Australian Consumer Law: your right to a repair, replacement, or refund

Australia gives buyers a powerful safety net. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) enforces the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and its consumer guarantees — automatic rights that come with almost everything you buy.

The headline rule is generous: if an appliance is faulty, you are entitled to a repair, replacement, or refund. For a major failure — one that makes the product unsafe, or that you would not have bought had you known — you get to choose a replacement or a refund. For a minor problem, the business can choose to repair it instead. Crucially, these rights can apply even after a manufacturer’s warranty has expired, and a business cannot take them away with store policies or fine print.

The catch is knowing whether your problem counts as “major” or “minor,” and whether the fault is the retailer’s to fix. That is where OwnWise helps: it works out what actually failed and how serious it is, so you can claim the right remedy — repair, replacement, or refund — with the facts on your side.