Consumer Guarantees (Right to Repair) Amendment Bill

A massive thank YOU to each and every one of you who thoughtfully wrote and presented submissions to the Consumer Guarantees (Right to Repair) Amendment Bill! Your contributions were a wonderful celebration of knowledge, a testament to our deep care for the planet and our belongings, and a clear commitment to the value of repair. You can find copies of the submitters’ written submissions on the Parliament website.

Oral submissions to the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee were held on April 10th and May 12th. Previous live streams can be viewed on Vimeo. Here is the link to the Right to Repair Aotearoa Coalition's written submission to the Bill on the New Zealand Parliament website.

Next Step: The Bill is anticipated to have its Second Reading in September. We urge you to use this time to contact your local MP and advocate for their support of the Bill. We will communicate the date of the reading as soon as it is confirmed. Stay tuned!

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Tuesday, 19 August 2025, 8AM

Despite overwhelming public support, the Government will not make repair easier

More than 95% of 1250 submissions supported the Consumer Guarantees (Right to Repair) Amendment Bill, yet the majority of the Select Committee considering it, chose to recommend it not proceed further.

The Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee report released today confirmed overwhelming support for the Consumer Guarantees (Right to Repair) Amendment Bill. Of 1250 submissions made, more than 95% supported the bill and its general aims. Fewer than 2% of submitters opposed it.

However, despite this support, the Government Coalition parties – National, NZ First and ACT ensured the committee recommended the bill not be passed.

That means the Right to Repair Bill is highly unlikely to proceed beyond its second reading in Parliament, and repairing goods in New Zealand will remain controlled by manufacturers that make it expensive and difficult.

Amendments were proposed, but not agreed

The committee reported that

“during our consideration of the bill, we explored possible amendments and instructed the Parliamentary Counsel Office to draft a revision-tracked version of the bill. We were unable to agree on whether to recommend amendments to the bill.”

We think it is highly disappointing that members of the committee could not respond positively to the public call for easier and cheaper repair.

Recording their differing view, the New Zealand Labour Party and Green Party of Aotearoa said:

“the opposition members support the Right to Repair Bill. We believe that strengthening consumers’ ability to repair goods, and ensuring repair services and information are accessible, will deliver enduring benefits for households, reduce waste, and support local businesses. We also support amendments that make such legislation cross-partisan so that it endures beyond the term of any single Government, and to improve the effectiveness of the legislation for manufacturers, retailers, and consumers.”

Clearly, the committee had an opportunity to work together to strengthen the bill and guard against unintended consequences. However, the Opposition recorded serious concerns about the committee. The Opposition suggested the process was not conducted in good faith and was used to keep the committee occupied rather than to improve the bill.

The amended Right to Repair Bill considered by the committee is not publicly available – the majority of the committee voted against releasing it. That means we don’t know what amendments were proposed, and which were unable to gain cross party support.

An opportunity missed, but not gone

The Government has missed an opportunity. Most manufacturers have made it clear through their actions that they do not intend to allow us to repair products we own. So until our Government legislates and forces manufacturers to support minimum levels of repair, we’ll continue to pay the price as too many easily repairable products become landfill.

Public support for the Right to Repair Bill shows the growing strength of the repair movement in Aotearoa. The EU, UK, US and Australia are amongst the countries that have already passed repair legislation, backed by similar levels of public support. Whether some of our politicians like it or not, we’ll keep fighting until we have our right to repair.

The Second Reading of this Bill is anticipated in September at the earliest, at which point the outcome will be decided by Party votes.

Full Select Committee report, August 2025

A Right to Repair gives us the power to fix the things we own - we paid for them and so we should be allowed to get them fixed if we want! When businesses know everyday people have this right, they are more likely to design products to be long-lasting and fixable in the first place. When stuff does break, a strong and well-protected right to repair means it is cheaper and easier to get stuff fixed.

The Right to Repair upholds property and consumer rights, while protecting the planet and resonating with New Zealand’s resourceful, do-it-yourself, ‘No 8 wire’ cultural values. When products are easy to repair, the benefits are obvious:

products last longer, saving us money and time
more job opportunities in a growing repair industry
more autonomy for consumers to choose to fix the products they own
less harm to the planet because we reduce broken stuff going to landfill, keeping precious natural resources in use for as long as possible.

How would the proposed law work and what could it mean for you?

This Bill would update the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (CGA). The purpose of the CGA is to protect consumers and their rights by setting out quality guarantees every business must provide. In the 31 years since the CGA was passed, products have become less repairable, and the Act has lacked the powers to prevent this.

The Bill seeks to turn this around. Its main proposed changes focus on the essential ingredient for product repairability: the supply of repair information, necessary tools, and spare parts. The Bill would also close up some sneaky loopholes that get in the way of our right to repair the goods we own.

What would it look like in real-life if the Bill became law?

Here are some examples of what the Bill seeks to do, and how this could affect you – in a good way!

If the Bill became law, it would require manufacturers to take reasonable action to ensure a supply of parts and the availability of repair facilities, for a reasonable amount of time.

What would this mean in a real-life scenario?

The hinge on your laptop fails after three years of normal use, so its screen won’t stay open.

The status quo: the whole laptop is junk, as the part you need to fix it isn’t available.
If the Bill became law: the manufacturer (or importer) makes the hinge part available, so this common fault becomes easy to fix and your laptop lives on.

If the Bill became law, it would require manufacturers to provide consumers with information, software and tools for diagnosing, maintaining and repairing goods. They must not make repair too expensive – digital information would have to be free and all other charges reasonable.

What would this mean in a real-life scenario?

Your washing machine stops and displays an “E16” error code on its control panel.

The status quo: you have no idea what the code means. You call in a repairer, who diagnoses it as a blocked drain filter and clears it – at your expense.
If the Bill became law: the manufacturer makes error codes freely available to you. With this information, you immediately diagnose the fault as a blocked drain. The manufacturer info also tells you how to remove the drain filter and clean it out. No repair is needed – you’ve saved a call-out charge and your washing machine!

If the Bill became law, it would prevent a manufacturer voiding the product’s manufacturer’s warranty just because repairs weren’t carried out by their authorised repairer using authorised parts. You would also be able to request repair to be completed in a reasonable time. If the supplier did not comply, you would be able to have the item repaired and obtain the costs.

What would this mean in a real-life scenario?

Your car occasionally loses power while driving normally. It’s still within warranty, so you take it back to the dealer to get it fixed.

The status quo: after keeping the car for three weeks, the dealer says they can’t replicate or fix the problem. They return your car, but soon enough the fault reappears. You want your local independent mechanic to take a look, but you would risk voiding the manufacturer’s warranty.
If the Bill became law: you don’t have to use the authorised dealer. You can take your car to an independent repairer, and you can claim the repair cost back from the manufacturer. The manufacturer still has to honour the warranty if your car develops further faults.

If the Bill became law, it would close up a sneaky loophole in the Consumer Guarantees Act by preventing a supplier from opting out of offering repair before the goods are sold.

What would this mean in a real-life scenario?

You bought a food blender with a “Replacement Warranty” that stated no repair facilities are available. Within the warranty period, it starts to leak through the base of the jug.

The status quo: the “Replacement Warranty” means the manufacturer has opted out of repair. You get a brand-new blender, but your old one is likely to end up in landfill.
What would happen if the Bill became law: you have the right to have the blender repaired instead of being replaced. The manufacturer provides a replacement jug and your blender doesn’t end up as waste.

Fully rebuilding a thriving repair culture in New Zealand requires tweaks to lots of areas of law, including copyright, IP and waste laws. This Bill focuses on consumer law; it’s one very important piece in the puzzle. If it passes, there will still be more work to do to guarantee our right to repair in NZ, but we’ll have ticked one key task off the list!

The Right to Repair Aotearoa Coalition has some ideas for making this Bill even better. Enough of our MPs supported the Bill through its “First Reading” in Parliament. At Select Committee we’ll support it and suggest improvements through written and oral submissions.

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Despite overwhelming public support, the Government will not make repair easier

More than 95% of 1250 submissions supported the Consumer Guarantees (Right to Repair) Amendment Bill, yet the majority of the Select Committee considering it, chose to recommend it not proceed further.

Amendments were proposed, but not agreed

An opportunity missed, but not gone

What’s a Right to Repair and why is it important?

How would the proposed law work and what could it mean for you?

What would it look like in real-life if the Bill became law?

Here are some examples of what the Bill seeks to do, and how this could affect you – in a good way!

Example 1: You can get spare parts for your laptop

Example 2: You can diagnose and fix a fault on your washing machine

Example 3: You can have your car repaired at a local garage without voiding your warranty

Example 4: The manufacturer repairs your newly-bought food blender, rather than replacing it

Despite overwhelming public support, the Government will not make repair easier

More than 95% of 1250 submissions supported the Consumer Guarantees (Right to Repair) Amendment Bill, yet the majority of the Select Committee considering it, chose to recommend it not proceed further.

Amendments were proposed, but not agreed​

An opportunity missed, but not gone

What’s a Right to Repair and why is it important?

How would the proposed law work and what could it mean for you?

What would it look like in real-life if the Bill became law?

Here are some examples of what the Bill seeks to do, and how this could affect you – in a good way!

Example 1: You can get spare parts for your laptop

Example 2: You can diagnose and fix a fault on your washing machine

Example 3: You can have your car repaired at a local garage without voiding your warranty

Example 4: The manufacturer repairs your newly-bought food blender, rather than replacing it

Amendments were proposed, but not agreed