Can I demand a refund? When Australian Consumer Law gives you the right

Your purchase broke, never worked, or wasn't what was advertised — and the store points at a "no refunds" sign or says the warranty has expired. The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) gives you a right to a refund in specific circumstances, and store policy or a printed disclaimer doesn't remove it.

Quick answer

You can demand a refund under the Australian Consumer Law where goods have a major failure (or a failure that can't be remedied or isn't fixed within a reasonable time) and your right to reject them is still available. Not every fault qualifies: a defect the seller can put right easily and within a reasonable time is usually a non-major failure, and there the seller gets the first opportunity to fix it by repair, replacement or refund within a reasonable time. Section 260 decides whether a failure is major (set out below). That right comes from the goods guarantees in sections 51–57 of the ACL — chiefly acceptable quality (section 54), fitness for a disclosed purpose (section 55) and matching the description (section 56) — together with the remedies in sections 259 and 263. It sits on top of any manufacturer's warranty. A "no refunds" sign cannot remove it. You don't always need the original receipt — proof of purchase is what matters.

What the law actually says

The Australian Consumer Law is part of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. Under section 3 of the ACL, you are a consumer when you buy from a business if either the amount paid or payable was $100,000 or less, or the goods or services are of a kind ordinarily acquired for personal, domestic or household use or consumption — either limb is enough (a vehicle or trailer bought mainly to transport goods on public roads also qualifies). Buying for your business does not by itself put you outside the protection — for goods, the main carve-outs are goods bought to re-sell, or to use up or transform, in trade or commerce, in production, manufacture or repairs. Check how section 3 applies to your purchase. When you buy goods, the law automatically gives you a set of consumer guarantees — promises baked into the sale that the seller cannot remove, no matter what their refund policy says.

The goods guarantees that matter most for refund disputes:

• Section 54 — Acceptable quality. Goods must be safe, durable, free from defects, acceptable in appearance, and fit for the purposes they're commonly bought for. A washing machine that fails after 11 weeks of normal use is unlikely to be durable, depending on the cause.
• Section 55 — Fitness for a disclosed purpose. If you told the seller what you needed the item for ("I need a printer that will handle 500 pages a week"), the goods must be reasonably fit for that purpose, unless the circumstances show you didn't rely, or it was unreasonable to rely, on the seller's skill or judgment. If you picked the item yourself against their advice, the guarantee may not apply.
• Section 56 — Match the description. If the listing said "leather" and the item is bonded leatherette, the guarantee is likely breached.

When a goods guarantee is breached, your remedies come from sections 259–263, and what you can demand depends on whether the failure is major.

A major failure exists under section 260 where:

• a reasonable consumer fully acquainted with the nature and extent of the failure would not have acquired the goods;
• the goods depart in one or more significant respects from their description, or from a sample or demonstration model;
• the goods are substantially unfit for a purpose for which goods of the same kind are commonly supplied and cannot easily and within a reasonable time be remedied to make them fit for that purpose;
• the goods are unfit for a particular purpose you made known to the seller (or whoever negotiated the sale) and cannot easily and within a reasonable time be remedied to make them fit for that purpose; or
• the goods are unsafe.

Two or more failures can also be considered together. They may collectively amount to a major failure if a reasonable consumer fully acquainted with their nature and extent, taken as a whole, would not have acquired the goods.

Where the failure is major or can't be remedied, section 259(3) gives you a choice between two paths: reject the goods — and once you have rejected, elect either a refund or a replacement of the same type and similar value, if one is reasonably available — or keep them and recover compensation for how much less they are worth because of the failure. Those are alternatives to each other, and rejecting is subject to the rejection period in section 262, explained under Common mistakes. Separately from whichever path you take, section 259(4) lets you recover damages for other loss that was a reasonably foreseeable result of the failure — and that applies to non-major failures too — provided you can evidence the loss, took reasonable steps to limit it, and don't claim the same loss twice.

For a non-major failure that can be remedied, you can require the seller to remedy it, and the seller gets the first reasonable opportunity to do so by repair, replacement or refund within a reasonable time (sections 259(2) and 261). If they refuse or don't do so within a reasonable time, you may have the failure put right elsewhere and recover all reasonable costs incurred, or reject the goods (subject to section 262).

Services work differently. Sections 60 to 62 guarantee that a service is performed with due care and skill, is reasonably fit for a purpose you made known (and of a nature and quality that might reasonably be expected to achieve a result you made known), and is supplied within a reasonable time if no time is fixed. The section 61 guarantees don't apply if the circumstances show you didn't rely, or it was unreasonable to rely, on the supplier's skill or judgment, and under section 267(1)(c) you can't take action on the section 61 or 62 guarantees if the failure happened only because of someone other than the supplier (or its agents or employees), or a cause independent of human control after supply. When a services guarantee is breached your remedies come from sections 267 to 270 — not from sections 259 to 263: where the failure is major (section 268) or can't be remedied you may terminate the services contract and get a refund for any part of the service not yet consumed, or keep the contract and claim compensation for the reduction in value. Other reasonably foreseeable loss may also be recoverable. For a non-major failure that can be remedied, you can require the supplier to fix it within a reasonable time; if it refuses or doesn't, you can have it fixed elsewhere and recover all reasonable costs incurred, or terminate. If your complaint is about a builder, a mechanic or a hairdresser, that is the framework that applies, though any parts or materials supplied also carry the goods guarantees.

The critical point: under section 64 of the ACL, a business cannot contract out of these guarantees (our guide to store return policies explains how this plays out at the counter). A store may lawfully decline refunds for a simple change of mind. What it cannot do is use a blanket "no refunds" sign to deny or misrepresent your guarantee rights: any term purporting to exclude, restrict or modify them or your remedies is void to that extent (though for goods or services not of a kind ordinarily acquired for personal, domestic or household use, section 64A may let a contract limit liability to repair, replacement, resupply or their cost, except for the title-related guarantees (sections 51 to 53), unless you show relying on that limit isn't fair or reasonable), and misleading consumers about those rights can itself breach the ACL.

When this applies (and when it doesn't)

The consumer guarantees apply when:

• You bought from a business acting in trade or commerce (not a genuine private seller).
• The goods cost $100,000 or less, or are of a kind ordinarily bought for personal, domestic or household use or consumption.
• You're claiming on a defect or failure, not buyer's remorse.
• You can reasonably demonstrate you bought the goods from that business (see step 1 below).

They generally do not apply when:

• You changed your mind. Stores can offer change-of-mind refunds as a goodwill policy, but the ACL doesn't require it. If you bought the right thing and it works, no guarantee was breached.
• You broke it. Goods aren't treated as unacceptable where you caused the problem (or failed to take reasonable steps to prevent it) and they were damaged by abnormal use.
• The fault was disclosed before purchase ("clearance — minor scratches noted"). If a defect was specifically drawn to your attention before you bought (including by a clear written notice displayed with the goods), you can't claim on that defect — other faults are still covered. The same applies to a defect that an inspection you made before buying ought reasonably to have revealed.
• You bought at auction. The acceptable quality, disclosed purpose and description guarantees don't apply to sales by auction, though other rights may still apply.
• It's a genuine private sale (Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace from an individual, etc.). The guarantees apply to supplies in trade or commerce, which includes most sole traders, not one-off sales by private individuals — though used cars from dealers are covered, with the standard adjusted for age and price.

What to do today

If you think a consumer guarantee has been breached and you want a refund, here's a practical order of steps:

1. Gather your proof. You do not necessarily need the original paper receipt. A card or bank statement, tax invoice, email confirmation, online account record, warranty document or loyalty record may establish proof of purchase — depending on whether it identifies the transaction and the goods clearly enough.
2. Document the failure. Photos of the defect, the date you first noticed it, any communications with the seller, and notes on what's wrong and why it isn't fit for its normal purpose.
3. If you paid recently, check a chargeback or dispute. If you paid by card, ask your card issuer whether a chargeback is available; if you used buy now pay later, ask the provider about its dispute process. Both follow the card scheme's or provider's own time limits, not the ACL's.
4. If the cause is disputed, get an independent repairer's or expert's report. A written opinion on what caused the fault gives you independent evidence, not just your own assessment.
5. Contact the seller in writing. Email or a written letter is much more useful than a phone call — it creates a record. Be specific: state the date of purchase, describe the failure, cite the consumer guarantee you say has been breached (acceptable quality, fitness for purpose, etc.), and state what you're asking for (refund, replacement, or repair).
6. Give a reasonable deadline. Something like 7, 14 or 21 days after the business receives your written complaint, depending on urgency and complexity. This is a practical default, not an ACL requirement. Make clear what happens if they don't respond.
7. Keep the goods. Don't throw out a faulty product. The seller may want to inspect it, and a tribunal may want to see it if it gets that far.
8. If you are rejecting, say so in writing. Tell the seller in writing that you are rejecting the goods, state the ground, and make the goods available. Ordinarily you are responsible for returning rejected goods to the supplier. But under section 263, where returning them would involve significant cost because of the nature of the failure or the size, height or method of attachment of the goods, the supplier must collect them, within a reasonable time, at its own expense.

If you're not sure how to draft step 5, you can generate one for free using fairgo. It produces a letter you can send under your own name.

What if the business refuses

A clear written demand may resolve the dispute on its own, and creates useful evidence if it does not. If the business doesn't respond, or refuses outright, you have escalation paths:

• Your state or territory consumer protection body. It may help, for example by contacting the business or conciliating, if your complaint meets its criteria. Most expect you to have tried to resolve the matter with the business first, and eligibility rules vary by state and dispute type (in the ACT, for example, statutory conciliation applies only where the remedy you seek is worth $5,000 or less). These bodies don't make binding orders in ordinary consumer disputes and can't make the business settle. Contact details are at /agencies.
• A court or tribunal with jurisdiction. If conciliation fails, a court or tribunal can give you a binding outcome. In NSW, Victoria, Queensland, the ACT and the NT, a tribunal (NCAT, VCAT, QCAT, ACAT or NTCAT) hears many consumer claims within its limits; in Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania, ordinary consumer claims go to the Magistrates Court. Jurisdiction depends on each forum's enabling legislation, the type of claim and the amount, so confirm the forum and its current thresholds on the official site before filing. You can usually run a claim without a lawyer, though some forums restrict legal representation (QCAT, for example, requires permission). Check current filing fees on the official site, and ask about fee exemptions, waivers or deferrals if cost is a concern; our tribunal guide is a starting point.
• Financial services and insurance. If your dispute is with a bank, insurer, superannuation fund or another financial firm that is an AFCA member, use the firm's internal complaints process first. If that does not resolve it, you may be able to lodge with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. AFCA is free for consumers, but eligibility, time limits, monetary limits and the effect of an outcome all depend on its current rules — check its website before lodging.

A tribunal or court applies the ACL rather than a business's own refund policy, so "the warranty had expired" does not answer a consumer-guarantee claim.

Common mistakes

These mistakes can weaken a consumer claim:

• Confusing warranty with consumer guarantee. A warranty is an additional promise that may be given by the manufacturer, the seller or another provider, and it cannot replace or narrow your statutory rights. The consumer guarantee runs against the seller and can outlast the warranty, so "your warranty has expired" does not by itself answer a consumer-guarantee claim. Your refund or replacement claim runs against the seller; sections 271 and 272 may separately support a damages claim against the manufacturer, but that is not the same refund-or-replacement election.
• Accepting the first refusal. Store policy is not the law; if frontline staff refuse, politely escalate to a manager and cite the ACL.
• Demanding compensation that doesn't fit the failure. A low-value household item with a harmless, easily identified defect may justify a refund or replacement, but not a large compensation claim where no further loss was suffered. Keep any compensation claim tied to loss you can establish and document.
• Going straight to ACCC. The ACCC investigates systemic conduct, not individual disputes. For an individual dispute, your state or territory consumer body and a court or tribunal with jurisdiction are generally the more relevant pathways.
• Waiting too long to raise it. The ACL doesn't set a single fixed expiry for consumer guarantee claims, but limitation laws and forum rules do set time limits, and delay weakens your position: the longer you wait, the easier it is for the business to argue the fault came from misuse, accidental damage or fair wear and tear rather than a defect at supply. The right to reject is separately limited by the rejection period in section 262, which runs from the time the goods were supplied to you and lasts as long as it would be reasonable to expect a failure of that kind to become apparent — judged by the type of goods, what a consumer is likely to use them for, how long it is reasonable to use them, and how much use they would get before the fault showed. A latent fault in a long-lived product can still be rejectable well after purchase. Under section 262 the right to reject is also lost if you have lost, destroyed or disposed of the goods, if they were damaged after delivery for reasons not related to their state or condition at the time of supply, or if they were attached to or incorporated in other property and can't be detached or isolated without damaging them. Raise the problem in writing as soon as you notice it, and keep a dated record.

Related reading

• Replacement vs repair vs refund — which remedy can you choose?
• What "major failure" really means under the ACL
• Business refused your refund? Here's what to do next
• Food delivery wrong, cold, or never arrived: getting your money back
• Gift card expiry rules Australia: the three-year minimum explained
• Is a restocking fee legal in Australia? When you can refuse it
• No refund on sale items in Australia? The myth and the law

This article is general information about Australian Consumer Law, not legal advice. It also touches on complaint and escalation pathways (state and territory consumer bodies, tribunals and courts, the ACCC, AFCA, card chargeback rules and buy now pay later providers' dispute processes) and limitation laws, whose scope, rules, thresholds and processes sit outside the ACL or can change. Confirm the current position with the relevant body before lodging. For advice on your specific case, see your state or territory consumer body — full list at /agencies.