Dental Procedure Failed and the Clinic Refuses a Refund? Letter of Demand (Australia)

The crown failed within months. The implant didn’t take. The veneers cracked. The clinic billed you in full and refused to refund the fee or fund the redo. This article is about the billing and refund dispute — not a clinical negligence claim, which is specialist territory.

The legal context

Dental services supplied to consumers in Australia are services under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). Section 60 requires services to be supplied with due care and skill. Section 61 requires them to be reasonably fit for purpose. Section 62 requires them to be supplied within a reasonable time. Where a procedure fails because the work was not delivered to a reasonable standard, a refund or part-refund is the typical remedy.

Dentists are also regulated by the Dental Board of Australia under AHPRA, and your state Health Complaints Commissioner (HCCC in New South Wales, HCC in Victoria, OHO in Queensland, etc.) handles formal complaints — but those bodies typically do not order refunds. The ACL does.

Common pushbacks and why they fail

• “All dental work carries risk.” True, but does not displace the requirement that the work itself be performed with due care and skill.
• “You signed a consent form.” Consent to a procedure is not consent to substandard work.
• “Come back and we’ll redo it.” A redo by the same provider is one option, but you can choose a refund where the failure is significant.
• “Health insurance was billed.” Insurance involvement does not change ACL rights.

The Letter of Demand approach

The Letter of Demand identifies the procedure, the date, the fee paid, the failure, and the refund or fee adjustment claimed under the ACL. It names state Fair Trading and the small claims tribunal as the escalation, and notes the parallel right to lodge an AHPRA / Health Complaints Commissioner complaint about the standard of care.

What Claim Done delivers

• Procedure, date, provider details, fee paid
• The specific failure and the basis for refund
• Citation of ACL sections 60, 61 and 62
• The refund or adjustment claimed
• 14-day deadline and named escalation
• Sent as a PDF for a flat $49

What to expect after

If the dispute does not resolve, the path is your state Fair Trading body, then NCAT, VCAT, QCAT or equivalent, with an AHPRA / HCCC complaint running in parallel where the standard of care itself was substandard.