Question: As a supplier do I have to cover the cost of undertaking repairs?
Answer:Yes, but you should be reimbursed if the reason the product needs to be repaired is not your fault.
Under s274 of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), if a consumer asks a supplier to deal with a problem under the Consumer Guarantees, e.g. a manufacturing defect, then the manufacturer must reimburse the supplier for any such costs (manufacturer’s indemnity, subject to exceptions), where the problem is not the supplier’s fault. This amount can include any compensation paid to the consumer for reasonably foreseeable consequential losses. In order to be reimbursed, the supplier would need to ask the manufacturer for reimbursement within 3 years from the date that the supplier fixed any problems with the consumer’s goods or the consumer took legal action against the supplier. Manufacturers cannot exclude themselves from their obligation to reimburse the supplier.
