Bought a Lemon? Your Consumer Rights in Australia

You bought it new (or near-new). It failed early, it failed often, or it failed dangerously. The seller is pointing at the manufacturer. The manufacturer is pointing at the seller. Both are quoting the warranty card. None of that matters. Under the Australian Consumer Law, your statutory rights are far stronger than any warranty — and they cannot be excluded.

The legal framework: the consumer guarantees

Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 — the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) — provides automatic, non-excludable consumer guarantees on every good sold by an Australian business. The most important are: acceptable quality (section 54), fit for purpose (section 55), matches description (section 56), and matches sample or demonstration model (section 57). These guarantees apply regardless of what the warranty card says, what the seller’s terms try to disclaim, or how long ago you bought it (subject to a “reasonable” lifespan for the type of product).

Major failure vs minor failure

The remedy you are entitled to depends on whether the fault is a major failure (section 260) or a minor one. A major failure is one of: you wouldn’t have bought it had you known about the problem; it is significantly different from what was described; it is unsafe; or it can’t be fixed (or can’t be fixed within a reasonable time). For a major failure you choose the remedy — refund, replacement, or compensation. For a minor failure the seller chooses, and they typically choose repair.

Common pushbacks and why they fail

• “It’s out of warranty.” The consumer guarantees are not the warranty. They run for a “reasonable” period for the type of product — often years longer than the express warranty.
• “You need to deal with the manufacturer.” Section 259 puts liability on the seller. You can choose to claim against the seller, the manufacturer, or both.
• “You signed an extended warranty.” Cannot exclude the ACL guarantees — section 64 makes contracting out void.
• “It’s wear and tear.” Genuine wear and tear is a defence; early failure of a major component generally is not.
• “You damaged it.” Often a deflection; the seller has to prove the damage was caused by you, not by an underlying fault.

What the document does

A Letter of Demand under the ACL identifies the product, the fault, the date of purchase, the dates of failed repair attempts, and frames the matter as a major or minor failure under sections 54, 259 and 260 of the ACL. It demands a refund, replacement, or compensation within a defined period (typically 14–21 days) and warns of escalation to your state consumer affairs body and/or tribunal.

What Claim Done delivers

For a flat fee, Claim Done drafts a Letter of Demand citing the correct sections of the ACL, framing your claim as a major failure where applicable, and demanding the right remedy. About ten minutes in the wizard, no solicitor required.

What happens after

A properly-framed ACL letter sets out the guarantee that was breached, the remedy you want and a deadline to respond. If the seller refuses, escalate to your state’s consumer affairs body and then the tribunal — small-claim consumer jurisdictions handle these matters routinely.