Australian Consumer Law (ACL) Consumers’ Rights and Obligations

Under the Australian Consumer Law, all goods and services sold in Australia include compulsory guarantees.

These include nine (9) guarantees for goods: (i) acceptable quality; (ii) fit for a particular purpose; (iii) match description; (iv) match the sample or demonstration model; (v) express warranties will be honoured; (vi) spare parts and repair facilities will be available for a reasonable time after purchase; (vii) title to the goods; (viii) undisturbed possession of the goods; (ix) no undisclosed securities on the goods; and three (3) guarantees for services: (i) due care and skill; (ii) fit for a particular purpose; (iii) services must be supplied within a reasonable time.
You are entitled to a replacement or refund for major failure and for compensation for any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage. A major failure for goods purchased include when the goods: (i) has a problem that would have stopped you from buying the item if you had known about it; (ii) is unsafe; (iii) is significantly different from the sample or description; (iv) doesn’t do what we said it would, or what you asked for and can’t be easily fixed.
You are also entitled to have the goods repaired or replaced if the goods fail to be of acceptable quality and the failure does not amount to a major failure.
A major failure for services purchased includes when the service: (i) has a problem that would have stopped you from purchasing the service if you had known about it; (ii) is substantially unfit for its common purpose, and can’t be easily fixed within a reasonable time; (iii) does not meet the specific purpose you asked for and cannot be easily rectified within a reasonable time; (iv) creates an unsafe situation.

Consumer guarantees do not apply if you:

1. 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; or
2. misused a product in any way that caused the problem; or
3. knew of or were made aware of the faults before you bought the product; or
4. asked for a service to be done in a certain way against the advice of the business or were unclear about what you wanted.

For further information about the Australian Consumer Law and consumer guarantees, visit:
www.consumerlaw.gov.au or www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees.