The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) gives consumers certain protections when they buy goods or services from businesses in Australia, such as:
Under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) you are a consumer if:
However, you may not be a consumer under the ACL if you purchase goods (whatever the price) to re-supply them, use them or transform them for a business purpose such as manufacturing or production, or for repairing or treating other goods.
Under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), there are consumer guarantees that apply to most goods (products) or services purchased by consumers from 1 January 2011.
A guarantee is a legally binding promise about goods or services. Some guarantees are voluntarily given by the suppliers of goods or services, other guarantees are provided by law.
For more information, see Consumer guarantees on the NSW Fair Trading website.
The consumer guarantees that apply to products include guarantees that:
A consumer, supplier or manufacturer can't opt out, exclude (deny) or limit the consumer guarantees even if you sign or are given terms and conditions (a contract) that gives you less rights.
For more information, see Consumer guarantees on the NSW Fair Trading website.
The consumer guarantees that apply to services include guarantees that services must be:
For more information, see Consumer guarantees on the NSW Fair Trading website.
What is acceptable quality may depend on a number of factors, such as:
A seller, supplier or manufacturer can't opt out, exclude, deny or limit the consumer guarantees set by legislation, even if you sign a contract or are given terms and conditions that give you less rights.
Express warranties are promises that suppliers or manufacturers make about goods or services.
Express warranties can only add to your rights under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). They can't take your rights away or replace them so that you are worse off.
Under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), you can't return goods and claim a refund if you have simply changed your mind, but some stores have policies that offer a refund, exchange or store credit. If a store has this type of policy, then they have to follow it. If they aren't following their policies, you could make a complaint to them, or contact NSW Fair Trading.
Businesses are also bound by any promises that a salesperson makes. This can allow you to return the goods in certain circumstances. However, it may be hard to prove what a salesperson said if you have no record of it. You can ask the salesperson to put what they say in writing if you want to be more certain that the business will follow what the salesperson says.
Generally, you can cancel any agreement to buy goods and services at any time, however, the supplier may be able to claim money from you under a contract or for any reasonable losses they have suffered as a result of you cancelling the contract.
You may be able to cancel without a penalty if there is a serious problem with the goods or services and you haven't been able to get it fixed.
For more information on cancelling contracts for services, see Cancelling a service on the NSW Fair Trading website.
Some contracts will have a cooling off period in them. A cooling off period means you can change your mind during this time with little or no penalty.
Under the ACL, you have rights to cancel goods and services that are sold to you by telemarketing and door-to-door sales.
For more information, see Telemarketing & door-to-door sales on the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission website.
Unsolicited goods are goods that are left with you and that you have not ordered. Under Australian Consumer Law (ACL), you can return unsolicited goods.
For more information, see:
A cooling off period is a specific time period that allows you to cancel an agreement usually without penalty or with a reduced penalty.
Cooling off periods apply to:
For more information on buying a motor vehicle, see Buying a vehicle from a licenced dealer or Private sales (including buying a car privately) in this topic.
For more information on home building contracts, see the Home building and renovating topic.
If you buy goods or services, but the purchase is subject to you getting finance, then you may cancel the contract if:
If you cancel the contract this way, the seller may only be able to claim from you:
If you are in this situation, you should get legal advice about your options.
You don't need the original packaging to return faulty goods to a supplier or manufacturer. However, you may need evidence of your purchase, for example, a receipt or bank statement showing the transaction.
You don't need to have a receipt to make a claim about a problem with goods or services against a supplier or manufacturer, but you may need to prove that you purchased the goods or services from them. A receipt is a very good way of proving this, but other forms of proof may include:
Suppliers and manufacturers are generally responsible for complying with:
A supplier or manufacturer who doesn't follow these rules may be engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct or representations. For example, it may be misleading or deceptive if they:
A representation is any statement about the goods or services. It can be verbal or in writing. If it is in writing it is usually easier to prove.
If you haven't got what you were promised, or you have suffered some kind of loss as a result of a false or misleading representation or misleading and deceptive conduct, you can make a claim against the business responsible for the statement or conduct.
For more information, see Misleading representations or deceptive conduct on the NSW Fair Trading website.
Under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), you can generally make a claim against either the supplier or manufacturer of goods.
Both the manufacturer and the supplier are responsible for meeting the consumer guarantees.
A manufacturer is also responsible for any representation (statement) they make about the goods and must honour any express warranties about the goods.
A manufacturer is not responsible for problems with goods beyond their control, such as a problem that was caused after goods left the manufacturers control.
If the goods (products) you bought have problems covered by the consumer guarantees, you can make a claim against the supplier under the Australian Consumer Law.
When the problem is minor, the supplier can choose whether it wants to have the goods repaired or offer you a replacement or a refund.
Where the problem is major, you can choose whether to:
You can't reject goods in certain circumstances, for example, when the goods have been thrown away, or been destroyed, or lost or damaged after delivery without fault of the supplier or manufacturer.
If you decide to reject the goods, you must tell the supplier in writing, explain why you reject them and return the rejected goods to the supplier or ask the supplier to collect them if return is too costly.
For information about what might be considered a major problem with goods, see Repair, replace, refund on the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission website.
If you experience losses or damage because of the supplier's failure to comply with the consumer guarantees, you may also have grounds to claim damages from the supplier.
If you have a problem with the goods, you should first contact the supplier. Depending on the problem, the supplier can offer a repair, replacement or refund.
If there is a minor problem with the goods, the supplier can choose to repair the goods or give you a refund.
When there is a major problem with the goods, you can ask for a replacement or a refund.
If you have a problem with services that you bought as a consumer, under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) you can claim against the supplier of the services.
If the problem is minor, the supplier can choose whether they want to try and fix the problem or give you a refund. If they refuse or take too long to fix the problem, you can have the problem fixed by another supplier and claim the costs from the first supplier.
When there is a major problem with the services, the consumer can choose whether they want to:
If you are a consumer and are not happy with the goods or services provided you can:
In most cases, it is a good idea to first contact the supplier and give them a reasonable amount of time to fix the problem. The supplier may offer to either replace the item with an identical item or refund the amount you paid.
It is worthwhile trying to resolve a matter outside of Court, as court proceedings can be expensive and time consuming.
If you are going to negotiate with the service provider, supplier or manufacturer it is usually a good idea to:
There are time limits to start a case in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) or the Local Court.
If you need help writing a letter, see the Complaint letter tool on the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission website.
Before you post a negative review online about goods or a service, you should check that your review:
The person or company you leave a review for may consider your review to be defamatory and may take legal action against you, especially if your review causes serious harm to their reputation or contains statements that are knowingly untrue.
If you publish material that harms a person or company’s reputation, they may consider legal action against you for defamation.
Defamation may occur when:
If you have been threatened with legal action for defamation, you should get legal advice from a private lawyer.
You can make a complaint to NSW Fair Trading about a supplier or service provider providing goods and services in NSW.
NSW Fair Trading may investigate your complaint, contact the supplier or manufacturer, or consider arranging informal mediation.
NSW Fair Trading can sometimes investigate problems where there has been a breach of a law, but it generally can't force suppliers or service providers to attend mediation.
For more information about complaints, see General complaint handling on the NSW Fair Trading website.
In some situations, if you are not able to resolve your matter with a supplier through mediation you may apply to NSW Fair Trading for a consumer guarantee direction.
NSW Fair Trading can issue a consumer guarantee direction about some consumer complaints lodged with NSW Fair Trading. A direction may order a supplier to repair, replace or refund a product to you.
You may apply for a consumer guarantee direction if:
For more information, see the factsheet Consumer guarantee directions on the NSW Fair Trading website.
If the consumer or business (supplier) is unhappy, they can apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) for a re-determination.
This application to NCAT stops the operation of the consumer guarantee direction until the matter is finalised.
You must apply to NCAT within 28 days of when the supplier was notified of the consumer guarantee direction.
For more information on re-determinations, see Consumer guarantee directions on the NCAT website.
You can register the direction in a Local Court as a judgment debt against the supplier.
For information about registering the direction, see Step by step guide - Enforcing NCAT orders on the My problem is about section of our website.
After the direction has been filed in the Local Court, you can apply to have the judgment debt enforced against the supplier.
For information about enforcement action, see Enforcement on the My problem is about section of our website.
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) does not resolve individual complaints about goods or services. You usually have to make this type of complaint to your State or Territory consumer protection body, such as NSW Fair Trading.
However, the ACCC can:
If you need help writing a letter, see the Complaint letter tool on the ACCC website.
Some industries have a national ombudsman that you may be able to contact to help you resolve the dispute. Other industries have an ombudsman in each State or Territory.
An industry ombudsman may be able to help you negotiate with the supplier to try and reach a resolution.
For more information, see Where to go for consumer help on the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission website.
A designated complainant can also make a complaint regarding systemic market issue affecting consumers or small business in Australia, or complaints relate to a breach of the Competition and Consumer Act.
For more information Designated complaints on the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission website.
From 1 July 2024 the designated complaints process allows specific organisations to make designated complaints to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
The designated complaints must relate to:
Once a complaint is lodged, the ACCC will need to respond within 90 days, and if action needs to be taken, it will be required to commence any action within six months.
The ACCC doesn’t have to do anything about a complaint if it might limit their own work. They also don’t have to publish a response if it would harm an ongoing, confidential investigation that has not been made public, or if it would contravene a law or court order.
Only certain consumer and small business organisations approved by the Minister can make a designated complaint to the ACCC.
For more information, see Designated complaints on the ACCC’s website.
At the moment, there is limit of three designated complainants that can approved at any one time, and each designated complainant can only make one designated complaint per year.
Organisations wanting to be approved as a designated complainant can apply every three years during a period that lasts three weeks. The ACCC decides who gets approved by considering:
Currently, the Consumer Action Law Centre, the Australian Consumers’ Association, and the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia have been approved as designated complainants.
For more information see Designated complaints on the Treasury website.
You can start a case in the Consumer and Commercial Division of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) if you have a problem with goods (products) or services provided (or supposed to be provided) to you by a business and:
You can apply to NCAT within three years from when the cause of action occurred. The cause of action is the event that you are complaining about. It may happen when the goods or services were supplied or meant to be supplied, or it might be later when you found out about a problem with the goods or services.
You must also apply within 10 years of the goods and services being supplied.
These time limits apply together and you have to be within both time limits to apply to NCAT, for example, if it is more than three years since the cause of action you will not be able to apply to NCAT, even if it is less than 10 years since the goods or services were supplied.
If you can't resolve the dispute with the service provider, supplier or manufacturer you can apply to the Consumer and Commercial Division of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT). The form you use to apply to NCAT may depend on what type of case you have.
You can apply:
For information on how to apply, see Consumer claims on the NCAT website.
To make an application online using NCAT Online Services, you will need to set up an account and register your details. You will also need the details of the registered name of the business or company and specify the order you are seeking from the Tribunal.
For more information, see NCAT Online Services Help on the NCAT website.
To fill out the Consumer claim application about goods and services form:
The other party may be a sole trader, partnership or company. When filling out your application form it is important to include the correct name of the other party that you have a dispute with.
If you have a dispute with more than one person or business, you can include more than one other party on the application form.
If you are applying against a business of company, NCAT will ask you to attach a copy of a business name or company extract from ASIC. To find out how to do this, see Applications about a business or company on the NCAT website.
The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) is an accessible and low-cost option to resolve certain types of consumer disputes. Whether you make a claim to NCAT or the Local Court will depend on:
NCAT can't determine matters where there is a federal jurisdiction problem, for example, where there are residents of different States. For more information, see the following FAQs:
For further information, see Federal jurisdiction on the NCAT website.
When you start a claim in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT), you can try to resolve your dispute with the business at any time. You can continue to negotiate with the business up until the hearing.
NCAT asks parties to try conciliation before the hearing. Conciliation is a chance for you and the other party to informally discuss the case and try to come to an agreement before the hearing. NCAT may provide a Conciliator to help you negotiate. If you reach an agreement, you can ask NCAT to make the agreement into an order.
For more information, see Conciliation on the NCAT website.
You can't make a consumer claim to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) if you are disputing your lawyer's costs, but you can make an application under the Costs Assessment Scheme.
For more information, see Dealing with my lawyer on the My problem is about section of our website.
If, however, the dispute with your lawyer is not about costs, but is about the service they provided, you may have grounds to make a consumer claim to NCAT.
If legal action has started in the Local Court, the same matter can only be heard at the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) if the Local Court transfers the case to it. The Local Court will generally only transfer the case to NCAT if both parties agree for it to be transferred or:
Similarly, if an application has been made to NCAT, a claim for the same thing can't be made to the Local Court.
Yes, you can attend by telephone or video, if you get permission from the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT).
If you want to attend a hearing by telephone or video, you can:
You will need to tell NCAT the reasons for your application and can attach any documents that support your argument.
It will be up to NCAT to decide whether to it is appropriate for you to appear by telephone or video. NCAT will consider:
For more information, and for a copy of the application form, see Attending a hearing by telephone or video on the NCAT website.
If your application is approved, NCAT will send you information about how to join the hearing. If your application is not approved, you should attend the hearing in person.
If you were the party that applied to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) and your matter was dismissed because you didn't go to the hearing, you may be able to make a reinstatement application if you have a reasonable excuse, for example, you were in hospital or you didn’t receive the notice telling you when you had to attend.
You will need to complete an Application to reinstate proceedings. For a copy of the application, see Forms on the NCAT website.
You must attach any documents that support your explanation, such as:
You must lodge your application with NCAT within seven days from the date the decision to dismiss the proceedings. This time frame may only be extended in special circumstances.
You will need to pay a further application fee.
If you are unhappy with the decision or order made by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) you may be able to:
You may seek leave (permission) to appeal the decision of the Appeal Panel to the Supreme Court of New South Wales on a point of law. You should get advice from a private lawyer before appealing to the Supreme Court.
You have 28 days to appeal the decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales.
Before filing an internal appeal to NCAT or before appealing to the Supreme Court of New South Wales, you should get legal advice from a private lawyer. Legal Aid can't give advice on the merits of your appeal.
If someone has not complied with the orders made by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT), you may have options to enforce it, depending on the type of orders that were made.
Orders to take action - If NCAT has ordered that the other party do certain things, such as arrange to pick up a faulty product by a certain date and this has not been done, you can ask NCAT to renew the case. This means that the matter goes back for further hearing at NCAT. NCAT could then make new orders. You can ask for your case to be renewed within the time specified in the orders. If no timeframe was specified, then you can make the application within 12 months of the date the work was meant to be completed. There is a fee to renew the proceedings.
Orders to pay money - If NCAT has made an order that the other party pay you a specific amount of money, and they have not paid the amount as ordered, it is possible to try and recover the money you are owed by taking enforcement action in the Local Court. You will need to get a certificate from NCAT certifying the amount the other party has been ordered to pay you. Once you have the certificate from NCAT, you can register it with the Local Court, and it will have the same effect as a judgment of the Local Court. For more information, see Enforcing NCAT orders on the NCAT website.
If you are owed money, you may want to find out if the person who owes you money is bankrupt. This information may help you decide whether to take further action.
To do this, you can perform a search using the Bankruptcy Register Search (BRS) on the Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA) website.
You will have to pay a fee.
If you are owed money, you may want to find out if the company owing you money is in liquidation. This information may help you decide whether to take further action.
To perform a search, see Published notices on the Australian Securities & Investments Commission website. This allows you to search by company name or Australian Company Number.
There are no fees.
If you want to change the date of the hearing, you should inform the other party in writing and ask them if they agree. You will need to complete the Adjournment request form or send a request in writing explaining your reasons for an adjournment. You should include supporting documents with your request.
It is up to NCAT to accept or refuse the adjournment.
For more information, see Adjournments on the NCAT website.
In most cases, each party will pay their own costs and even if you win your case, you are not automatically entitled to be reimbursed for these costs.
In limited circumstances you can ask for an order that the other party (or another person connected with the case) pay your costs.
There has to be a good reason for the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) to make the order, for example, because the other party ran their case in a way that unnecessarily disadvantaged you.
Costs that you can ask for are:
You can’t ask for another party to pay:
For more information, see the Consumer and Commercial Division Costs Guideline on the NCAT website.
The federal jurisdiction problem is when the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) does not have the power to make a decision about your matter.
For example, this may be when:
If there is a federal jurisdiction problem, NCAT will give you a letter explaining that you can apply to the Local Court.
For more information, see Federal jurisdiction on the NCAT website.
To apply to the Local Court you will need to file:
There is no filing fee, unless you have made a lot of changes to your original application.
If you want help applying to the Local Court, you should get legal advice.
The options available to you depend on whether you purchased the online goods (products) or services from:
If you buy goods (products) or services from a private seller, either online or in an online auction (privately run), you don't have the protections of the Australian Consumer Law and your position is generally the same as if you had bought the goods (products) or services from a private seller in any other way, for example, if you had bought the goods (products) in person.
You may use the policies or dispute resolution (negotiation) procedures in the online site, such as eBay or GraysOnline, to assist you in dealing with the seller.
If you purchased the goods (products) using a service such as PayPal, you may be able to lodge a dispute with the service to help you recover the purchase price or reach an agreement with the seller through any dispute resolution procedures provided by the service.
For more information about resolving a dispute between you and a private seller, see Resolving your dispute on the My problem is about section of our website.
If you bought goods (products) or services from an Australian business online, you generally have the same protections as if you bought the goods (products) or services in store.
The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) applies to the sale.
You can make a consumer claim if you are unhappy with the goods (products) or services provided.
If you purchased goods (products) or services from an Australian business in an online auction, you may have the same protections as if you bought the goods (products) or services in store, depending on the terms of purchase. For example, if you purchased a car in an online auction from a dealership, the ACL may apply. However, if the dealership sold the item to you on behalf of someone else you may have limited protection from the ACL.
If you purchased goods (products) or services online from an international business, the ACL may not apply.
In addition to your normal rights as a consumer, you can sometimes use the policies or dispute resolution (negotiation) procedures in the online site, such as eBay or GraysOnline, to assist you in dealing with the seller.
If you purchased the goods (products) using a service such as PayPal or eBay, you may be able to lodge a dispute with the service to help you recover the purchase price or reach an agreement with the seller through any dispute resolution procedures provided by the service.
For more information, see Ways to shop on the NSW Fair Trading website.
If you have purchased a car from a dealer and you have a problem with the car, you may have options under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) or the Motor Dealers and Repairers Act 2013 (NSW).
You can:
For more information, see Warranties on the NSW Fair Trading website.
There are time limits to start a claim in NCAT or the Local Court.
If you buy a new or second hand motor vehicle through a linked credit arrangement (that is, finance to buy the motor vehicle is provided by or arranged through the motor dealer) a cooling-off period applies (unless you agree to waive it in the contract).
The cooling off period is up until 5pm on the next business day, or up until the close of business on the following day if they close earlier than 5pm.
If you came to an agreement with the dealer about an extended cooling-off period, this will be stated in your contract.
If you change your mind about purchasing the car and you have not waived the cooling off period, you can change your mind by giving a signed written notice to the dealer within the cooling off period. You will be entitled to get your deposit back, however the dealer can keep $250 or 2% of the purchase price (the lesser amount).
You should get legal advice if you want to pull out of the contract and there is no cooling off period, or if the cooling off period has expired. You may lose your deposit or be sued for damages, but it can depend upon the terms of the contract and the circumstances of each case, for example, whether the dealer has started work on the car under the contract.
A holding deposit is an amount of money you pay to make sure the dealer doesn't sell the car to someone else while you are making up your mind. Normally a holding deposit is not refundable. If you are buying a car with finance, it is a good idea to make sure the written sale contract states that the purchase is conditional upon you obtaining finance. If you do this, it may be possible to cancel the contract and get your deposit back if you are unable to obtain finance after making reasonable attempts.
For more information, see Finance and contracts on the NSW Fair Trading website.
If you buy a new or second hand motor vehicle through a linked credit arrangement (that is, finance to buy the motor vehicle is provided by or arranged through the motor dealer) a cooling-off period applies unless you have agreed to waive it in the contract.
A cooling off period allows you to pull out of the contract to purchase the car, but only if you notify the dealer in writing before the cooling off period expires.
You may also have other options to cancel the contract if the finance was covered by the national credit laws, but you will need legal advice about this.
A private sale is when you buy goods or services from someone who is not supplying them as part of a business, for example, if you buy a second hand car from a person selling their own car.
It may be a private sale if you buy something from a person who sells things as a hobby, for example, if you buy some plants from a person who has a garden mainly for recreational use.
If someone is providing services, they may need to be licensed, depending on the type of services they provide. You can check whether the work you want done needs a licence by contacting NSW Fair Trading. You can also check whether a tradesperson has a licence at NSW Fair Trading. A person who has a licence to provide services is usually providing them as part of business.
For more information, see Verify.licence on the Service NSW website.
If you are buying personal property, such as a car or boat, and you want to check whether there is money still owing on it under a finance arrangement, you can do a search on the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR). You should do this check regardless of whether you are buying something from a business or individual.
The PPSR is a register of security interests in personal property. A security interest is when a person or business has an interest in personal property secured by a loan or legal contract. Common examples include a secured car loan where the bank registers an interest in the car until the individual pays the loan off.
For more information about the details you need for a search, how to do the search and the fee required, see Do a used car or vehicle search on the Australian Financial Security Authority website.
If you do a search on the PPSR you can get a search certificate. A certificate will show whether there is any interest in the property. It is best to get a certificate if you are buying valuable personal property, such as a vehicle. This can help to protect your legal title in the property if there is no other security interest registered.
If you purchased goods or services from a private seller you generally will not be able to take your case to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal. This is because the consumer laws generally only apply to businesses, not to individual sellers.
If you purchased goods or services in a private sale, you can't use consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law, but you may still be able to start a case in the Local Court to get back what you are owed. You may have other protections. For example, a person may be responsible for some things they promise when selling you the goods or services. You should get legal advice in this situation.
If you purchased goods from a private seller you can:
For more information, see the Creditor (when you are owed money) topic.
It is best to try to resolve the matter outside of Court as court proceedings can be expensive and time consuming. You should communicate with the seller in writing or keep notes of the time and date you spoke to the seller as this may be helpful if you need to start legal action later on.
If you start a claim in the Local Court and you are unsuccessful, you may have to pay the other person's court fees and legal costs.
The guarantees in the ACL don't generally apply to a private car sale, for example, a person selling a car to another person.
You can:
It is a good idea to keep notes about conversations you have. You should also keep other evidence about the problem, for example, a copy of the sale ad, email or text messages between you and the seller, and photos of the vehicle.
If you are unable to resolve your dispute through negotiations and mediation, you may be able to start a case in the Local Court.
Whether you can get your deposit back depends on the verbal or written agreement you and the seller made. You should get legal advice if you believe you have good reasons to pull out of the deal. If you do so without getting legal advice you risk losing your deposit and being sued by the seller for damages.
A holding deposit is an amount of money you pay to make sure the seller doesn't sell the goods to someone else while you are making up your mind. Normally a holding deposit is not refundable.
If you bought a car privately and the previous owner owed money on the car to a finance company, the finance company may have the power to repossess the car from you in order to get their money back.
You can negotiate with the finance company to pay the money owing so you can keep the car.
For more information, see Repossession- car and goods on the Financial Rights Legal Centre website.
It is a criminal offence to tamper with an odometer.
If you have already purchased a vehicle and you suspect the odometer has been tampered with, you can make a report to NSW Fair Trading. The odometer may have been tampered with by the seller, or by a repairer.
For more information, see Report suspected odometer tampering on the Service NSW website.
NSW Fair Trading can issue fines and penalty notices or take disciplinary action against registered vehicle sellers who wind an odometer back.
NSW Police may be able to lay fraud charges against a private seller or unregistered repairer. If the seller is convicted of odometer tampering, you may be able to ask the court to make an order for compensation of the difference between the sale price and the fair price.
Before you buy a vehicle, you should:
When you sell a car it is important that you notify Transport for NSW of the change of ownership immediately. You can Submit a notice of disposal for a vehicle on the Service NSW website or in person at a Service NSW location.
If you have an E-Tag you should also update your number plate details with your tag provider.
If you receive a traffic fine for a car you sold before you were able to submit a notice of disposal, you will need to nominate the driver responsible by notifying Revenue NSW. You will need to provide full details of the person who you sold the car to, and evidence of the sale.
If you don't have all of the details of the other driver, you should get legal advice.
You should take action on the fine before the due date.
For more information about dealing with the fine, see the Fines topic.
You should also urgently take steps to ensure that the registration of the car is transferred to the new owner.
There are usually no automatic warranties to fix defects for cars that are sold privately. The principle buyer beware applies.
If you made certain promises about the condition of the car, the buyer may still be able start a claim in the Local Court to recover their money.
VET FEE-HELP was replaced on 1 January 2017 with the VET Student Loans program for all new students. In some cases if you have a dispute with your education provider, you will have different options to deal with the dispute depending on whether you have VET FEE-HELP or a VET Student Loan.
For more information, see the factsheet VET FEE-HELP Debt on the Commonwealth Ombudsman website.
You can withdraw from the course by contacting the training provider.
If you can't contact the course provider or they are not responding to you, you should get legal advice.
The training provider should have given you information about a census date. If you withdraw before the census date, you shouldn't incur any loan debt. If you withdraw after the census date, you may have a loan debt that you have to pay back.
Even if it is past the census date you may be able to get a refund of your VET debt so that you don't have to pay it back.
The training provider may ask you for the laptop back. If there is a problem with you doing this, for example, it is damaged or destroyed or you don't want to return it, you should get legal advice.
You can withdraw from the course by contacting the training provider.
If you withdraw before the census date, you shouldn't incur any loan debt. If it is past the census date, you may be able to get a refund of your VET FEE-Help loan or VET Student Loan debt.
If you sign a contract after a salesperson approached you, you have additional rights to get out of the contract under the Australian Consumer Law, because it is an unsolicited consumer agreement.
If you change your mind within 10 days of when you sign the contract you can end the contract without any penalty. This is called a cooling off period.
You may be entitled to an even longer cooling off period if the salesperson has breached your rights, for example, by coming to your house outside of the permitted hours, or not giving you a copy of the written contract.
For more information about making a consumer complaint, see Telemarketing & door-to-door sales on the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission website.
If you want to make a complaint, you can also contact the National Training Complaints Hotline on 13 38 73 (Monday to Friday, from 8 am to 6 pm nationally).
If you have signed up to a vocational education and training course you may have applied for a VET FEE-HELP or VET Student Loan to help pay for the course.
You can view your VET debt online using your myGov account. You can also call the Australian Tax Office (ATO) on 13 28 61. You will have to tell the ATO your tax file number (TFN).
You can withdraw from your course at any time. The training provider should have given you information about the census date. If you can't find the census date on your paperwork, contact your course provider. The census date is different for each course and each course provider.
You should complete your course provider's withdrawal procedures by the census date. If you withdraw before the census date, you should get a refund of any up-front payment and you will not have a VET debt. If you have any trouble doing this, you should get legal advice.
You can still withdraw after the census date. Complete your course provider's withdrawal process. You will not get any up-front payment back. You may also get an academic penalty for example, you might incur a fail grade.
You will also have a VET debt, but you may be able to ask for this debt to be cancelled if there are special circumstances or unacceptable conduct by the training provider.
You may be able to cancel your VET debt depending on:
Simply changing your mind or failing a unit are not good enough reasons to cancel the debt.
If you have a complaint or query about your VET debt, you can contact the National Training Complaints Hotline on 13 38 73 (Monday to Friday, from 8 am to 6 pm nationally).
For more information, see Debt complaints on the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations website.
You may be able to cancel your VET debt in certain special circumstances, for example, if you didn't complete the course because you fell ill or because of other circumstances beyond your control.
You should contact your provider about how to apply. A provider is required to publish their procedure for a student to apply to cancel their debt due to special circumstances. For a provider to be satisfied that special circumstances apply, you need to demonstrate that:
For more information, see Debt complaints on the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations website.
If you have VET FEE-HELP you must apply for the refund within 12 months of when you withdrew from the course. If you officially withdrew from the unit, the withdrawal day is the day your withdrawal took effect. For instance, this may be when the training provider gives you written confirmation of your withdrawal. If you didn't officially withdraw, your withdrawal day is the last day of the period for which you were enrolled in the course unit.
For VET Student Loans, you must apply within 12 months of the census date for that unit.
Your provider may extend the time limit if it is satisfied that it was not possible for you to apply within the 12 months.
For more information, see Cancel your HELP debt under 'Special Circumstances' on the StudyAssist website.
If a provider unreasonably refuses to consider your circumstances, you should contact the National Training Complaints Hotline on 13 38 73 (Monday to Friday, from 8 am to 6 pm nationally).
When a training provider gives a decision, they will provide the reasons for their decision. You should consider the reasons carefully. If you are unhappy with the decision of the training provider, you can request an internal review within 28 days. You should follow the review process set by the training provider.
If you are unhappy with the internal review, you can apply to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal within 28 days for an external review.
For more information, see Cancel your HELP debt under 'Special Circumstances' on the StudyAssist website.
Unacceptable conduct can include:
If your training provider acted inappropriately and you have not completed the unit or course, you may get your VET debt balance re-credited.
If you are not sure about your situation, you should get legal advice.
For more information, see VET Student Loans on the Commonwealth Ombudsman website.
If you feel you have been treated unfairly by your training provider, you should make a complaint to your training provider first, if they are still operating. All training providers are required to have a formal complaints process.
If you are unhappy with their decision, you can ask for an internal review.
If you are unhappy with the decision of the internal review, you may be able to get help from the Commonwealth Ombudsman to deal with your VET debt balance. Usually, this is when the training provider engaged in unacceptable conduct.
For more information, see VET Student Loans on the Commonwealth Ombudsman website.
The VET FEE-HELP redress measures commenced on 1 January 2019 and closed on 31 December 2023. They provided students with a remedy for debt that they accrued under the VET FEE-HELP system because of inappropriate conduct by an education provider.
These redress measures only applied to VET FEE-HELP debts, not VET Student Loans debts.
For more information, see Information for former VET FEE-HELP students on the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations website.
You can:
For more information, see MyHelp Balance on the Australian Government website.
You must start to repay your accumulated VET Student Loan debt when your income is above the minimum repayment threshold.
Compulsory payments are made through your tax.
You can also make voluntary payments.
For more information and to find out the current minimum compulsory repayment threshold, see How do I repay my HELP debt? on the Australian Government website.
If you have made an application to your training provider or applied for a review of a decision, you should contact the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and let them know.
You may be able to put off payments or arrange other payment options until your matter is finalised.
You will need your Tax File Number.
A course provider must be registered with the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) which sets out the requirements for delivering education services to international students on a student visa.
When you enrol to a course, you must have a written agreement describing:
If your course provider is unable to provide the course you have paid for and doesn’t offer you an alternative course or provide a refund of your pre-paid tuition fees, the Tuition Protection Service (TPS) can help you find an alternative course or get a refund.
For more information, see the brochure “Are you an international student studying in Australia on student visa?” on the Tuition Protection Service website.
You can also speak to the Overseas Student Ombudsman about your options.
For more information, see Information for international students on the Commonwealth Ombudsman website.
A lien is when someone claims they are able to hold on to something, for example, a car, animal or property, because of a payment or debt owed to them.
If a business is claiming a lien over your property because you have not paid their bill, the business may be able to charge additional fees and charges for holding on to your property for a longer period of time.
If you disagree with the lien, you can negotiate with the business about your bill and the return of your property. If you can't come to an agreement and you want to get your property back, you can pay the bill.
If you pay the bill but disagree with the lien or are unhappy with the service, you may still be able to take legal action against the business to recover the money you paid.
If the mechanic is holding on to your vehicle until you pay the bill, it is likely that they are claiming a lien over the vehicle. You can negotiate with the mechanic about your bill and the return of your vehicle, but if your negotiations are unsuccessful you should get legal advice.
In some circumstances, your mechanic may be able to charge you storage fees for holding your car due to an unpaid bill.
If your mechanic is charging you storage fees, you should get legal advice.
If you can't afford to pay the fees you owe for having your goods in storage you can:
In addition to the terms and conditions in your contract, the storage may be covered by the Storage Liens Act 1935 (NSW). Under this Act, the storage provider has a lien (a right to detain your goods) until all outstanding fees and charges are paid.
If you pay any fees and charges owed under your agreement, you are entitled to demand your goods back. If they aren't returned, you can take action to recover your goods.
If you don't pay the outstanding fees, the storage provider can take action to sell your goods.
In addition to the terms and conditions of your storage contract, the Storage Liens Act 1935 (NSW) enables a storage provider to take certain action if storage fees remain unpaid.
The storage provider has a legal right to sell the goods by public auction if you have outstanding fees and charges and you have not arranged to pay and collect your goods. If the storage provider takes action to sell your goods, they must:
Under the Act, the storage provider only has power to sell the goods if some of the outstanding fees and charges were from more than six months before the notice of intention to sell was given. They can then deduct their outstanding fees and costs from the proceeds of sale and must deposit any left over money with the NSW Trustee & Guardian.
You can get your goods back before they are sold, if you pay all outstanding fees and charges.
In NSW, short-term rental accommodation refers to a commercial arrangement where you rent the whole or part of a private property from the owner, including through a booking platform such as Airbnb or Stayz, for less than three months.
It generally involves residential properties that may also be used by the owner for their own accommodation. Short-term rentals can include holiday rentals, accommodation used for business travel and emergency accommodation.
Short-term rental accommodation does not include hotels, motels, and bed and breakfast accommodation.
You must register your short-term rental accommodation property on the (STRA) register. Registration requirements applies to residential accommodation such as houses, units and terraces. It doesn’t apply to caravans, tents or moveable dwellings.
You must also comply with the new fire and safety requirements and agree to follow the code of conduct before your registration is completed.
You will be issued with a STRA property ID number which must be displayed on an online property listing.
For more information, see:
Letting agents, hosts and booking platforms must not advertise short-term rental accommodation unless the property is registered on the STRA register with its registration number displayed along with the other details of the property.
In December 2020, the NSW Government introduced the mandatory Code of Conduct for the Short-term Rental Accommodation Industry (‘code of conduct’). The code of conduct sets out new obligations on booking platforms, hosts, guests and letting agents.
The code of conduct also creates new penalties for breaching the code.
For more information, see Short-term rental accommodation on the NSW Fair Trading website.
The following types of accommodation are excluded from the code of conduct:
If you believe a host, booking platform or letting agent has breached the code of conduct, you should try to resolve your problem directly with them.
If you are unable to resolve the issue, you can make a complaint to NSW Fair Trading about a breach of the code of conduct.
NSW Fair Trading will investigate the complaint and decide what action should be taken.
For more information, see Short-term rental accommodation complaints on the NSW Fair Trading website.
If a complaint is made to NSW Fair Trading about a potential breach of the code of conduct, Fair Trading will investigate the complaint.
If NSW Fair Trading decides that you have breached the code of conduct, they may impose one of the following penalties:
For more information, see Short-term rental accommodation complaints on the NSW Fair Trading website.
If a complaint is made against you to NSW Fair Trading and they find that you have committed a serious breach of the code of conduct, the serious breach will be recorded against you as a ‘strike’.
If you are found to have committed two serious breaches of the code of conduct in a two-year period, your name will be recorded on the exclusion register.
If a strike is recorded against you, you can apply for a review of the decision. You have 21 days from when you receive the notification from NSW Fair Trading to apply for a review.
For more information, see Short-term rental accommodation complaints on the NSW Fair Trading website.
The exclusion register is a list of guests or hosts who have been excluded from short-term rental accommodation in NSW. The list is managed by NSW Fair Trading and is published online.
You can be listed on the exclusion register if NSW Fair Trading finds that you have committed two serious breaches of the code of conduct in a two year period.
NSW Fair Trading can also record your name on the exclusion register if you have been charged or convicted of a criminal offence and it is in the public interest to exclude you.
If you are listed on the exclusion register, you will not be allowed to rent short-term rental accommodation for five years.
For more information, see Short-term rental accommodation exclusion register on the NSW Fair Trading website.
If you have been listed on the exclusion register, you can lodge an appeal with NSW Fair Trading. You have 28 days from when you receive the notification from NSW Fair Trading informing you that you will be listed on the exclusion register to apply for a review.
For more information, see Short-term rental accommodation exclusion register on the NSW Fair Trading website.
Last updated: August 2024