Returns and refunds on goods

Read below to find out about your refund and return rights for items bought on sale, second-hand or online.

On sale

You have the same refund rights on faulty sale items as you do on full-priced items. 

It is illegal for a shop to display a ‘no refunds on sale items’ sign.

You can’t claim a refund for faults the store told you about or those you might have noticed before you bought the item. For example, if there was a tag attached saying ‘reduced - faulty stitching'.

Sale items include any of the following:

• discounted items
• items in a samples or seconds rack
• items bought from a factory outlet.

Second-hand

If bought from a store, you have the same refund rights on second-hand purchases as you do for new items, but you must take into account the item’s age, price and condition at the time of sale.

If you bought a second-hand item privately, for example, at a garage sale or through a classified ad, the seller doesn’t have to refund, replace or repair the item.

Online

If you buy an item online from an Australian business you have the same rights as when buying it from a shop.

Read more about online shopping and mail order.

For more advice contact NT Consumer Affairs.