Australians may soon be able to get their broken phones and computers repaired by third parties without fear of forfeiting their warranties.
Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar will write to the Treasurer to ask the Productivity Commission to consider a national "right to repair", which would give consumers the right to have their products repaired anywhere without voiding the warranty.
It would also mean manufacturers would have to make replacement parts and information on how to fit them more readily available.
ACT Greens minister Shane Rattenbury secured the promise at the Consumer Affairs Forum on Friday.
Ministers from each state and territory also promised to look at tougher penalties for businesses that failed to live up to their obligations under Australian consumer law.
Mr Rattenbury said electronics and other types of waste were a growing problem.
"Australians are among the highest users of technology products, generating around 25 kilograms of e-waste per capita each year," Mr Rattenbury said.
"A 'right to repair' means that consumers won't simply be stuck dealing with one manufacturer - they can take issues into their own hands to get the product repaired [or] get help from a third party.
"It also means manufacturers will be obliged to build products capable of being repaired, as well as providing manuals."
The push comes amid growing momentum in the United States and the European Union to introduce similar rules.
It also follows a $9 million fine handed to Apple last year, after the Federal Court found the company had unfairly penalised Australian iPhone and iPad customers who had gone to companies other than Apple to have their screens fixed.
The ruling was considered to have global implications for how the company treated third-party repairs.
But Guido Verbist, who runs the Bower Reuse and Repair Centre Co-Op, said the main problem was products were not being designed to be repairable.
"They glue it, they don't use screws, or they require a special tool which isn't available," Mr Verbist said.
"We've found ways around it, we replicate tools that aren't available, found systems to open and close ... but in some cases there's a licensing aspect behind it, if you touch it, you lose your entitlement to get it repaired by them."
Even if the manufacturer will repair it for you, "they don't replace just the broken part, they replace half your device which costs a lot more", Mr Verbist said.
Angelo Kapantais - who is a technician at Canberra's Geek Labs, which repairs phones and other devices - said while it was not difficult for them to source parts, they generally had to pay a premium for them.
To fix a Samsung phone through the manufacturer could cost around $300, but would take several weeks.
It would take Mr Kapantais an hour to fix the same phone, but the manufacturer would charge them $330 alone for the part.
"It would be good if we could access them at the right price point," Mr Kapantais said.
