After more than a decade of advocacy from Australia’s farming sector, the federal government has announced plans to extend right-to-repair laws to include agricultural machinery — bringing it into line with protections already available for passenger vehicles.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers confirmed the long-anticipated reform following a meeting with state and territory ministers earlier this month. Currently, most agricultural machinery falls outside the scope of consumer guarantees under Australian law, which only applies to goods valued under $100,000. This has effectively excluded many farmers from choosing independent repairers or accessing timely, cost-effective servicing options.
“Waiting days, weeks or months to have machinery repaired by an authorised dealer when it could be done locally makes no sense,” Mr Chalmers said, describing the current legislation as one that “deprived the agriculture sector and rural communities.”
The government will begin formal consultation in early 2026 to develop a legislative framework that includes agricultural equipment in the right-to-repair regime.
Economic modelling by the Productivity Commission suggests the changes could significantly benefit the sector, boosting national GDP by $97 million through increased farm productivity, with a further $311 million expected through enhanced competition in the repair industry.
In 2021, the Commission found “significant and unnecessary barriers to repair for some products” and recommended that consumer law be updated to give Australians greater freedom of choice when it comes to repair services — particularly at more competitive prices.
The announcement has been welcomed across the agricultural sector. National Farmers Federation president Hamish McIntyre called it a major step forward:
“When a machine breaks down in the middle of harvest, waiting on an authorised dealer isn’t just inconvenient, it can cost tens of thousands of dollars,” Mr McIntyre said.
“Farmers will finally have more freedom to choose who services and repairs their machinery. That means less downtime, lower costs, and more control over their own businesses.”
GrainGrowers advocacy and rural affairs manager Sean Cole also hailed the commitment as a “landmark win for the industry.”
“Grain harvesters or tractors are computers on wheels,” he said. “They’re not much more complicated than light vehicles, we’d argue, but they have digital locks and things that can lock people out.”
He described examples of brand-new machinery being idle for weeks during peak harvest periods, leaving farmers with little choice but to bring older equipment back into service to avoid major losses.
“New equipment being laid to waste for a couple of weeks while we wait for service — that’s been the reality. And it’s not sustainable.”
The inclusion of agricultural machinery in right-to-repair legislation is expected to strengthen resilience across rural economies, reduce downtime for farmers, and inject new competition into the servicing market — all while offering producers greater autonomy over the tools of their trade.
