Online order never arrived: who's responsible and what to ask for

You placed an order, paid in full, and waited. The tracking number stopped updating, the estimated delivery date came and went, and the parcel is nowhere to be found. Now the retailer is pointing the finger at the courier, the courier is saying it was delivered, and you're stuck in the middle with no product and no refund. This situation is more common than it should be — and the law is clearer than most retailers want you to believe.

Quick answer

When an online order never arrives, the seller is responsible for getting it to you — not the courier, and not you. Under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), a seller who takes your money is obligated to deliver what you paid for. If they don't, you're entitled to a remedy: either delivery of the goods or a full refund. The courier is the seller's problem to sort out, not yours. You do not need to chase Australia Post or a third-party logistics company. Your contract is with the seller, and that's who you claim against.

What the law actually says

The ACL is Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. When you buy goods from a business in Australia, a set of consumer guarantees automatically applies to the transaction. Two of them are directly relevant when your order never shows up.

Section 54 — Acceptable quality. Goods must be of acceptable quality, which includes being delivered in a state where you can actually use them. Goods that never arrive cannot, by definition, be used for any purpose.

Section 58 — Availability of spare parts and repairs (by analogy). More directly relevant is the general obligation that flows from the contract itself: when you pay for something, the seller must supply it. A failure to deliver is a failure to perform the contract, and the ACL's remedies framework in sections 259–263 applies.

The key principle is this: the risk in goods passes to you when delivery is complete. Until the parcel is actually in your hands — or at your door in circumstances where you've agreed to unattended delivery — the seller bears the risk of loss or non-delivery. If the courier loses the parcel, that loss is the seller's to absorb. The seller chose the courier; you didn't. The seller has the commercial relationship with the courier and can claim against them. You cannot.

This is reinforced by section 29 of the ACL, which prohibits misleading representations about goods. A seller who tells you a parcel was "delivered" when it wasn't — or who implies you have no rights because it's "a courier issue" — may also be making a misleading representation about your legal position.

For a broader look at how the ACL applies to online shopping generally, see our guide to online purchase rights under the ACL.

When this applies (and when it doesn't)

The seller's obligation to deliver applies when:

• You bought from a business (not a private seller on Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace).
• You paid and received confirmation of the order.
• The goods were never delivered, or were delivered to the wrong address through no fault of yours.
• The tracking shows the parcel as lost, undelivered, or returned to sender without your knowledge.

The picture gets more complicated in a few situations:

• You authorised unattended delivery ("leave at door"). If you opted in to a delivery authority and the seller or courier can show the parcel was left at the nominated location, the risk may have passed to you at that point. Even then, if the photo proof shows the wrong address or the parcel was clearly left somewhere insecure, you still have a strong argument.
• Tracking shows "delivered" but you didn't receive it. This is one of the most frustrating scenarios. The seller will often rely on the courier's scan. You can counter this with a statutory declaration that you did not receive the goods, a request for the GPS coordinates of the delivery scan, and — if available — CCTV footage. The burden of proof is not entirely on you; the seller needs to demonstrate delivery was actually completed.
• You bought from an overseas seller. If the seller is based outside Australia, the ACL may not apply directly. See our article on buying from overseas retailers like Amazon for how to approach those disputes. For Australian sellers dispatching from overseas warehouses, the ACL still applies.
• The item was a marketplace listing. If you bought through a platform like eBay or a third-party seller on a major marketplace, your contract is with the individual seller, not the platform — unless the platform itself sold you the item. Most platforms have their own buyer protection programs, which you should use in parallel with any ACL claim.

What to do today

Non-delivery disputes are often resolved quickly once you put your claim in writing. Here's the sequence that works:

1. Check the tracking thoroughly. Screenshot every tracking event. Note the last scan location and timestamp. If it says "delivered", note the time — was anyone home? Does it match your address?

2. Check with neighbours and your building manager. Before escalating, rule out that a neighbour accepted the parcel or that it's sitting in a parcel locker you haven't checked. This protects you from looking unreasonable if the seller asks.

3. Contact the seller in writing — not by phone. Email or a contact form creates a paper trail. State the order number, the date of purchase, the amount paid, and the fact that the goods have not been received. Ask them to either redeliver or refund within 14 days. Reference the ACL — specifically that the seller bears responsibility for delivery and that you are entitled to a remedy under the consumer guarantees.

4. Do not contact the courier directly as your primary strategy. You can lodge an enquiry with the courier for information (tracking details, delivery GPS data), but your legal claim is against the seller. Don't let the seller redirect you to the courier as if that's your only option.

5. Escalate within the seller's business if the first response is unhelpful. Ask for a supervisor or the customer relations team. Frontline staff often quote policy rather than law.

6. Send a formal demand letter. If the seller refuses or goes quiet, a written demand letter citing the ACL is your next step. fairgo can generate one for you in about 90 seconds — start your letter here. The letter identifies the relevant sections automatically and sets a clear deadline for the seller to act.

7. Dispute the charge with your bank or card provider. If you paid by credit or debit card, a chargeback is a parallel avenue. Contact your bank and explain the goods were never received. This doesn't replace an ACL claim, but it's a practical remedy that often resolves the matter quickly. Note that chargebacks have time limits — typically 120 days from the transaction date, though this varies by card scheme.

What if the business refuses

Some sellers — particularly smaller online retailers — will dig in and insist the courier is responsible. They're wrong, but knowing that doesn't automatically get your money back. Here's how to escalate:

• Your state or territory Fair Trading body. Each jurisdiction has a free conciliation service that contacts the business on your behalf. This is often enough to resolve the dispute without going further. Find your state's contact at /agencies.

• Your state consumer tribunal. If conciliation doesn't work, you can file a claim at NCAT (NSW), VCAT (Victoria), QCAT (Queensland), or the equivalent in your state. Filing fees are low — typically $50–$100 — and you don't need a lawyer. Tribunals deal with non-delivery claims regularly and are well aware that sellers cannot deflect liability onto couriers. For help choosing the right tribunal, see our guide to NCAT, VCAT, QCAT and other state tribunals.

• If the business has gone into administration or closed. This is harder. Your options narrow to the chargeback process, lodging as a creditor in the administration, or — if you paid through a buy-now-pay-later service — raising a dispute through that provider's internal process.

• ACCC. The ACCC doesn't handle individual disputes, but if you believe the seller is systematically failing to deliver and refusing refunds, you can report the conduct at accc.gov.au. This helps the ACCC identify patterns of behaviour, though it won't resolve your specific case.

If the seller has refused and you're not sure what to do next, the article on what to do when a business refuses your refund walks through the escalation path in detail.

Common mistakes

A few patterns come up repeatedly in non-delivery disputes:

• Chasing the courier instead of the seller. The courier has no contract with you. They won't refund you. They may give you information, but the seller is who you claim against. Don't spend weeks in a loop with the courier's customer service team while your chargeback window closes.

• Waiting too long. Chargeback rights have time limits. Fair Trading conciliation is easier when the dispute is fresh. If your order hasn't arrived and the seller isn't engaging, start the formal process within a few weeks of the expected delivery date — not months later.

• Accepting store credit instead of a refund. A seller may offer store credit as a "resolution". You're not obligated to accept this. If you want a cash refund, you can hold out for one — especially if the seller is one you don't intend to use again.

• Assuming a "delivered" scan is conclusive. It isn't. Courier scans are sometimes inaccurate, and "delivered" can mean the parcel was scanned at the wrong address or left somewhere it shouldn't have been. A statutory declaration from you that you didn't receive the goods is meaningful evidence.

• Not keeping records. Screenshot your order confirmation, the tracking page, every email exchange, and every chat transcript. If this goes to a tribunal, documentation is everything.

• Assuming overseas purchases have no protection. If the seller has an Australian business presence — even just an Australian website taking AUD payments — there's a reasonable argument the ACL applies. Don't assume you have no rights just because the warehouse is offshore.

Related reading

• Online purchase rights under the ACL — what you're entitled to
• Bought from an overseas retailer like Amazon? Here's what the ACL covers
• Business refused your refund? Here's what to do next

This article is general information about Australian Consumer Law, not legal advice. The ACL is complex and your situation may have details that change the analysis. For advice on your specific case, see your state's Fair Trading body — full list at /agencies.