Airline Lost or Damaged Your Bags? How to Get Compensation in Australia

You stood at the carousel until it stopped. Your bag wasn’t there. Or it arrived three days later with the zip torn off and half your things gone. The airline gave you a reference number, a form, and a “we’ll be in touch”. That was weeks ago. Now they’re offering $50 in “goodwill credit” for a suitcase full of gear worth $2,000.

Airlines lose and damage bags every day, and they’ve built a process designed to wear you down. The law puts hard obligations on them. Let’s hold them to it.

Your rights

• International flights: the Montreal Convention. Given force in Australia by the Civil Aviation (Carriers’ Liability) Act 1959. Airlines are liable for lost, damaged, or delayed checked baggage up to 1,519 Special Drawing Rights per passenger on international flights (since 28 December 2024). A bag is deemed lost after 21 days. You must notify damage within 7 days of receipt and delay within 21 days. Claims must be brought within 2 years.
• Domestic flights: the Carriers’ Liability Act. The same Act applies domestically with a liability cap for baggage (currently $1,600 per passenger for checked baggage and $160 for items retained by the passenger, subject to indexation). Some airlines’ conditions of carriage set higher amounts.
• Australian Consumer Law still applies. Carriage is a service. It must be provided with due care and skill (s 60 ACL). Where an airline’s conduct falls outside the Convention regime (for example, misleading you about your rights), ss 18 and 29 apply.
• Your travel insurance and credit card. Most travel policies and many premium credit cards cover baggage loss and delay. The airline claim and the insurance claim can run in parallel; insurers will typically ask for the airline’s Property Irregularity Report (PIR).
• Delay expenses. If your bag is delayed, you can claim reasonable interim expenses (toiletries, essential clothing) from the airline. Keep every receipt.

What to do right now

1. Lodge a PIR at the airport if you haven’t. The Property Irregularity Report is essential. If you’ve already left, lodge it online or by phone today and get the reference number in writing.
2. Notify in writing within the deadlines. Damage: 7 days. Delay: 21 days. Loss: as soon as the airline confirms, or after 21 days. Email the airline’s baggage claims address so there’s a timestamp.
3. Build an itemised inventory. Every item in the bag with approximate purchase date and value. Attach receipts, bank statements, or photos where you have them. For the bag itself, the replacement cost.
4. Photograph damage. The bag, the contents, the baggage tag, and the boarding pass.
5. Reject lowball offers in writing. State that under the Carriers’ Liability Act and (for international flights) the Montreal Convention you’re entitled to the actual value up to the cap, not a “goodwill credit”.
6. Send a Letter of Demand. When the airline stalls past 30 days or offers a fraction of your loss, a formal letter citing the Act, the Convention limits, the deadlines you met, and a quantified claim, with a deadline before a fair trading complaint and tribunal claim, moves your file to someone with authority to pay.
7. Escalate. Complain to the Airline Customer Advocate (for participating airlines), your state fair trading body, and file at your state civil tribunal. For a foreign airline, you can still file in Australia if the flight was to or from here.

How much you’ll actually get (and how to get more)

The liability caps sound low, and for a bag full of camera gear or a suit for a wedding, they are. But there are ways to maximise the outcome:

• Claim the full cap, itemised. Airlines routinely offer a flat “settlement” well below the cap. If your itemised loss exceeds the cap, claim the cap. Don’t accept “depreciated” valuations without pushing back; the Convention requires compensation for actual loss up to the limit.
• Special declaration of interest. If you declared a higher value at check-in and paid the supplementary fee, the cap doesn’t apply. Few people do this; if you did, say so.
• Travel insurance tops up. Most policies cover baggage to $5,000–$10,000 with per-item limits. The airline payout is deducted, but the insurer covers the rest. Claim both.
• Credit card cover. Premium cards often include baggage delay and loss cover if you paid for the flight on the card. Check the policy booklet.
• Delay expenses are separate. If the bag turned up after four days, your interim purchases are claimable in addition to any damage claim.

Common airline tactics: “We need original receipts for every item” (you don’t; reasonable evidence is enough); “The claim is out of time” (check the dates yourself, they’re often wrong); “Damage to wheels, handles and straps is excluded” (many airlines say this, but it’s a policy, not law, and structural damage that makes the bag unusable is recoverable); “You accepted the bag without noting damage” (you have 7 days).

Codeshare and connecting flights. Under the Convention you can claim against either the airline you booked with or the one operating the flight where the loss occurred. Pick the one that’s Australian or has an Australian office.

Who to complain to

Airline Customer Advocate (Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia). State fair trading / consumer affairs. ACCC for misleading conduct about your entitlements. If your travel insurer won’t pay a valid claim, AFCA. For a money claim, your state civil tribunal, naming the airline’s Australian entity.

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