PROGRAM
Welcome
Professor Leanne Wiseman, ARC Future Fellow, Griffith University
International Perspectives on the Right to Repair
Right to Repair – EU Developments
Professor Carl Dalhammar, Lund University Sweden
Right to Repair – US Developments
Elizabeth Chamberlain, iFixit
Kyle Wiens, Co-founder and CEO, IFixit
Right to Repair – Canadian Developments
Assistant Professor Anthony Rosborough, Dalhousie University
Chair
Lesley Yates, Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA)
Keynote address
Repair is a Productivity Issue
The Hon. Dr Andrew Leigh MP, Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury
Fixing the Nation: Repair, Regulation and Australia’s Productivity Frontier
While “Right to Repair” is often framed as a consumer issue, its implications run much deeper — touching the very core of Australia’s productivity, competition, and regulatory efficiency. This conversation will explore how enabling repair — across industries and sectors — can become a lever for national growth and reform.
Panellists:
Julie Abramson, Commissioner, Productivity Commission
Stuart Charity, Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA)
Sean Cole, Grain Growers Ltd
Making Repair a Consumer Reality
This session will highlight the need for stronger Australian consumer laws that provide for more transparency and rights for Australian consumers around repairability and durability
Chair: Professor Leanne Wiseman
Erin Turner, CEO, Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC)
Discussant
John Gertsakis, Product Steward Centre of Excellence evating repair? With a case study approach, our panel can highlight how state and territory agencies can use their levers to elevate repair and turn circular ambition into practical outcomes.
Moving Up the Waste Hierarchy: the role of Policies and Strategies
As national repair policy remains fragmented, what role can the states play in elevating repair? With a case study approach, our panel can highlight how state and territory agencies can use their levers to elevate repair and turn circular ambition into practical outcomes.
Chair: John Gertsakis
Panellists:
Josh Wheeler, Green Industries SA
Jo Clay, ACT Greens
Bronwyn Isaac, NSW EPA
Repair Starts Here: Local Councils, Communities and Repair
This session highlights the roles that councils and community partners can play in enabling repair, reducing waste, and building skills and strengthening their communities.
Chair: Professor Leanne Wiseman
Australia’s first Repair Rebate
Julie Brockman, Canning City Council, Western Australia
Discussants
David Kuhn, Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (SSROC) Inc
Karen Ellis, Mend it Australia
Unlocking Repair
Open discussion
Vote of Thanks
Janet McCarthy, Global General Counsel & Company Secretary, Belron/O’Brien
Close and Thanks
Professor Leanne Wiseman