The Right to Repair Amendment Bill
In April 2024, the Consumer Guarantees Act (Right to Repair) Amendment Bill was pulled from the Member’s Bill ballot. The Bill represents an opportunity to strengthen our Consumer Guarantees Act by making it mandatory for products to be repairable and requiring the supply of repair information, tools and parts. We support the Bill.
If you want repairable products that go the distance, add your voice to the call for the right to repair. Contact your MP and those representing environmental and consumer portfolios in government and let them know this is a Bill you support. There's power in numbers.
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So, what exactly is a repairability label?
Just like energy star ratings tell you how efficient a product is to use, a repairability label tells you how easy a product is to repair before you buy it.
The label gives products a score based on:
- Whether repair documentation is available to independent repairers and/or consumers
- How easy it is to disassemble the product
- Availability of spare parts
- Price of spare parts
- Any other criteria specific to the product type.
We wouldn't be the first in the world to roll this out - the French have already successfully rolled out a similar repairability label.
Easy-to-repair products are going straight to landfill
When we tracked the journey of faulty appliances that we returned to stores, we found many of them went straight to the tip. For many companies, it’s more profitable to sell cheaply made products that can be replaced, rather than repaired.
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Information about repairability is hard to find
Our recent mystery shop found it's difficult for consumers to get information about repairability from retailers.
Read moreDevice repairability is expensive or non-existent
Some manufacturers are restricting spare parts and instruction manuals, claiming this practice reduces 'poor-quality' repairs.
Read more
Products aren't built to last
By law, a product should last a ‘reasonable’ amount of time, but many products are falling short of this. For example, at Consumer we’d expect a cordless vacuum to last 5 years, but our research found they work for 2.2 years on average. A corded vacuum should last for 8 years, but consumers have told us they last 4.8 years on average.
How do we fix it?
Our system is broken. So how do we stop appliances heading to landfill? We investigate some solutions.
We've changed the way we test
With our new lifetime scoring, we only recommend products that last. We still test products' performance, but we’re now including measures of reliability, owner satisfaction and repairability. This is a small step, which is why we want durability labelling for all New Zealanders, to make informed purchasing decisions.
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