Airline lost or damaged your baggage: your compensation rights

You land in Melbourne, Sydney, or Perth, wait at the carousel, and your bag never appears — or it arrives crushed, with the contents damaged. The airline hands you a reference number and a form. What happens next, and what are you actually owed?

Baggage claims sit at the intersection of several legal frameworks: the Montreal Convention for international carriage, a separate domestic carrier-liability regime for flights within Australia, and the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) alongside both. Working out which applies to your situation — and what each one offers — is the starting point for any successful claim.

Quick answer

Your rights depend on whether your flight was international or domestic, and on whether the bag was lost, damaged or merely delayed.

For international flights, the Montreal Convention generally applies and sets a liability cap per passenger. For checked baggage that is lost, destroyed or damaged while in the airline's charge, the airline is generally liable up to that cap, subject to limited defences — principally that the damage came from an inherent defect, quality or vice of the baggage itself, or from your own contributory fault. Delayed baggage works differently: there the airline can avoid liability if it proves it took all measures reasonably required to avoid the damage, or that it was impossible to take them. Written notice within strict time limits is essential.

For domestic flights, the Montreal Convention generally does not apply, but Australia has its own carrier-liability framework under the Civil Aviation (Carriers' Liability) Act 1959 (Cth) and corresponding state and territory legislation, which covers baggage liability, written-complaint windows and liability limits. The ACL is also relevant — particularly the guarantee of due care and skill, the prohibition on misleading conduct, and the rule that terms purporting to exclude consumer guarantees are void. Domestic baggage claims are not an ACL-only question.

Before escalating, you need to have written to the airline first. fairgo can help you draft that letter in minutes.

What the law actually says

The Montreal Convention (international flights)

Australia has given the Montreal Convention domestic force through the Civil Aviation (Carriers' Liability) Act 1959 (Cth). It applies to international carriage — including a journey with an agreed stopping place outside Australia — rather than to every route that happens to touch Australia.

The Convention treats the three baggage scenarios differently, and conflating them is the most common source of confusion:

• Lost or damaged checked baggage. The airline is liable for destruction, loss or damage occurring while the checked bag was in its charge, up to the applicable cap. The defences are narrow: principally that the damage resulted from the inherent defect, quality or vice of the baggage itself, and reduction for your own contributory fault. The "all reasonable measures" defence does not apply here. A bag that has not arrived within 21 days of its scheduled arrival can be treated as lost.
• Delayed baggage. Here the airline is liable for the damage caused by the delay — in practice your reasonable out-of-pocket expenses — but it can escape liability by proving it took all measures reasonably required to avoid the damage, or that it was impossible to take them.
• Cabin and unchecked baggage. Liability is fault-based: the airline is generally liable only where the damage resulted from its fault or that of its staff. Your carry-on is treated less protectively than a checked bag.

The cap. The Convention sets a liability limit per passenger, expressed in Special Drawing Rights (a unit of account set by the International Monetary Fund). As at the limits published by the Commonwealth Department of Infrastructure, effective 28 December 2024, the baggage limit is 1,519 SDR per passenger. These thresholds are reviewed periodically, so confirm the current figure with the Department of Infrastructure, IATA, or the airline's conditions of carriage before you calculate a claim.

Strict time limits. For damaged checked baggage, written complaint within seven days of receiving the bag. For delayed baggage, within 21 days of the date it was placed at your disposal. Miss these and you generally lose the Convention claim.

The Convention is not one option among several. Where it applies, an action for damages for baggage loss, damage or delay is generally subject to the Convention's conditions and liability limits however the claim is framed — contract, tort, or another legal theory. You cannot bypass the cap by pleading the ACL instead. A genuinely separate issue, such as a misleading representation about baggage handling, may need its own analysis, but it should not be treated as a route around the Convention limit.

Domestic flights: carrier liability and the ACL

For carriage entirely within Australia, the starting point is the domestic carrier-liability regime in the Civil Aviation (Carriers' Liability) Act 1959 (Cth), together with the corresponding state and territory legislation. That framework carries its own baggage liability rules, its own limits, and — importantly — its own written-complaint windows, which are shorter than most people expect:

• Damage to registered (checked) baggage: complain in writing within three days of receiving it.
• Loss or destruction of registered baggage: within 21 days from when the bag should have been available.
• Non-registered (cabin) baggage: within three days from the end of the carriage.

A court may allow a late complaint in special circumstances, but that is a concession, not something to rely on. And a Property Irregularity Report is not the written complaint the legislation requires — send separate written notice inside the window.

That framework also sets its own monetary limits on baggage liability, with a lower limit for non-registered (cabin) baggage than for registered baggage, and with scope for a higher amount to be prescribed or specified. Airlines often do specify a higher figure in their conditions of carriage, so check both the current legislation and your airline's conditions before you calculate a claim rather than assuming the statutory floor is your ceiling.

The ACL may also be relevant — particularly for due care and skill, misleading conduct, and the rule that terms excluding consumer guarantees are void — where you acquired the carriage as a consumer within the meaning of section 3 of the ACL. But it should not be treated as a way around the specific aviation carrier-liability limits, procedures and timeframes: the domestic legislation makes the carrier liable under that framework, and not otherwise, for loss of or damage to baggage occurring during carriage by air. The most relevant guarantee is section 60 — services performed with due care and skill.

Under the ACL's services remedies framework:

• If the failure is non-major — a short delay in reuniting you with your bag, say — the airline gets a reasonable opportunity to remedy it. If it fails within a reasonable time, you may have the failure remedied elsewhere and recover reasonable costs, or cancel the contract where the statutory conditions are met.
• If the failure is major — the bag is permanently lost, or the damage is severe — you may cancel and seek a refund for the unconsumed portion, or keep the contract and seek compensation or a price reduction reflecting the drop in value.

The ACL also prohibits misleading or deceptive conduct under section 18. Representations about baggage handling, security or liability that turn out to be false may found a separate claim.

And under section 64 of the ACL, a term in the conditions of carriage purporting to exclude, restrict or modify the consumer guarantees is void to that extent. Note the interaction, though: aviation liability legislation may impose its own specific limits and procedures, and section 64 does not sweep those away.

When this applies (and when it doesn't)

• Montreal Convention: international carriage, including a journey with an agreed stopping place outside Australia, on a carrier that is party to the Convention — virtually all major airlines. Time limits are strict.
• Domestic carrier liability: carriage within Australia, under the Civil Aviation (Carriers' Liability) Act 1959 and the corresponding state and territory legislation, with the short complaint windows set out above.
• ACL: may also be relevant alongside either, where you acquired the service as a consumer under section 3 — but not as a route around the aviation carrier-liability limits, procedures or timeframes. Most leisure and personal travel qualifies; commercial-character travel is worth checking against the section 3 exclusions.

The frameworks are less likely to help when:

• The baggage caused its own damage. Where the airline shows the loss came from an inherent defect, quality or vice of the bag — one already structurally compromised, for example — Convention liability may not attach.
• You carried high-value items without taking the available steps. Airline conditions commonly restrict or exclude liability for jewellery, electronics and cash, and the cap may sit well below what you lost. For international carriage, the Montreal Convention contemplates a special declaration of interest in delivery at destination, usually for a supplementary fee where the airline offers it. In practice airline conditions often restrict valuables in checked baggage altogether, so cabin baggage where permitted and travel insurance are usually the safer options.
• You missed the time limits. Seven or 21 days internationally; three or 21 days domestically. Missing them is usually fatal.
• The loss happened before check-in or after collection. Liability attaches while the bag is in the airline's charge.

What to do today

Acting quickly and in writing is essential — the domestic windows are even shorter than the international ones.

1. Report it before you leave the baggage hall. Lodge a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) at the airline's baggage desk and keep the reference number. A PIR is valuable evidence, but be clear: it is not the written notice the law requires. You still need to send a written complaint within the statutory window.
2. Photograph everything. The bag, the damage, the contents, before you leave the airport. If the bag is missing, photograph the claim tag and boarding pass.
3. Keep all receipts. Essential items bought while waiting — toiletries, clothing, medication — are the out-of-pocket expenses a delay claim is built from.
4. Write to the airline inside the window. International: seven days for damage, 21 days for delay. Domestic: three days for damage to checked baggage, 21 days for loss, three days for cabin baggage. State the flight details, describe the loss, attach the PIR reference and photographs, and say what you are claiming.
5. Calculate your claim. Lost baggage: the replacement value of the items, with depreciation likely applied rather than original purchase price. Damaged: repair cost, or replacement if beyond repair. Delayed: your reasonable out-of-pocket expenses.

If you are not sure how to frame the written complaint, fairgo can generate a demand letter that references the right framework for your situation.

What if the business refuses

If the airline rejects your claim or does not respond within a reasonable time:

The Airline Customer Advocate. A free service handling unresolved complaints about participating Australian airlines, once you have complained to the airline. Check which airlines participate and what eligibility limits apply before lodging — participation changes. Its recommendations are not legally binding in the way a court order is.

Fair Trading conciliation. Each state and territory offers a free conciliation service for many consumer disputes. It cannot make binding orders or compel payment — only a court or tribunal can. Eligibility is subject to state-specific rules; check before lodging. Full contact details are at /agencies.

Courts and tribunals. Which forum is right depends on the nature and amount of the claim and the enabling legislation — and for carrier-liability claims the jurisdictional position can be genuinely complex, with both federal and state courts potentially involved. Do not assume a single forum. Confirm jurisdiction, thresholds and fees on the official site before filing, and consider advice for a Convention claim. See our guide to choosing the right tribunal for the consumer-tribunal picture.

Travel insurance. Lodge with your insurer in parallel. Insurers often have simpler processes, and a policy may cover amounts above the Convention cap. If the insurer pays and you later recover from the airline, you may have to reimburse them.

For more on escalating a services dispute, see services that go wrong under the ACL and how to escalate a complaint in your state.

Common mistakes

• Not lodging a PIR — or assuming it is enough. Without one it is harder to show the loss happened in the airline's care. But a PIR is not the written complaint the law requires, and treating it as such is how people miss the window.
• Assuming domestic flights have no deadlines. They have shorter ones. Three days for damage to a checked bag is easy to miss while you are still travelling.
• Treating the Convention cap as an entitlement. It is a ceiling, not an automatic payment. You still document your losses; the airline does not owe the cap simply because a bag was lost.
• Thinking the ACL is a way around the cap. Where the Convention applies, claims are generally subject to its conditions and limits however they are framed.
• Claiming for items you cannot substantiate. Airlines and courts look closely at baggage claims; an unsupportable item undermines the credible ones.
• Accepting the first offer without checking it. Once you accept a settlement you generally cannot claim more.
• Assuming travel insurance covers everything. Check exclusions — fragile items, electronics, unattended baggage — before relying on it.
• Going straight to the ACCC. It investigates systemic conduct and does not resolve individual disputes.

Related reading

• Airline cancelled your flight: refund rights in Australia
• Flight delayed? Your compensation rights in Australia
• Services that go wrong under the ACL

This article is general information about Australian Consumer Law, not legal advice. It also describes frameworks that sit outside the ACL — the Montreal Convention, the domestic carrier-liability regime under the Civil Aviation (Carriers' Liability) Act 1959 and its state and territory counterparts, travel insurance, and complaint and escalation pathways including Fair Trading bodies, the Airline Customer Advocate, tribunals and courts — whose scope, rules, thresholds, time limits and processes can change. The ACL is complex and your situation may have details that change the analysis. Confirm the current position with the relevant body before lodging any complaint or claim. For advice on your specific case, see your state's Fair Trading body — full list at /agencies.