
Today, Representatives Mondaire Jones of New York (D) and Victoria Spartz of Indiana (R) introduced the Freedom to Repair Act. The bill would permanently fix an important aspect of copyright law, making almost all electronic repairs legal by default.
At long last, the Federal Productivity Commission released the findings of an inquiry into Right to Repair laws in Australia.
Repairing products rather than rubbishing them does more than simply minimising landfill waste. It also reduces the extraction of the earth’s precious resources, the health costs of heavy metals and other compounds in toxic rubbish, and the CO2 emissions in the recycling of unwanted or broken products and the production and distribution of new ones.
Businesses may soon be legally bound to ensure Kiwis can repair old devices and appliances instead of replacing them.
What if there was a way to extend the lifespan of products before they end up in landfill? Device repairability seems like a logical step.
A “right to repair” sounds reasonable, but forcing manufacturers to disclose their proprietary technologies would erode the incentive for innovation and endanger patients.