Online purchase ACL rights: Amazon, eBay, and overseas sellers

Buying online is second nature for most Australians — a few taps and something arrives at your door. But when the item turns up broken, nothing like the listing, or doesn't arrive at all, the question of who is responsible and what law applies can feel murky. Sellers hide behind overseas addresses, marketplaces say they're just a platform, and customer service scripts are designed to wear you down. The good news: the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) covers more online shopping than many people realise. As the ACCC puts it, online businesses have the same responsibilities to consumers as physical businesses.

Quick answer

Who supplied you matters most. If a business supplied the goods in trade or commerce and you acquired them as a consumer (section 3 of the ACL), the consumer guarantees apply whether you bought in a shop or online — including from businesses selling on Amazon AU or eBay AU, and from overseas businesses that supply directly to consumers in Australia. If goods are faulty, misdescribed or unfit for a purpose you made known, what you can ask for depends on whether the failure is major. For a non-major failure, the seller gets the first reasonable opportunity to fix it. For a major failure, you can reject the goods and choose a refund or replacement (if the right to reject hasn't been lost), or keep them and claim compensation. A returns policy can't take those rights away. Overseas sellers can be hard to pursue in practice, so if you paid by card, ask your card provider early whether a chargeback is available. Once you've written to the seller, your state or territory consumer body may help, and a tribunal or court with jurisdiction can make binding orders.

What the law actually says

The Australian Consumer Law is Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. The consumer guarantees apply when goods are supplied in trade or commerce (which includes trade between Australia and places outside Australia) to a consumer within section 3 of the ACL. Whether the ACL reaches a particular overseas seller is a separate question, covered below.

When you acquire goods as a consumer, the ACL attaches a set of consumer guarantees to the supply. The ones most relevant to online purchases are:

• Section 54 — Acceptable quality. Goods must be fit for all the purposes goods of that kind are commonly supplied for, acceptable in appearance and finish, free from defects, safe and durable, as a reasonable consumer fully acquainted with their state and condition (including hidden defects) would regard as acceptable. A phone that stops charging after two weeks, or a jacket whose stitching unravels on first wear, is unlikely to be of acceptable quality.
• Section 55 — Fitness for disclosed purpose. If you made known a particular purpose (to the seller, to someone who negotiated the sale, or to the manufacturer) — say, a laptop for video editing — the goods must be reasonably fit for it, unless the circumstances show you didn't rely, or it was unreasonable to rely, on their skill or judgment.
• Section 56 — Match the description. Online shopping is almost entirely description-based. If the listing said "waterproof" and the item isn't, or the dimensions were wrong, or the photos showed a different product, the goods are unlikely to correspond with the description.

Separately, section 29 prohibits false or misleading representations, for example that goods are of a particular standard or quality. A seller who makes false claims in a listing may breach section 29 and the general prohibition on misleading or deceptive conduct in section 18. See our deeper look at misleading conduct examples.

When a guarantee isn't met, your remedies sit in sections 259 to 263, and what you can ask for depends on whether the failure is major or not. A failure is major under section 260 if, for example, a reasonable consumer fully acquainted with the nature and extent of the failure wouldn't have acquired the goods, the goods depart in one or more significant respects from the description, or they are unsafe.

• Major failure, or a failure that can't be remedied: you can reject the goods (if the right to reject hasn't been lost under section 262) and choose a refund or a replacement of the same type and similar value if one is reasonably available (section 263), or keep them and claim compensation for the reduction in value.
• Non-major failure that can be remedied: the seller gets the first reasonable opportunity to fix it, by repair, replacement or refund, within a reasonable time. If it refuses or doesn't do so within a reasonable time, you can have it fixed elsewhere and recover the reasonable cost, or reject the goods (subject to section 262).
• Other loss: you can also claim other reasonably foreseeable loss (section 259(4)), if you can evidence it, took reasonable steps to limit it, and don't claim the same loss twice.

Crucially, section 64 makes a contract term void to the extent it purports to exclude, restrict or modify the guarantees or the remedies. (For goods not of a kind ordinarily acquired for personal, domestic or household use, section 64A may let a contract limit liability to repair, replacement or their cost, except for the guarantees about title, undisturbed possession and undisclosed securities in sections 51 to 53, unless you show that relying on the limit isn't fair or reasonable.) A "no returns on change of mind" policy is fine — that's not what the guarantees cover. But a policy that says "all sales final, no refunds for faulty goods" can't take away your guarantee rights.

When this applies (and when it doesn't)

The guarantees are likely to apply when:

• You bought from someone supplying in trade or commerce. That covers most businesses, sole traders and regular sellers, whether they operate in Australia or supply goods into Australia.
• This includes Australian businesses selling on Amazon AU, eBay AU and similar marketplaces.
• It also includes overseas businesses that supply directly to consumers in Australia. The ACCC's consumer rights and guarantees guidance says that when an overseas business sells products directly to consumers in Australia, it must follow the ACL, including the consumer guarantees. Signs such as an Australian-dollar checkout, an Australian ABN or an Australian warehouse are relevant but not decisive.
• You acquired the goods as a consumer under section 3 of the ACL: the amount paid was $100,000 or less, or the goods are of a kind ordinarily acquired for personal, domestic or household use (either is enough), unless you bought them to resell or to use up or transform in trade or commerce in production, manufacture or repairs. Check how section 3 applies to you.

The ACL is harder to rely on when:

• You bought in a genuine one-off private sale. The guarantees apply to supplies in trade or commerce, which covers most sole traders and regular sellers, but the ACCC says most consumer guarantees don't apply to one-off sales between two people where the seller isn't running a business — for example, an individual selling their old camera on Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace.
• The overseas seller wasn't directly offering goods to consumers in Australia. The ACCC says you're not covered if the business doesn't directly offer its products in Australia, if you had the goods sent to an overseas address and then forwarded to Australia, or if the whole transaction happened overseas. Factors like no ABN, no Australian warehouse and no AUD pricing may point that way, but they aren't decisive by themselves: if the seller did supply directly to you in Australia, the ACL can still apply without any Australian physical presence. In practice, enforcing ACL rights across borders can be difficult. The ACCC suggests asking the consumer protection agency where the seller is based for help, and many consumers also pursue a chargeback through their card provider.
• You simply changed your mind. The ACL doesn't require any seller to accept change-of-mind returns. Many do as a goodwill policy, but it's not a legal obligation.
• The fault was specifically disclosed before you agreed to buy. A listing that specifically disclosed "screen has a crack" can't later ground an acceptable-quality claim about that crack (section 54(4)). A bare "sold as-is" label, though, doesn't remove your rights.
• The goods were sold by auction. The acceptable quality, disclosed purpose and description guarantees don't apply to a "sale by auction", which the ACL defines as one conducted by an agent of the seller (in person or electronically). Whether a particular online auction-style listing meets that definition depends on how the sale is run, so check before assuming either way.

For a detailed breakdown of what happens when you buy from an overseas seller specifically, see buying from overseas and Amazon — ACL explained.

What to do today

When an online purchase goes wrong, these steps give you the best chance of a quick resolution:

1. Work out who supplied you. Check the checkout screen, the receipt and the terms that applied when you ordered. Does the listing name a third-party seller, or the platform itself as the seller? Is the seller an Australian business or an overseas one? This determines who you contact and what law applies.

2. Ask your card provider about a chargeback now. If you paid by card, ask your card issuer now 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.

3. Gather your proof of purchase. Your order confirmation email, the payment record in your bank app, or a screenshot of the order history page — any of these counts. You don't need a paper receipt.

4. Document the problem. Take photos or video of the defect, note the date you received the item and when you first noticed the issue, and save any communications with the seller. If the item doesn't match the listing, screenshot the original listing before it's taken down.

5. Get an independent opinion if the cause is disputed. If the seller blames you for the fault, get a short written report from an independent repairer covering the cause and the repair cost. It carries more weight than your own description.

6. Contact the seller in writing. Use the marketplace's messaging system or email — not a phone call. State the date of purchase, describe the failure clearly, identify which consumer guarantee you say hasn't been met (acceptable quality, description, fitness for purpose), and state what remedy you're seeking. Give a reasonable deadline, such as 14 days (a practical default, not an ACL requirement).

7. Contact the platform if the seller doesn't resolve it. The ACCC says that if the seller doesn't resolve a problem, the platform may be able to help, depending on the situation. Check the platform's own dispute or buyer-protection terms. Those programs are voluntary and sit alongside your ACL rights; they don't replace them.

If you need a properly drafted demand letter that cites the right ACL sections and sets out your claim clearly, fairgo can draft one for you. It produces a letter you send under your own name.

What if the business refuses

A written demand letter often resolves the dispute. When it doesn't, you have several escalation paths:

Your state or territory consumer protection body. Your state or territory consumer protection body 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 tribunal or court with jurisdiction. 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 guide to choosing the right tribunal or court has more.

The ACCC. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission enforces the ACL at a national level, but it investigates systemic conduct rather than resolving individual disputes. If you think the seller is a scam, contact your bank or card provider immediately and report it to Scamwatch (reporting usually won't recover your money).

Chargeback. If the seller won't resolve the problem, especially an overseas seller, a chargeback through your card provider may be the most practical route. AFCA's chargebacks fact sheet explains that each card scheme sets its own rules and time limits, which vary; that there's no chargeback right where you simply change your mind; and that raising a chargeback doesn't automatically result in a refund. Contact your bank, explain what went wrong (for example, that the goods never arrived), ask whether your situation qualifies under its card scheme's rules, and keep your documentation — the bank will ask for it.

If your item never arrived at all, the seller's obligations differ — see online order never arrived: what to do for a step-by-step guide specific to non-delivery.

Common mistakes

These are the errors that most often undermine otherwise valid claims:

• Assuming the marketplace is responsible when it's the seller. The ACCC's buying online guidance says your consumer guarantee rights apply to the seller you buy from, not the platform itself, although the platform may be able to help. Check the checkout screen, the receipt and the terms that applied when you ordered to see who the seller was. The platform can still be liable for its own misleading conduct, and its buyer-protection program is a separate, voluntary scheme.

• Accepting "our policy is no refunds" as the final word. Store policy cannot override the ACL. If a consumer guarantee hasn't been met, the seller's policy doesn't remove your rights. Politely but firmly cite the relevant section — section 54 for acceptable quality, section 56 for misdescription — and ask them to respond to the legal point, not the policy.

• Waiting too long. The ACL doesn't set a single warranty-style expiry; how long goods should last depends on what a reasonable consumer would expect. But the right to reject can be lost once the rejection period ends (section 262), limitation laws and forum rules apply, and delay makes the fault harder to prove. Evidence also gets harder to gather over time, listings disappear, and sellers close.

• Disposing of the faulty goods. Without the item, the seller can dispute whether it was actually defective, and goods you've disposed of can't be rejected (section 262). Keep the goods until the dispute is resolved, even if they're broken.

• Confusing a consumer guarantee with a manufacturer's warranty. A warranty is a voluntary promise, usually from the manufacturer and sometimes from the seller. The consumer guarantee is a statutory right primarily against the seller (manufacturers can have separate obligations). The guarantee can outlast the warranty — a TV that fails after 14 months may be outside its 12-month warranty but still not of acceptable quality. For more on this distinction, see consumer guarantees vs warranty — what's the difference?.

• Claiming change of mind as a defect. If the item works as described and you simply don't want it anymore, that's a change of mind. The ACL doesn't cover it. Mischaracterising a change of mind as a defect weakens your credibility if the dispute escalates.

• Filing before trying to resolve it. Most forums expect you to have tried to resolve the dispute first, and some require or encourage conciliation; rules vary by state and dispute type.

Related reading

• Buying from overseas or Amazon — does the ACL apply?
• Online order never arrived — what to do
• Can you demand a refund under the ACL?
• Business refused your refund? Here's what to do next

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, Scamwatch, overseas consumer protection agencies), card chargeback rules and marketplace buyer-protection programs, 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.