Returns

You have the right to ask for a repair, replacement or refund under the Australian Consumer Law consumer guarantees for products and services bought on or after 1 January 2011.

Repair, replacement or refund

You can ask us for your preference of a free repair, replacement or refund, but you are not always entitled to one. For example, the consumer guarantees do not apply if you got what you asked for but simply changed your mind, found it cheaper somewhere else, decided you did not like the purchase or had no use for it.

If you have a minor problem with a product or service, the business can choose to give you a free repair instead of a replacement or refund. When you have a major problem with a product, you have the right to ask for your choice of a replacement or refund. For a major problem with a service, you can choose to receive compensation for the drop in value below the price paid, or a refund.

Replacements and refunds

You can ask for a replacement or refund if the problem with the product is major.

Replaced products must be of an identical type to the product originally supplied. Refunds should be the same amount you have already paid, provided in the same form as your original payment.

The business may take into account how much time has passed since you bought the product considering the following factors:

• type of product
• how a consumer is likely to use the product
• the length of time for which it is reasonable for the product to be used
• the amount of use it could reasonably be expected to tolerate before the failure becomes noticeable.

For a major problem with services you can cancel the contract and obtain a refund or seek compensation for the drop in value of your services provided compared to the price paid.

What is a major problem?

A product or good has a major problem when:

• it has a problem that would have stopped someone from buying it if they’d known about it
• it is unsafe
• it is significantly different from the sample or description
• it doesn’t do what the business said it would, or what you asked for and can’t easily be fixed.

A service has a major problem when:

• it has a problem that would have stopped someone from buying it if they’d known about it
• it is substantially unfit for its common purpose and can’t easily be fixed within a reasonable time
• it does not meet the specific purpose you asked for and cannot easily be fixed within a reasonable time
• it creates an unsafe situation.

Returning the product

You are responsible for returning the product, unless the cost of doing so is significant. In this case, the business must organise and pay for the return or exchange.