Customers are not being disadvantaged by vehicle manufacturers restricting repair information – but that could change, according to a report by the Commonwealth Consumer Affairs Advisory Council.

Assistant Treasurer David Bradbury ordered the review in 2011 after complaints from independent repairers that manufacturers were preventing access to repair information at reasonable cost, threatening their ability to operate.

The council says it is in the interests of consumers, repairers and manufacturers to have a viable independent repair sector and notes “there is appetite within the automotive industry to develop an industry-led outcome to improve access to repair information”.

If the industry cannot act in reasonable time, there may be a case for government intervention, the report says.