Service didn't meet expectations? Your ACL rights explained

You paid a tradie, a mechanic, a builder, or another service provider to do a job. The work came back shoddy, unfinished, or nothing like what was quoted. Now they're asking for full payment — or they've already taken it — and you're left with a mess to sort out. The frustrating part: many consumers assume the ACL only covers products you can hold in your hand. It doesn't. The Australian Consumer Law applies just as firmly to services, and it gives you a clear set of rights when the work falls short.

Quick answer

What failed, and how seriously, determines what you can ask for. When a service provider acting in trade or commerce doesn't perform the work with due care and skill, supplies a service that isn't reasonably fit for a purpose you made known, or can't reasonably be expected to achieve a result you made known, or takes unreasonably long where no time was agreed, it may have breached a consumer guarantee under the Australian Consumer Law. For a fixable, non-major failure you can require the provider to fix it; if it won't, or doesn't within a reasonable time, you can have it fixed elsewhere and recover the reasonable cost, or cancel. For a major failure, or one that can't be remedied, you can cancel and get a refund for the part of the service not yet consumed (section 269), or keep the contract and claim compensation for the drop in value (section 267(3)). A signed quote, a verbal promise, or even a business's own advertising can all be part of what the law holds them to.

What the law actually says

The consumer guarantees for services sit in sections 60 to 62 of the ACL. They apply automatically whenever a business supplies a service, in trade or commerce, to a consumer (with a few exclusions, covered below) — no separate contract needed, no fine print required.

The three guarantees that matter most in service disputes:

• Section 60 — Due care and skill. The service must be carried out competently, using reasonable care. A plumber who installs a fitting that leaks within days, a mechanic who replaces the wrong part, or a painter who leaves runs and bare patches may not have met this standard.
• Section 61 — Fitness for a purpose, and results. If you made known a particular purpose ("I need the roof sealed before the wet season"), or the result you wanted, the service must be reasonably fit for that purpose, and of a nature and quality that might reasonably be expected to achieve that result. Neither applies if the circumstances show you didn't rely, or it was unreasonable to rely, on the provider's skill or judgment.
• Section 62 — Reasonable time. If the time for the work wasn't fixed by the contract or agreed, the service must be supplied within a reasonable time. A renovation estimated at six weeks that drags on for nine months, with no agreed completion date, may breach this guarantee; if a date was agreed, the contract itself may give you a claim.

For the section 61 and 62 guarantees (but not section 60), you can't take action 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 (section 267(1)(c)).

When one of these guarantees is breached, your remedies come from sections 267 to 270 of the ACL. The remedy available depends on whether the failure is major or not.

A major failure in a service context (section 268) means a reasonable consumer fully acquainted with the nature and extent of the failure wouldn't have acquired the service; the service is substantially unfit for a purpose services of that kind are commonly supplied for, unfit for a particular purpose you made known, or not of such a nature, or quality, state or condition, that it might reasonably be expected to achieve a result you made known, and can't easily and within a reasonable time be remedied; or it creates an unsafe situation. Two or more failures that aren't major on their own are together a major failure if a reasonable consumer fully acquainted with them, taken as a whole, wouldn't have acquired the service (section 268(2)).

If the failure is major, or can't be remedied, you can cancel the contract and get a refund for the part of the service not yet consumed (section 269), or keep the contract and claim compensation for the drop in value (section 267(3)). You can also claim other reasonably foreseeable loss (section 267(4)), if you can evidence it, took reasonable steps to limit it, and don't claim the same loss twice.

For a non-major failure that can be remedied, the provider gets a chance to fix it first: you can require it to remedy the failure within a reasonable time. If they refuse, or don't fix it within a reasonable time, you can have it fixed elsewhere and recover the reasonable cost, or cancel the contract (section 267(2)).

One important point about services: unlike goods, you often can't simply "return" the work. If a tiler has already laid cracked tiles throughout your bathroom, the question isn't whether to give them back — it's who pays to pull them out and redo the job. The ACL accounts for this. Remedies under section 267 can include the reasonable cost of rectification work carried out by a third party.

When this applies (and when it doesn't)

The service guarantees apply when:

• A business supplied the service. A sole trader operating commercially counts as a business.
• You acquired the service as a consumer under section 3 of the ACL: the amount paid or payable was $100,000 or less, or the service is of a kind ordinarily acquired for personal, domestic or household use or consumption (either is enough). Check how section 3 applies to you.
• The failure relates to the quality, result or timing of the work, not simply a disagreement over style or preference.
• The service was supplied to you in Australia (an overseas business supplying directly to consumers in Australia can still be covered, though enforcement is harder).

They generally do not apply when:

• You hired an individual privately — a neighbour helping out as a one-off favour, not as part of a business. Someone who regularly does paid work, even for cash, is usually acting in trade or commerce.
• The failure was caused by your own instructions. If you told the tiler to use a product they advised against, and it failed for exactly that reason, the guarantee may not apply to that specific outcome.
• The service is excluded. The services guarantees don't apply to contracts of insurance or to business transport or storage of goods (section 63). For financial services, equivalent protections sit in the ASIC Act rather than the ACL.
• You simply changed your mind about wanting the service after it was competently performed.

It's also worth noting that the ACL service guarantees sit alongside, not instead of, any contractual rights you have. If the written contract gives you stronger rights than the ACL minimum, you can rely on those too. A term that tries to exclude, restrict or modify the guarantees or your remedies is void to that extent (section 64 of the ACL). For services not of a kind ordinarily acquired for personal, domestic or household use, section 64A may let a contract limit liability to supplying the service again or its cost, unless relying on that limit isn't fair or reasonable.

What to do today

If a service provider has done substandard work, here's a sequence that often helps:

1. Document everything now. Photographs and video of the defective work are essential. Date-stamp them. Write down what was agreed, when the work was done, and exactly what's wrong. If there's a written quote or contract, locate it. If the agreement was verbal, write down what you remember while it's fresh.
2. Get an independent assessment if needed. For significant defects — a structural issue with a renovation, a mechanical fault after a service — a written opinion from another qualified tradesperson on what went wrong, why, and what it will cost to fix can help show the failure is real. This is powerful evidence at any later stage.
3. Contact the provider in writing. Email is best — it creates a timestamped record. State the date of the work, describe the failure specifically, identify the consumer guarantee you say has been breached (due care and skill, fitness for purpose, or reasonable time), and state what you want: rectification or, for a major failure or one that can't be remedied, cancellation or compensation. Give them a reasonable deadline (a practical default, not an ACL requirement): 14 days for straightforward jobs, or 7 days if the situation is urgent.
4. Think carefully before paying the full invoice for defective work. The ACL doesn't itself give a right to withhold payment. Withholding may be possible under your contract, but it can lead to debt recovery and, for car repairs, a repairer may be able to keep the car until the bill is paid. Note the dispute in writing whatever you do, and check with your state or territory consumer body.
5. Keep all communications. Every text, email, and voicemail is potential evidence. Screenshot conversations.

Drafting the written demand is the step most people find hardest. fairgo can generate a demand letter for your situation — the wizard identifies the relevant ACL sections automatically and produces a letter you send under your own name.

For context on how similar disputes play out with specific trades, see the detailed guides on builder disputes and mechanic overcharging.

What if the business refuses

A well-written demand letter often resolves a dispute. If the provider ignores it, disputes the facts, or flatly refuses, you have several escalation options:

• 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 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. Within its jurisdiction, a tribunal or court may be able to order rectification, compensation, or a refund. Our guide to choosing the right tribunal or court has more.
• Licensing boards and industry bodies. Many trades — builders, electricians, plumbers — are licensed. A complaint to the relevant licensing authority can result in disciplinary action and sometimes a compensation order through a separate process. Domestic building work often has its own state dispute process (in Western Australia, for example, many home building disputes go to the Building Commissioner rather than the Magistrates Court), so check with your state's building regulator before filing elsewhere.
• ACCC for systemic issues. The ACCC doesn't resolve individual disputes, but if a business is running a pattern of misleading conduct — quoting one price and charging another, for example — you can report it to the ACCC. For your individual case, use your state or territory consumer body and, if needed, a tribunal or court with jurisdiction.

The demand letter matters even if you end up at a tribunal or court. It shows the decision-maker you tried to resolve the dispute first, and it pins down the business's position in writing. Following the right process can help your case.

Common mistakes

These are the errors that most often weaken an otherwise strong service dispute:

• Letting the provider keep trying indefinitely. The provider must fix a non-major failure within a reasonable time, and that doesn't mean unlimited attempts. If a mechanic has had your car three times for the same fault, that may show it hasn't remedied the failure within a reasonable time, so you can have it fixed elsewhere and recover the reasonable cost, or cancel (section 267(2)). Document each attempt and the dates.
• Paying in full before inspecting the work. Once full payment is made, the practical leverage shifts. Where possible, do a walkthrough before final payment and note any defects in writing before signing off.
• Confusing a service dispute with a goods dispute. If a tradie supplies and installs a product that fails, you may have both a services claim (due care and skill in installation) and a goods claim (acceptable quality of the product) running simultaneously. The consumer guarantees for goods are separate, and both usually run primarily against the tradie who supplied them; the manufacturer may have separate, narrower obligations.
• Assuming a quote is just an estimate. A written fixed-price quote you accepted usually forms part of the contract. If the final bill significantly exceeds the quoted figure without a variation agreement you signed, that's a separate issue — potentially a breach of contract and potentially misleading conduct under section 18 of the ACL.
• Going straight to a negative online review instead of a formal complaint. A review doesn't get your money back. A demand letter, followed by a claim in a tribunal or court if needed, can. The formal process also avoids the defamation risk an angry public post can carry.
• Missing time limits. The ACL has no single fixed warranty-style expiry, but limitation laws and forum rules apply, and they differ by state and forum (NCAT, for example, has a 3-year limit). Check the time limit with your forum early, and don't delay.

The ACL's service guarantees are genuinely powerful. The gap between what most consumers know and what the law actually provides is wide — and some service providers rely on that gap. Knowing that section 60 exists, that it applies to tradespeople acting in trade or commerce, and that a major failure may let you cancel and recover money for the part not yet consumed, or claim compensation, is the first step to getting a fair outcome.

Related reading

• Builder didn't finish the work? Here's what the ACL says
• Mechanic overcharged or did unnecessary work — your rights
• Can I demand a refund? When Australian Consumer Law gives you the right
• Business refused your refund? Here's what to do next
• Section 60 ACL: services rendered with due care and skill
• Disputing an electricity or gas bill: your rights and the ombudsman path
• Removalist damaged your furniture: claiming under the ACL
• Wedding photographer refund Australia: your ACL rights
• Event cancelled or ticket invalid? Refund rights for gigs and sport

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, licensing authorities and building dispute processes, the ACCC), the ASIC Act, contract law, repairers' liens 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.