Discussion paper and consultation28 Feb 2020

In February 2020 the ACCC released a discussion paper which identified a number of initial concerns about issues which may be harmful to competition and to purchasers of agricultural machinery, specifically that:

  • access to independent agricultural machinery repairs is limited
  • farmers may lack recourse in the event of a problem with their machinery
  • agreements between manufacturers and dealers may limit access to repairs
  • data ownership and management may raise privacy and competition concerns.

At the time of publishing the discussion paper, the ACCC had not formed a view about the prevalence of, or harm stemming from, the issues and practices outlined. The ACCC sought further information and feedback from stakeholders, via a survey and submissions, to better understand the extent of the concerns identified. Submissions closed on 31 May 2020.