If you bought a faulty product in Australia, the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) gives you stronger rights than most retailers will tell you about. For a major failure — where the product does not work as it should and cannot be fixed in a reasonable time — you choose the remedy: a full refund or a replacement. The retailer does not get to decide. And those “No Refunds” or “No Exchange” signs you sometimes see in shops? Under Australian consumer law, they are unlawful.
What Are Your Rights?
The ACL is contained in Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. It applies to goods purchased for personal, domestic, or household use from a business. It does not matter whether you bought in a shop, online, or from a market — if a business sold it to you, your ACL rights apply.
The ACL establishes consumer guarantees that goods must:
- Be of acceptable quality (safe, durable, free from defects, fit for all the purposes goods of that type are commonly used for)
- Be fit for any specific purpose you communicated to the seller before buying
- Match any description, demonstration, or sample provided before purchase
- Come with a clear title (the seller actually owns what they’re selling)
These guarantees cannot be excluded by a store policy, a terms-and-conditions document, or any contractual clause. A store’s “all sales final” policy does not override Australian law.
How Much Can You Claim?
The ACL divides failures into two categories, and the remedy differs:
Major failure: You are entitled to choose between a full refund and a replacement of the same or equivalent product. A major failure exists when:
- A reasonable person would not have bought the product knowing about the problem
- The product departs significantly from any description or demonstration
- The product is substantially unfit for its purpose and cannot be repaired in a reasonable time
- The product is unsafe
Minor failure: The supplier can choose to repair, replace, or refund. However, if the supplier does not fix a minor failure within a reasonable time, or the failure keeps recurring, it can escalate to a major failure — at which point you can choose.
You can also claim compensation for consequential losses that were reasonably foreseeable — for example, if a faulty washing machine destroyed a load of expensive clothing, you can claim the value of the clothing on top of the refund or repair.
Step-by-Step: What to Do
- Decide whether you have a major or minor failure. If the product stopped working entirely, cannot be repaired in a reasonable time, or is simply not what was sold to you, that is likely a major failure and you can demand a full refund.
- Go to the retailer, not the manufacturer. Your ACL rights run against the seller, not the manufacturer. Do not let the retailer send you off to the manufacturer — they are responsible.
- State your remedy clearly. If it is a major failure, say: “I am entitled to a full refund under the Australian Consumer Law for a major failure. I do not want a repair.” You are not obliged to accept a repair for a major failure.
- If the retailer refuses, write a formal letter. Reference the ACL, describe the failure, state your chosen remedy, and give them 14 days to respond. Use our complaint letter generator to produce an ACL-specific letter.
Ready to Take Action?
Generate a professional complaint letter in under 2 minutes — tailored to your situation and your country’s consumer laws. Free, no account required.
Start Your Complaint →What If They Don’t Respond?
If the retailer refuses your claim or ignores your written complaint, you have two escalation options in Australia.
State Fair Trading offices can investigate complaints and, in some cases, take enforcement action against traders. They are also a useful pressure tool even when they cannot personally resolve your individual dispute. Find your office:
- NSW: NSW Fair Trading
- Victoria: Consumer Affairs Victoria
- Queensland: Office of Fair Trading
- WA: Consumer Protection WA
State tribunals are the most direct path to a resolution with a binding order. NCAT (NSW), VCAT (Victoria), QCAT (Queensland), and their equivalents in other states are designed for exactly these consumer disputes. Filing fees are typically $50–$100 and you do not need a lawyer. The tribunal can order a full refund, replacement, and consequential loss compensation.
The ACCC handles systemic issues and cannot resolve individual disputes, but filing a report at accc.gov.au contributes to enforcement action against repeat offenders.
For general guidance on writing a complaint letter that works in any country, see our formal complaint letter guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
The retailer says my warranty has expired and they will not help. Do I still have rights under the ACL?
Yes. ACL consumer guarantees are separate from and additional to any manufacturer’s warranty. The ACL does not set a fixed time limit — it requires goods to be of acceptable quality for a period that is reasonable given the product type and price. A $2,000 appliance that fails after 18 months is likely still covered under the ACL even if a 12-month warranty has expired. The ACCC provides useful guidance on this point.
The shop has a “no refunds on sale items” policy. Does that mean I’m stuck?
No. Sale items are covered by the ACL in exactly the same way as full-price items. The price paid affects what counts as “acceptable quality” for a minor failure (you have lower expectations from a $10 item than a $500 one), but it does not remove your rights entirely. A “no refunds on sale items” sign is misleading under the ACL and can be reported to your state fair trading office.
I bought online from an Australian retailer. Do the same rights apply?
Yes. The ACL applies to online purchases from Australian businesses in exactly the same way as in-store purchases. For online purchases, you also have the practical advantage of email evidence — keep all order confirmations and delivery photos. Returns must be accepted for ACL-qualifying faults regardless of any stated online return policy.