Your refund rights under Australian Consumer Law

Goods sold in Australia must be of acceptable quality — safe, durable, free from defects, acceptable in appearance and finish, and doing everything goods of that kind ordinarily do. They must match their description, match any sample or demonstration model, be fit for any purpose the seller was told about, and come with clear title and undisturbed possession. Repairs and spare parts must be reasonably available.

Services must be provided with due care and skill, be fit for the purpose you specified, and be supplied within a reasonable time where no time was agreed.

These guarantees apply automatically to almost everything bought from a business, including sale items and, in most cases, second-hand goods bought from a business — though what counts as 'acceptable quality' takes into account the age and price of a used item.

They cannot be excluded, restricted or modified. A sign saying 'no refunds', 'no refunds on sale items' or 'exchange or credit note only' is unlawful, and displaying one can attract a penalty from the ACCC.

This distinction determines who chooses the remedy, and it is worth learning precisely.

A failure is major if a reasonable consumer would not have bought the item had they known about the problem; or the goods are significantly different from the description or sample; or they are substantially unfit for their normal purpose and cannot easily be made fit within a reasonable time; or they are unfit for a purpose you told the seller about and cannot easily be made fit; or they are unsafe.

With a major failure, you choose: a refund, an identical replacement, or keeping the item and being compensated for the drop in value. The business cannot insist on repairing it.

With a minor failure, the business gets to choose the remedy, and may repair the item. But it must do so within a reasonable time, and if it takes too long or the repair fails, the minor failure escalates into a major one and the choice becomes yours.

Multiple minor failures can together amount to a major failure. This matters for items that keep breaking in different small ways.

'No refunds on sale items.' Wrong. Guarantees apply equally to discounted goods. What changes is that you cannot use them for a fault you were specifically told about before buying — a shop can lawfully sell a scratched item cheaply if the scratch is disclosed.

'You need the original packaging.' Wrong. You need proof of purchase, which can be a receipt, a bank or credit card statement, a warranty card, a lay-by agreement or a confirmation email. Packaging is not a legal requirement.

'The warranty has expired.' Irrelevant. A manufacturer's warranty is an extra promise on top of your statutory rights, not a limit on them. The guarantee period is however long a reasonable person would expect goods of that type and price to last — which for an expensive appliance can be years beyond the warranty.

'You have to deal with the manufacturer.' No. You can pursue the retailer who sold it to you, and it is usually easier. The retailer may then recover from the manufacturer, which is their problem and not yours.

'Change of mind.' This one is true — consumer guarantees do not cover change of mind, wrong size or finding it cheaper elsewhere. Many retailers offer change-of-mind returns as a matter of policy, and if they advertise such a policy they must honour it, but they are not legally required to have one.

Put it in writing. Email the store and the head office, set out the problem, the date of purchase, whether you say it is a major or minor failure and why, and the remedy you want. Give a deadline — ten business days is reasonable — and keep the correspondence.

If you paid by card, ask your bank about a chargeback. This is separate from consumer law and operates through the card scheme rules, and it has its own time limits, generally counted from the transaction or from the date the goods were due.

Contact your state or territory fair-trading agency: NSW Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs Victoria, the Queensland Office of Fair Trading, Consumer Protection WA, Consumer and Business Services SA, CBOS in Tasmania, Access Canberra, or NT Consumer Affairs. They can conciliate, and a letter from them frequently resolves matters that a customer's letter did not.

For claims within the monetary threshold, the state civil and administrative tribunal is cheap, informal and does not require a lawyer. This is the enforcement step that gives the earlier ones their weight.

The ACCC does not resolve individual disputes. It takes action on systemic conduct, so reporting to it is useful for the pattern rather than for your refund.