GuaranteesOnRecord

All subjects

Consumer guarantee

34 established claims - 15 refused by the grounding gate

Documented position19

What the body that runs or defines the thing says in its own documentation.

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The ACCC states that…

  • consumer guarantees are automatic.
  • consumer guarantees cannot be taken away.
  • warranties are extra promises a business can choose to make on top of the consumer guarantees.
other
1 quote from 1 source
Consumer guarantees are automatic and can’t be taken away. Warranties are extra promises that a business can choose to make on top of the consumer guarantees.
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The ACCC states that…

  • warranties cannot replace, change or take away a consumer's basic rights.
  • a consumer's basic rights can last longer than a business's warranty.
other
1 quote from 1 source
Warranties can’t replace, change or take away a consumer’s basic rights. These basic rights can last longer than a business’s warranty.
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The ACCC states that after a warranty against defects expires the consumer guarantee of acceptable quality usually still applies.

other
1 quote from 1 source
After the warranty expires, the consumer guarantee of acceptable quality usually still applies.
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The ACCC states that businesses must not mislead consumers into thinking their rights are limited to the remedies or timeframe set out in a warranty against defects.

other
1 quote from 1 source
Businesses must not mislead consumers into thinking that their rights are limited to the remedies or timeframe set out in a warranty against defects.
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Regarding the consumer guarantee, the ACCC states that…

  • the mandatory warranty-against-defects information must be available with the actual product.
  • referring consumers to the mandatory warranty-against-defects information on a website is not enough.
  • referring consumers to the mandatory warranty-against-defects information in-store is not enough.
other
1 quote from 1 source
The mandatory information must be available with the actual product. It is not enough to refer consumers to this information on a website or in-store.
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The Australian Consumer Law provides that a contract term is void to the extent it purports to exclude, restrict or modify the consumer guarantees.

other
2 quotes from 1 source
64 Guarantees not to be excluded etc. by contract
A term of a contract (including a term that is not set out in the contract but is incorporated in the contract by another term of the contract) is void to the extent that the term purports to exclude, restrict or modify, or has the effect of excluding, restricting or modifying:
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The consumer threshold for acquiring goods under the Australian Consumer Law is subject to a greater amount being prescribed.

medium confidenceother
3 quotes from 1 source
A person is taken to have acquired particular goods as a consumer if, and only if:
the amount paid or payable for the goods, as worked out under subsections (4) to (9), did not exceed:
if a greater amount is prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph—that greater amount; or
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Consumer Affairs Victoria states that a person or a business is considered a consumer if they buy products or services that cost up to $100,000.

other
2 quotes from 1 source
A person or a business is considered a consumer if they buy:
products or services that cost up to $100,000*, or any other amount set by the Australian Consumer Law in future; or
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Consumer Affairs Victoria states that businesses must not tell a consumer that a consumer guarantee…

  • does not exist.
  • may be excluded.
  • may not have a particular effect.
other
4 quotes from 1 source
Businesses must not tell a consumer that a consumer guarantee:
does not exist
may be excluded or
may not have a particular effect.
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Consumer Affairs Victoria states that for products or services purchased before 1 July 2021 the consumer threshold amount is $40,000.

other
2 quotes from 1 source
products or services that cost up to $100,000*, or any other amount set by the Australian Consumer Law in future; or
For products or services purchased before 1 July 2021 the amount is $40,000
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The ACCC's guide for businesses and legal practitioners states that the maximum civil penalty for providing false or misleading information about the existence, exclusion or effect of the consumer guarantees or remedies is…

  • $1.1 million for a body corporate.
  • $220,000 for an individual.
other
1 quote from 1 source
The maximum civil penalty for providing false or misleading information about the existence, exclusion or effect of the consumer guarantees or remedies is $1.1 million for a body corporate and $220,000 for an individual.

Measured finding5

Something someone actually measured, with the method attached.

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CHOICE reports that the percentage of surveyed consumers who took a consumer issue all the way to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal was…

  • 1% for products.
  • 2% for services.
other
1 quote from 1 source
The percentage who took a consumer issue all the way to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal was miniscule (1% for products; 2% for services).
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The Consumer Policy Research Centre reports that 80% of those surveyed for its Consumer Rights Confidence Index feel lower to mid-levels of familiarity with their consumer rights under the Australian Consumer Law.

other
1 quote from 1 source
80% of those surveyed feel lower to mid-levels of familiarity with their consumer rights under the Australian Consumer Law.
#

The Consumer Policy Research Centre reports that its Consumer Rights Confidence Index 2026…

  • surveyed over 2000 people in Victoria.
  • produced a benchmark index score of 66.
other
2 quotes from 1 source
The Consumer Rights Confidence Index 2026 surveyed over 2000 people in Victoria*
The benchmark Consumer Rights Confidence Index (CRCI) score for 2026 is 66

Practical effect5

What is observed to happen in practice, as distinct from what is documented.

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The Consumer Policy Research Centre reports that 47% of those surveyed for its Consumer Rights Confidence Index had an issue or a grievance with a product or service and did not complain about it.

other
1 quote from 1 source
47% of those surveyed had an issue or a grievance with a product and/or service and did not complain about it.
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The ACCC's guide for businesses and legal practitioners records that…

  • Fisher & Paykel Customer Services Pty Ltd had a civil penalty of $200,000 imposed for false or misleading representation in the course of offering an extended warranty to consumers.
  • Domestic & General Services Ltd had a civil penalty of $200,000 imposed for false or misleading representation in the course of offering an extended warranty to consumers.
other
1 quote from 1 source
that both Fisher & Paykel Customer Services Pty Ltd and Domestic & General Services Ltd made false or misleading representation in the course of offering an extended warranty to consumers, and imposed a civil penalty of $200,000 on each business.
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  • The ACCC's guide for businesses and legal practitioners records that in July 2013 the Federal Court ordered Hewlett-Packard to pay a $3 million civil pecuniary penalty relating to consumer guarantee rights.
  • Hewlett-Packard's civil pecuniary penalty was for making false or misleading representations to consumers and retailers regarding consumer guarantee rights.
other
1 quote from 1 source
In July 2013, the Federal Court ordered that Hewlett-Packard, a manufacturer and retailer of computer hardware, pay a $3 million civil pecuniary penalty for making false or misleading representations to consumers and retailers regarding consumer guarantee rights.

Changed on2

A dated change. This is where advice quietly stops being true.

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Regarding consumer guarantee, Consumer Affairs Victoria states that the unfair contract terms protections also apply to small business contracts entered into or renewed after 12 November 2016.

other
1 quote from 1 source
The protections also apply to small business contracts entered into or renewed after 12 November 2016 where:
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Products and services bought before 1 January 2011 are not covered by the current Australian Consumer Law.

other
1 quote from 1 source
Products and services bought before 1 January 2011 aren’t covered by the current Australian Consumer Law. They may be covered by older laws.

Disputed between sources1

Sources that do not agree, presented without picking a winner.

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The ACCC's guide for businesses and legal practitioners states the maximum civil penalty for false or misleading information about the consumer guarantees is $1.1 million for a body corporate.

other
4 quotes from 2 sources
The maximum civil penalty for providing false or misleading information about the existence, exclusion or effect of the consumer guarantees or remedies is $1.1 million for a body corporate and $220,000 for an individual.
The maximum civil pecuniary and criminal penalties for a body corporate are the greater of:
$10 million, or
three times the value of the benefit obtained from the offence, or act or omission, by the body corporate and any related bodies corporate if the benefit obtained can be determined by the court, or

Repeated, with no primary source in reach2

Widely repeated in the field. Within the documents this sweep read, it traces only to other repetitions - which is a fact about our reading as well as about the idea, until each one has been searched for on its own.

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Kmart's consumer guarantee returns policy states that non-Kmart branded products require adequate proof of purchase.

medium confidenceother
1 quote from 1 source
Non-Kmart branded products require adequate proof of purchase, including:
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JB Hi-Fi salespeople told CHOICE that there is no coverage after the extra year.

other
1 quote from 1 source
telling us that “the manufacturer gives one year warranty and then JB gives one extra year by consumer law” and that after that period “there’s no coverage, you go by yourself to a TV mechanic”

Refused15

Claims the research produced that the grounding gate would not accept, with its reason. They are here because a site that only shows what passed gives you no way to judge whether the gate does anything.

Show what was refused

The compilation of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 that contains the Australian Consumer Law as Schedule 2 is Compilation No. 165.

Refused: The quotes establish only 'Compilation No. 165' but do not identify the act as the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 or mention the Australian Consumer Law as Schedule 2.

Unsupported: the compilation of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 that contains the Australian Consumer Law as Schedule 2

What it rested on
Compilation No. 165 Compilation date: 1 July 2026 Includes amendments: Act No. 111, 2023, Act No. 57, 2025 and Act No. 59, 2025
Compilation No. 165
Compilation date: 1 July 2026

The compilation of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 that contains the Australian Consumer Law as Schedule 2 has a compilation date of 1 July 2026.

Refused: The quotes establish a compilation date of 1 July 2026, but none states that the compilation is of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 containing the Australian Consumer Law as Schedule 2.

Unsupported: that contains the Australian Consumer Law as Schedule 2

What it rested on
Compilation No. 165 Compilation date: 1 July 2026 Includes amendments: Act No. 111, 2023, Act No. 57, 2025 and Act No. 59, 2025
Compilation No. 165
Compilation date: 1 July 2026

For the consumer guarantee, the ACCC publishes a separate mandatory warranty-against-defects text.

Refused: The quotes mention only a generic 'mandatory text' for services, not a 'warranty-against-defects' text or that it is separate.

Unsupported: separate mandatory warranty-against-defects text

What it rested on
Mandatory text for services supplied after 9 June 2019
The mandatory text for the supply of services after 9 June 2019 is:

For the consumer guarantee, the separate mandatory warranty-against-defects text is for the supply of services after 9 June 2019.

Refused: The quotes establish mandatory text for the supply of services after 9 June 2019, but do not identify it as the separate mandatory warranty-against-defects text or tie it to the consumer guarantee.

Unsupported: separate mandatory warranty-against-defects text

What it rested on
Mandatory text for services supplied after 9 June 2019
The mandatory text for the supply of services after 9 June 2019 is:

Consumer Affairs Victoria's 'No refund' signs page states the maximum penalties for a body corporate start at $10 million.

Refused: The $10 million figure is cited from the Unfair contract terms page, not the 'No refund' signs page, so attributing that amount to the 'No refund' page overreaches.

Unsupported: Consumer Affairs Victoria's 'No refund' signs page states the maximum penalties for a body corporate start at $10 million

What it rested on
The maximum civil pecuniary and criminal penalties for a body corporate are the greater of:
$10 million, or
Penalties can be as high as:
$50 million for businesses

Consumer Affairs Victoria's unfair contract terms page states penalties can be as high as $50 million for businesses.

Refused: The $50 million quote is from a 'No refund' signs page, not the unfair contract terms page cited.

Unsupported: unfair contract terms page states penalties can be as high as $50 million for businesses

What it rested on
The maximum civil pecuniary and criminal penalties for a body corporate are the greater of:
$10 million, or
Penalties can be as high as:
$50 million for businesses

Consumer Affairs Victoria's 'No refund' signs page states the maximum penalties for a body corporate are the greater of $10 million or three times the benefit obtained.

Refused: The CAV quote only introduces 'greater of:', while the $10 million and three-times-benefit figures come from ACCC quotes, not the CAV page.

Unsupported: Consumer Affairs Victoria's 'No refund' signs page states ... $10 million or three times the benefit obtained

What it rested on
The maximum civil penalty for providing false or misleading information about the existence, exclusion or effect of the consumer guarantees or remedies is $1.1 million for a body corporate and $220,000 for an individual.
The maximum civil pecuniary and criminal penalties for a body corporate are the greater of:
$10 million, or
three times the value of the benefit obtained from the offence, or act or omission, by the body corporate and any related bodies corporate if the benefit obtained can be determined by the court, or

The ACCC states that the mandatory text for a warranty against defects on the supply of goods says that the goods come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law.

Refused: The quoted wording is provided, but the quote does not state that it is the mandatory text for a warranty against defects on the supply of goods.

Unsupported: mandatory text for a warranty against defects on the supply of goods

What it rested on
Our goods come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law.
You are entitled to a replacement or refund for a major failure and compensation for any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage.

The ACCC states that the mandatory text for a warranty against defects on the supply of goods says that the consumer is entitled to a replacement or refund for a major failure.

Refused: The quotes give the consumer entitlement wording but do not state that it is the mandatory text for a warranty against defects.

Unsupported: mandatory text for a warranty against defects on the supply of goods

What it rested on
Our goods come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law.
You are entitled to a replacement or refund for a major failure and compensation for any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage.

The Australian Consumer Law defines goods as being of acceptable quality if they are fit for all the purposes for which goods of that kind are commonly supplied, acceptable in appearance and finish, free from defects, safe and durable.

Refused: The quotes only support the 'fit for all purposes' criterion, not the additional acceptable quality criteria listed in the claim.

Unsupported: acceptable in appearance and finish, free from defects, safe and durable

What it rested on
54 Guarantee as to acceptable quality
Goods are of acceptable quality if they are as:
fit for all the purposes for which goods of that kind are commonly supplied; and

The Australian Consumer Law's text sets the consumer threshold for acquiring goods at $40,000.

Refused: The cited quotes do not state the $40,000 threshold amount.

Unsupported: at $40,000

What it rested on
A person is taken to have acquired particular goods as a consumer if, and only if:
the amount paid or payable for the goods, as worked out under subsections (4) to (9), did not exceed:
if a greater amount is prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph—that greater amount; or

JB Hi-Fi salespeople told CHOICE that the manufacturer gives one year warranty.

Refused: The quote says someone told CHOICE this, but does not identify the speakers as JB Hi-Fi salespeople.

Unsupported: JB Hi-Fi salespeople

What it rested on
telling us that “the manufacturer gives one year warranty and then JB gives one extra year by consumer law” and that after that period “there’s no coverage, you go by yourself to a TV mechanic”

JB Hi-Fi salespeople told CHOICE that JB gives one extra year by consumer law.

Refused: The quote shows CHOICE was told that JB gives one extra year, but it does not identify the speakers as JB Hi-Fi salespeople.

Unsupported: JB Hi-Fi salespeople

What it rested on
telling us that “the manufacturer gives one year warranty and then JB gives one extra year by consumer law” and that after that period “there’s no coverage, you go by yourself to a TV mechanic”

Retail salespeople told CHOICE that a customer's right to a remedy under the consumer guarantee after the warranty period would be decided by putting it through the store's system.

Refused: The quotes show the store system determines what the retailer is allowed to do, but they do not mention the warranty period or consumer guarantee.

Unsupported: after the warranty period

What it rested on
“Come in to us and we put it through the system – it tells us what we’re allowed to do.”
“Nine times out of 10 [the system] will say, ‘Sorry, but it’s at your cost’.”

The practical effect of consumer guarantee that CHOICE reports is that 73 of the 80 salespeople it spoke to in its mystery shop offered to sell it an extended warranty.

Refused: The quote establishes that 73 of 80 salespeople offered an extended warranty, but it does not tie this to the practical effect of a consumer guarantee.

Unsupported: practical effect of consumer guarantee

What it rested on
In fact, 73 of the 80 salespeople we spoke to offered to sell us one.