Independent repairers in Australia will pay far less to get the diagnostic information they need to service Mazda, Kia and BYD vehicles, after the consumer watchdog investigated how the three car makers sold that data. Kia now charges $136 for a day of diagnostic hardware and software access, down from a previous minimum upfront cost of about $9,780 that included buying hardware. BYD's daily option costs $140, compared with its earlier monthly price of $600 and an outright purchase price of $14,719.60.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found all three companies were not fully meeting their obligations on daily and monthly access, and each changed its offers after the investigations. Mazda went further, giving the ACCC a court-enforceable undertaking on its compliance with the MVIS, Australia's mandatory information sharing scheme for car repair data. Some of its diagnostic information is now available on devices more common among independent repairers, and Mazda is offering refunds to certain independent repairers that were charged more than an alternative option would have cost.
The MVIS is a mandatory scheme meant to keep Australia's automotive service and repair market competitive. It requires Scheme Information to be offered to every Australian repairer on reasonable commercial terms, at a price no higher than fair market value. The ACCC enforces the scheme under the Competition and Consumer Act, while the Australian Automotive Service and Repair Authority handles it day to day as Scheme Adviser. The scheme adopts recommendations from the ACCC's 2017 new car retailing market study.
Many independent repairers are small businesses, and protecting them is an enforcement and compliance priority for the ACCC. "We were concerned that independent repairers were required to purchase expensive equipment if they wanted to access information needed to service and diagnose vehicles", ACCC Deputy Chair Mick Keogh said. He added that better access to repair and service information lets independent repairers compete more effectively with dealerships and gives consumers more say over where their car is serviced or repaired.
The announcement leaves several details open. The ACCC did not disclose how much Mazda is refunding in total or how many repairers are affected. The three car makers are the Australian arms of overseas parents: Mazda Australia is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mazda Motor Corporation in Japan, Kia Australia sits under Kia Corporation in Korea, and BYD Australia is controlled by BYD Company Limited in China.
The action follows the ACCC's move in August 2026 to take Subaru Australia to the Federal Court, alleging it failed to give independent repairers equal access to repair information. In that case the ACCC alleges Subaru breached the MVIS between 1 July 2022 and 31 August 2024 and gave dealerships different access to software and technical information. Subaru has not been found to have breached the law.
The regulator has pursued similar access issues before. Honda Australia paid an $18,780 penalty in September 2024 after an infringement notice, over allegations it offered repair software only through a yearly subscription.
