Australia · Edition 003Monday, 12 October 2026
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The $500 Ladder

Primary sources. Published arithmetic. No courses.

Every Monday, one thing $500 of starting capital, held in Australian dollars, can actually become in Australia, checked against its own statutes, regulators and prices, with the arithmetic to $5,000 a month shown.

Australia · This week's $500 idea · Pattern-breaking

The ACCC moved BYD’s dealer diagnostics from A$14,719.60 outright to A$140 a day.

The release is dated 16 September 2026. Before it, an Australian independent repairer who wanted BYD’s diagnostic hardware and software paid A$14,719.60 outright or A$600 for a month. Kia’s minimum upfront cost, hardware included, was about A$9,780; it now sells a day for A$136. Mazda gave a court-enforceable undertaking and is refunding repairers who paid more than they would have under an option that did not exist. None of the three was fined. They were simply not offering the access period the statute has required since 1 July 2022.

The $500 Ladder — Australia Monday, 12 October 2026 Edition 003 13 sources

The statute is Part IVE of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. Section 57CA(3) says a data provider’s scheme offer must provide for supply “by day, by month and by year”, or for any period an Australian repairer nominates. Section 57CA(4) says the price must not exceed the fair market value of the information. The second of those carries up to A$10 million per contravention for a body corporate. A A$140 day pass is cheaper than the defence.

It is enforced. Honda paid A$18,780 on an infringement notice in September 2024 for offering its i-HDS software only by the year between 1 July 2022 and 6 May 2024. On 20 August 2026 the ACCC filed a concise statement against Subaru (Aust) Pty Ltd in the Federal Court, alleging it offered scheme information annually when the scheme requires daily or monthly, required repairers to buy hardware as a condition, and did not supply two repairers at all.

Here is the part nobody has priced. The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries told Treasury’s review of the scheme, on 4 August 2025, that approximately 3,000 technicians had registered with the scheme adviser since July 2023 — “1% of over 320,200 workers nationally”. Four years after the law landed, ninety-nine per cent of the Australian trade has not bought the A$99 credential that unlocks it. The scarce asset in Australian car repair is not a scan tool. It is a membership almost nobody holds.

A$716.44 — US$500 at the Reserve Bank’s 12 October 2026 rate — covers the registration, the EV module, the police check and twenty-four days of Toyota’s complete service and repair library at A$21 a day, with A$1.44 left over.

Cost of one brand’s dealer-level diagnostic access — log scale A$180 · one diagnostic job BYD diagnostics A$14,719.60 A$600/mo A$140/day Kia diagnostics A$9,780 A$136/day Toyota manuals A$21/day A$10 A$100 A$1,000 A$10,000 Offered now Offered before 16 September 2026
Scale: x = 150 + (log₁₀ value − 1) × 172.68, so A$10 sits at 150, A$100 at 322.7, A$1,000 at 495.3 and A$10,000 at 668. Read the vertical line as the unit of work: at the A$180 median, BYD’s outright price was 81.78 jobs of revenue before the first dollar of profit and Kia’s was 54.33. The prices the ACCC obtained are 0.78 and 0.76 of one job, and Toyota’s A$21 is 0.12 — about seven minutes of the work it unlocks. Nothing here is subsidised; s 57CA(3) only makes the day a unit the manufacturer has to sell.

The evidence

10 findings
Regulator filingACCC release 16 September 2026 · Deputy Chair Mick Keogh

BYD: A$14,719.60 outright becomes A$140 a day

“BYD has introduced a daily access option for $140. Previously, independent repairers paid $600 for monthly access or $14,719.60 for outright purchase.” Kia introduced a programme letting independent repairers access its diagnostic hardware and software for A$136 a day, where the minimum upfront cost including outright purchase of hardware had been around A$9,780. Mazda gave a court-enforceable undertaking and is refunding some repairers who overpaid. ACCC, Mazda, Kia and BYD improve access

StatuteCompetition and Consumer Act 2010 · Part IVE · s 57CA(3)

The day is a unit the manufacturer must sell

A data provider’s scheme offer must include provision for supply “for any period nominated by an Australian repairer or scheme RTO”, or supply “by day, by month and by year”. Breach carries up to 600 penalty units (A$198,000) for a body corporate and 120 penalty units (A$39,600) for an individual, with an infringement notice at 60 penalty units (A$19,800). ACCC guidance for data providers

StatuteCCA 2010 · s 57CA(4) and s 57CC(2)

Pricing above fair market value: A$10 million a contravention

Section 57CA(4) requires the scheme offer be made at a price that “does not exceed the fair market value of the information”, with a maximum penalty of A$10 million for a body corporate and A$500,000 for an individual, and no infringement-notice alternative. Section 57CC(2) separately bans terms that require a repairer to buy other products or services, or that allow later price increases. ACCC guidance for data providers

Regulator filingACCC release 95/26 · 21 August 2026 · Commissioner Luke Woodward

Subaru is in the Federal Court over the access period

The ACCC alleges that between 1 July 2022 and 31 August 2024 Subaru (Aust) Pty Ltd did not offer independent repairers the same scheme information as its dealerships, required them to buy hardware to connect the software, offered the information only annually when the scheme requires daily or monthly, and failed to supply two repairers at all. The concise statement is dated 20 August 2026. ACCC, Subaru in court

Regulator filingACCC release 108/24 · 16 September 2024

Honda paid A$18,780 for selling only by the year

Honda Australia paid an infringement notice after the ACCC alleged that from 1 July 2022 to 6 May 2024 it offered its diagnostic software only through yearly subscriptions, denying independent repairers the cheaper daily and monthly options the scheme requires. Payment is not an admission. The release notes a maximum of up to A$10 million per contravention if a matter proceeds to the Federal Court. ACCC, Honda pays penalty

Platform documentationToyota Service & Repair Manual site · prices inc GST

Every Toyota manual, one day, A$21.00

The All Service & Repair Manual Pack gives “access to all available Service and Repair Manual on the SRM site” at A$21.00 for 1 day, A$39.00 for 7 days, A$220.00 for 30 days and A$2,200.00 for 1 year. The day rate is 0.95% of the year rate, which is what s 57CA(3) is for: the annual price is not the entry price unless you let it be. Some hybrid and EV material is safety information and is gated through the scheme adviser. Toyota service and repair manual subscriptions

Platform documentationAASRA fee schedule · scheme adviser

The credential costs A$90 plus GST a year

General service and repair information plus verification is A$90 + GST per year per technician; the Vehicle Security Professional tier is A$210 + GST per year and requires a national police check current within two years; EV and hydrogen information is a one-off A$50 + GST plus a unit covering depowering and reinitialising a high-voltage battery, cited as AURETH101 or equivalent, an 8–10 hour commitment. One AASRA check then opens the participating manufacturers’ portals. AAAA, mandatory data sharing Q&A · AASRA FAQs

Regulator filingFCAI submission to the MVIS review · 4 August 2025

3,000 technicians registered. That is 1% of the trade.

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, writing to Treasury’s review of the scheme, put registrations with the scheme adviser at “approximately 3,000 technicians since July 2023”, which it characterised as “1% of over 320,200 workers nationally”. The same submission puts manufacturers’ ongoing operational cost of compliance at A$120,000 per annum per brand. Treasury published its review on 6 February 2026. FCAI submission, 4 August 2025 · Treasury, Review of the MVIS

Live listingAirtasker Australia · data to 20 May 2026

A diagnostic job pays a median of A$180

Typical total cost per completed task across Australia runs A$100 to A$250 with a A$180 median: Sydney A$140–200, Melbourne A$130–190, Brisbane A$120–170, Perth A$130–180, Adelaide A$110–160, Hobart A$100–150. These are platform-reported job totals, not workshop door rates, and they are the conservative end of what a marque-specific diagnosis bills at. Airtasker, car diagnostic test cost

The ladder

From $500 to $5,000 a month · A$719 → A$7,185

General service and repair information plus verification through the scheme adviser is A$90 + GST per year, per technician. Eligibility is proof that you are a legitimate automotive business — servicing, repair, modification, dismantling, smash or specialist repair. Verification takes days, not months.

  1. Buy the credential 99% of the trade has not bought

    General service and repair information plus verification through the scheme adviser is A$90 + GST per year, per technician. Eligibility is proof that you are a legitimate automotive business — servicing, repair, modification, dismantling, smash or specialist repair. Verification takes days, not months.

    A$716.44 − A$99.00 = A$617.44

  2. Add the electric module before you need it

    EV and hydrogen information is a one-off A$50 + GST, gated behind a unit on safely depowering, isolating and reinitialising a high-voltage battery — AURETH101 or equivalent, 8 to 10 hours. It never needs recertifying. It is also the gate in front of the brands whose daily prices just collapsed.

    A$617.44 − A$55.00 = A$562.44

  3. Get the police check out of the way

    A nationally coordinated criminal history check from the AFP is A$57, GST exempt, and must be current within two years. It is the prerequisite for the Vehicle Security Professional tier at A$210 + GST — immobiliser and key work — which is where the per-job price stops being A$180.

    A$562.44 − A$57.00 = A$505.44

  4. Buy days, never tools

    The rest of the capital goes into access, one day at a time. Toyota’s entire service and repair library is A$21 a day against A$2,200 a year. You are renting the thing the dealership capitalised, on the days you have work for it, and you own nothing that depreciates.

    A$505.44 ÷ A$21.00 = 24 days, A$1.44 left

  5. Book by marque, not by customer

    The unit of cost is a brand-day, so the unit of scheduling has to match it. Take the week’s BYD work and put it on one Tuesday. Four jobs on a A$140 day pass costs A$35 of access each; one job on the same pass costs A$140. The whole economics of this route is batching.

    4 × A$180 = A$720 on one A$140 day

  6. Quote the section when a brand quotes you a year

    If a data provider offers only an annual subscription, that is the Honda conduct — A$18,780 — and the first Subaru allegation. Section 57CA(3) entitles you to nominate a period. Say so in writing, keep the reply, and send it to the ACCC; the scheme adviser also mediates.

    600 penalty units = A$198,000

  7. Run the month

    Eleven access days carrying four diagnostic jobs each. Seven of those days are Toyota at A$21 and four are BYD at A$140, which is the mix the current price list actually rewards. Access is 9.8% of net. The constraint is not capital and not tooling; it is how many brand-days you can fill.

    A$7,920 − A$707 = A$7,213 = US$5,034

Sources

13 primary documents
  1. ACCC — Mazda, Kia and BYD improve access to service and repair information after ACCC investigations (16 September 2026)
  2. ACCC — Subaru in court for allegedly failing to give independent repairers equal access to car repair information, release 95/26 (21 August 2026)
  3. ACCC — Honda pays penalty for alleged breach of car service and repair information sharing scheme, release 108/24 (16 September 2024)
  4. ACCC — Motor Vehicle Service and Repair Information Sharing Scheme: guidance for data providers (ss 57CA(2), 57CA(3), 57CA(4), 57CC(2), Part IVE CCA 2010)
  5. ACCC — MVIS information for data providers, repairers and RTOs
  6. FCAI — submission to the MVIS scheme review (4 August 2025)
  7. Treasury — Review of the Motor Vehicle Information Sharing Scheme (published 6 February 2026)
  8. AASRA — Frequently Asked Questions, fee schedule
  9. AAAA — Mandatory Data Sharing Q&A (AASRA fees, eligibility)
  10. Toyota Australia — Service & Repair Manual subscriptions (A$21.00 / 1 day)
  11. Airtasker Australia — How much does a car diagnostic test cost in Australia? (data to 20 May 2026)
  12. Australian Federal Police — National police checks (A$57)
  13. Reserve Bank of Australia — Exchange rates (12 October 2026)