GuaranteesOnRecord

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Gift card expiry

20 established claims - 5 refused by the grounding gate

Documented position9

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

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Australian Consumer Law section 99B(1) prohibits supplying a gift card to a consumer in trade or commerce if the day the gift card ceases to be redeemable is earlier than three years after the day of supply.

other
2 quotes from 1 source
99B Gift cards to be redeemable for at least 3 years
A person must not, in trade or commerce, supply a gift card to a consumer if the day that the gift card ceases to be redeemable is earlier than 3 years after the day of that supply.
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For a gift card sold with a shorter expiry, the three-year statutory period overrides the printed date.

other
2 quotes from 1 source
99B Gift cards to be redeemable for at least 3 years
the day that the gift card ceases to be redeemable is taken to be 3 years after the day of that supply.
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Australian Consumer Law section 99F(1) makes void any gift card term that reduces the redemption period to end earlier than three years after supply.

other
2 quotes from 1 source
99F Certain terms and conditions of gift card void
reducing the period that the gift card ceases to be redeemable to a period that ends earlier than 3 years after the day the gift card is supplied to a consumer.
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The ACCC states that businesses do not need to honour a gift card after a valid expiry date has passed.

other
1 quote from 1 source
Businesses do not need to honour the gift card after a valid expiry date has passed.
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The ACCC states that it does not resolve individual disputes about gift cards or vouchers.

other
1 quote from 1 source
We don't resolve individual disputes about gift cards or vouchers.
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Consumer Affairs Victoria states that gift cards and vouchers are not covered by the three-year period if they are sold for a good or service at a genuine discount.

other
2 quotes from 1 source
Gift cards and vouchers are not covered by the 3-year period if they are:
sold for a good or service at a genuine discount
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Consumer Affairs Victoria states that a business is not obliged to honour a gift card or voucher after the expiry date unless otherwise negotiated.

other
1 quote from 1 source
A business is not obliged to honour a gift card or voucher after the expiry date, unless otherwise negotiated.
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Consumer Affairs Victoria states that where a gift card carries an earlier expiry date but is sold after that date, consumers still get the mandatory three-year period.

other
1 quote from 1 source
If the card has an earlier expiry date written on it and is sold after this date, consumers will still get the mandatory 3-year period.
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Consumer Affairs Victoria states that a gift card without an expiry date may be used for a reasonable length of time after it was originally purchased.

other
1 quote from 1 source
If the gift card or voucher does not have an expiry date (including an activation expiry date), the consumer may use it for a reasonable length of time after it was originally purchased.

Changed on5

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

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Gift cards purchased on or after 1 November 2019 must be redeemable for at least three years after the day they were supplied or purchased.

other
1 quote from 1 source
Gift cards purchased on or after 1 November 2019 must be redeemable for at least 3 years after the day they were supplied or purchased.
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The ACCC states that gift cards purchased after 1 November 2019 must not include any fees or charges the recipient must pay after the gift card has been purchased.

other
1 quote from 1 source
Gift cards purchased after 1 November 2019 must not include any fees or charges the recipient must pay after the gift card has been purchased.
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The Treasury Laws Amendment (Gift Cards) Act 2018 provides that the amendments made by its Schedule 1 apply to gift cards supplied on or after 1 November 2019.

other
1 quote from 1 source
The amendments made by Schedule 1 to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Gift Cards) Act 2018 apply to gift cards supplied on or after 1 November 2019.
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  • The Treasury Laws Amendment (Gift Cards) Act 2018 was assented to on 25 October 2018.
  • The gift card amendments under the Treasury Laws Amendment (Gift Cards) Act 2018 began to apply more than a year after 25 October 2018.
other
2 quotes from 1 source
[ Assented to 25 October 2018 ]
The amendments made by Schedule 1 to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Gift Cards) Act 2018 apply to gift cards supplied on or after 1 November 2019.

Repeated, with no primary source in reach6

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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LegalVision asserts that the November 2019 gift card rules aligned with pre-existing NSW state-level protections introduced in 2018.

other
1 quote from 1 source
Since the ACL amendments took effect in November 2019, all gift cards sold in Australia must remain redeemable for a minimum of three years, aligning with NSW's pre-existing state-level protections introduced in 2018.
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Sprintlaw asserts that gift card expiry laws in Australia are one of the most misunderstood topics by both customers and business owners.

medium confidenceother
1 quote from 1 source
gift card expiry laws in Australia are one of the most searched (and misunderstood) topics by both customers and business owners
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LegalVision asserted that changes to Australian law came into place on 1 November 2019 to give consumers who hold gift cards greater protections.

other
1 quote from 1 source
On 1 November 2019, changes to the Australian law came into place to provide consumers who hold gift cards with greater protections.
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LegalVision asserts that the gift card changes will not affect gift cards sold before 1 November 2019.

other
1 quote from 1 source
These changes in the law will not affect gift cards sold before 1 November 2019.
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LegalVision asserts that a business issuing non-compliant gift cards could be fined by the ACCC…

  • up to $30,000.
  • $6,000 if it is not a company.
other
1 quote from 1 source
If your business issues non-compliant gift cards to consumers, the ACCC could fine you up to $30,000 or $6,000 if you are not a company.

Refused5

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 gift card rules were inserted into the Australian Consumer Law as a new Division 3A of Part 3-2 by Schedule 1 to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Gift Cards) Act 2018.

Refused: The quotes show insertion of a new Division 3A Gift cards after Division 3 of Part 3-2 of Schedule 2, but do not identify that Schedule 2 is the Australian Consumer Law.

Unsupported: Australian Consumer Law

What it rested on
6 After Division 3 of Part 3 ‑ 2 of Schedule 2
Division 3A - Gift cards
The amendments made by Schedule 1 to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Gift Cards) Act 2018 apply to gift cards supplied on or after 1 November 2019.

Australian Consumer Law section 99B(2) deems a gift card sold with a shorter expiry to cease being redeemable three years after supply.

Refused: The quotes support section 99B and the 3-year deeming language but do not expressly identify subsection 99B(2) or the shorter-expiry condition.

Unsupported: section 99B(2)

What it rested on
99B Gift cards to be redeemable for at least 3 years
the day that the gift card ceases to be redeemable is taken to be 3 years after the day of that supply.

Australian Consumer Law section 99C requires that a gift card supplied to a consumer prominently show its expiry, its supply date with the redemption period, or words to the effect of 'no expiry date'.

Refused: The quotes show a prominence requirement and the 'no expiry date' option, but do not state the alternative that the supply date with the redemption period must appear.

Unsupported: its supply date with the redemption period

What it rested on
99C When gift card ceases to be redeemable to appear prominently on gift card
A person must not, in trade or commerce, supply a gift card to a consumer if one of the following does not appear prominently on the gift card:
the words "no expiry date" or words to that effect.

Consumer Affairs Victoria states that a gift card without an activation expiry date may be used for a reasonable length of time after it was originally purchased.

Refused: The quote conditions this on the card having no expiry date at all (including no activation expiry date), not merely lacking an activation expiry date.

Unsupported: a gift card without an activation expiry date may be used

What it rested on
If the gift card or voucher does not have an expiry date (including an activation expiry date), the consumer may use it for a reasonable length of time after it was originally purchased.

The Treasury Laws Amendment (Gift Cards) Act 2018 set a penalty of $30,000 for a body corporate in the gift card provisions it inserted into the Australian Consumer Law.

Refused: The $30,000 corporate penalty is quoted, but no quote states it is in provisions inserted into the Australian Consumer Law.

Unsupported: in the gift card provisions it inserted into the Australian Consumer Law

What it rested on
if the person is a body corporate—$30,000; or
The amendments made by Schedule 1 to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Gift Cards) Act 2018 apply to gift cards supplied on or after 1 November 2019.