The Young Australian's Guide to Legal & Consumer Rights

Australian Consumer Law (ACL) is a single national law that applies to every consumer purchase across every state and territory. It gives you a set of automatic guarantees that apply regardless of what a retailer's store policy says, what a manufacturer's warranty covers, or what a salesperson told you. These rights cannot be signed away or excluded.

The ACL applies when you buy goods or services for personal, domestic or household use — and when the price is under $100,000 (or above that amount if the goods are of a kind ordinarily used for personal purposes). The 13 consumer guarantees cover things like: that products must be of acceptable quality, fit for their stated purpose, match their description, and come with clear title.

Acceptable quality is the most commonly used guarantee. A product must be safe, durable, free from defects, and acceptable in appearance and finish — considering what you paid for it and how it was described. A $2,000 coffee machine that breaks after six months is not of acceptable quality. A $30 kettle that lasts three years probably is.

• The guarantee applies to the retailer, not just the manufacturer. You bought from the retailer — they're responsible. You don't have to deal with the manufacturer unless you choose to.
• The guarantee lasts as long as it's reasonable — not just for the manufacturer's warranty period. A fridge might reasonably be expected to last 10 years. A warranty of 12 months doesn't override your consumer law rights for the remaining 9 years.
• Services have guarantees too: Services must be provided with care and skill, within a reasonable time, and fit for purpose. A tradie who does defective work has breached the ACL's service guarantees.

When something you've bought has a problem, the remedy depends on whether it's a major failure or a minor failure. Understanding this distinction is the key to knowing what you can demand.

A major failure gives you the choice of a refund, a replacement, or keeping the product and getting compensation for the reduction in value. Major failures include: the product wouldn't have been bought if the problem had been known, it's significantly different from its description, it's substantially unfit for purpose, or it's unsafe.

A minor failure gives the business the option to choose the remedy — repair, replacement or refund. But the repair must happen within a reasonable time. If the business can't fix it within a reasonable time, or tries and fails multiple times, the failure escalates to major and you get the choice.

• You don't have to accept a repair voucher or store credit for a major failure. If you want your money back, you're entitled to it — regardless of how long ago you bought the item, as long as the problem was present from the time of purchase or is consistent with a manufacturing defect.
• Proof of purchase: You'll need evidence you bought the item — a receipt, bank statement, email confirmation. You don't need the original packaging. Digital receipts count.
• Don't accept "that's just wear and tear" if the product is only a few months old. Wear and tear refers to gradual deterioration from normal use over a long time — not defects that appear shortly after purchase.