Removalist Broke or Lost Your Things? How to Get Your Money Back (Australia 2026)

Last updated 27 October 2026 · Reviewed by the Claim Done team · Not legal advice

Can you get your money back from a removalist?

Usually, yes. A removal is a service, and the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) gives every consumer three guarantees with it. NSW Fair Trading says consumer guarantees “also include removalist services”.

• Due care and skill (s 60). The ACCC says this means taking “all necessary care to avoid loss or damage”.
• Fit for the purpose you made known (s 61). If you said the piano has to go up a narrow stairwell, or everything must be out before your lease ends, the service has to achieve that.
• A reasonable time (s 62). If no date was fixed, the move must happen within a reasonable time. If a date was fixed, missing it breaches the contract itself.

A household move is covered whatever it cost, because it’s a service “of a kind ordinarily acquired for personal, domestic or household use” (s 3(3)). The one trap: the services guarantees don’t apply to moving or storing goods for the purposes of a business (s 63(1)(a)). Section 63(2) was added “to avoid doubt” so household moves stay covered. An office move or a shop’s stock may fall outside the guarantees.

What you can get:

• Broken, lost or stolen belongings: damages for any loss that was reasonably foreseeable (s 267(4)). This is the main claim.
• A minor failure (some boxes not unpacked): require the removalist to fix it within a reasonable time; if they won’t, have someone else do it and recover the reasonable cost, or cancel (s 267(2)).
• A major failure (a no-show): cancel and get a refund, less a reasonable amount for anything actually done, or claim the drop in value of the service (ss 267(3), 268, 269).

The South Australian regulator’s removalist examples of a major failure: not turning up or agreeing another date; a truck that “was not big enough” and a refusal to send another; and refusing to unpack when you asked for unpacking.

A removalist can’t blame a subcontractor or “the driver”. The same SA guidance says that if a removalist outsources the job, you can still seek a remedy from the removalist, because your contract is with them. The ACL’s defence for other people’s acts doesn’t apply to the due care and skill guarantee (s 267(1)(c)).

The most common problems with removalists

1. Furniture or appliances broken in transit. The regulators’ own example is a large mirror that broke because it was wrapped poorly. Claim: repair cost, or replacement if it can’t be repaired (s 267(4)).
2. Boxes or items missing. Loaded but never delivered. Claim: the value of each missing item, or its return if it turns up.
3. Things stolen during the move. Claim: their value, as loss caused by a failure to take due care. Describe what was loaded and what was missing; don’t accuse a named person.
4. A no-show or very late arrival. Claim: your deposit back, plus foreseeable costs such as a replacement removalist or an extra night’s accommodation. A business must not accept payment where there are reasonable grounds to believe it can’t do the job on time (s 36).
5. Goods held until you pay more. Claim: the return of your goods and any extra you paid that you didn’t agree to. See below.
6. A bill well over the quote. Padded hours or surprise fees. Claim: the difference from what you agreed. Our Overcharge and Invoice Dispute letter is built for this.
7. A truck too small, or a promised tailgate lift missing. Claim: the extra cost this caused (s 267(4)).
8. Damage to the house. Gouged floors, dented walls, a broken doorframe. Claim: the repair cost, as foreseeable loss.
9. Belongings left behind, or unpacking refused. Claim: the cost of collecting them or paying someone else to finish (s 267(2)).

Removalist law: liability clauses, insurance and held goods

The “$100 per item” and “no liability” clause myth

Many removalist contracts say “no liability for breakage”, “owner-packed cartons at owner’s risk” or “liability limited to $100 per item”. For a household move, these clauses don’t work the way they claim. Under s 64 of the ACL, a contract term is void to the extent that it tries to exclude, restrict or modify the consumer guarantees, your rights under them, or the removalist’s liability for failing to meet them. The ACCC says a business can’t take away your rights by saying it isn’t responsible, and that misleading you about your rights that way is against the law. WA’s Commissioner for Consumer Protection has said a removalist’s contract “should not say that they don’t take any responsibility for damage or loss”.

The narrow exception in s 64A doesn’t help on a household move. It applies only to services not of a kind ordinarily bought for personal, domestic or household use, and even then only allows a limit to redoing the service or paying for that, never a dollar cap per item.

The clause can still matter as evidence: if you packed a box yourself and its contents broke while the box was undamaged, the removalist may argue it took proper care.

Insurance: what it does and doesn’t do

• NSW Fair Trading says removalists “are not required by law to provide insurance for your property during a move”, and most only insure their own vehicle.
• Queensland’s Office of Fair Trading says transit insurance covers loss or damage in transit and while packing and unpacking. Your home and contents policy may already include some cover: ASIC’s Moneysmart says to check how your policy defines “contents”.
• Insurance doesn’t replace your consumer law claim. The guarantees apply whether or not you bought cover. In 2013 the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court found three removalists had misled customers about insurance cover.
• If your own insurer refuses a claim, that dispute goes to AFCA, the free financial complaints body (1800 931 678), once you have complained to the insurer. Our Insurance Complaint letter covers that route. AFCA doesn’t deal with the removalist itself.
• If an insurer has already paid you for any of the loss, say so when you start, because it can affect what you should claim from the removalist.

Goods held until you pay more

WA Consumer Protection lists “coercion for payment prior to the completion of the job” among common removalist complaints. Where the law stands:

• The agreed price is the price. In the regulators’ removalist example, a company quoted $125 per cubic metre, loaded 20 cubic metres and was paid, then demanded a further $1,100 and refused to finish until it was paid. The ACCC’s conclusion: “the consumer was only obliged to pay the amount that was originally agreed.”
• Inventing a higher price can break the law. False or misleading representations about price (s 29(1)(i)), misleading conduct (s 18) and unconscionable conduct (s 21) are prohibited. Using your furniture as leverage for money you don’t owe may amount to coercion (s 50).
• There is no special “hostage goods” offence. We found no law making it a specific offence to hold goods for extra money. Your tools are the contract, the ACL and an order to return your goods, which every state’s forum can make.
• Storage is different. In Victoria, a business storing goods for reward has a lien for its lawful storage charges under the Warehousemen’s Liens Act 1958. Our reading is that this does not give a right to hold goods for an unagreed extra charge in the middle of a move.

On the day: reply in writing, quoting the agreed price. WA Consumer Protection’s advice is “Don’t pay upfront” and to refuse a request for final payment half way through. If you decide to pay to get your things back, keep proof and send a message the same day saying you dispute the extra and why. You can then seek it back as loss caused by misleading or unconscionable conduct (s 236), and a court can order money refunded or property returned (s 243(d)).

Terms that may be unfair

An unfair term in a standard form consumer contract is void (s 23). The ACL’s examples (s 25) include terms limiting your right to sue or the evidence you can rely on. “Claims must be made within 24 hours” or “only damage noted on the delivery docket can be claimed” may fit. Only a tribunal or court decides, but you can say in writing that you don’t accept the term.

What you can claim from a removalist

• Repair costs for damaged items and for damage to the home, from written quotes.
• Replacement value for lost, stolen or unrepairable items. For older items the ACCC says it may be reasonable to pay part, but not all, of the cost of new.
• A refund for a service that failed badly, less a reasonable amount for anything done, and any overcharge.
• Foreseeable costs: a replacement removalist, extra accommodation, collecting things left behind. The ACCC says lost time may be covered too.

Build the amount item by item from receipts, replacement prices and repair quotes, leaving out damage that was there before.

Example (round numbers, for illustration only): you paid $1,800 for a household move. On unloading, the dining table top is gouged (repair quote $600) and a box of kitchenware never arrives (like-for-like replacement $350, a little under new price because the items were a few years old). You also paid $120 to hire a van to collect a bike the crew left behind. The removalist points to its “$100 per item” clause and offers $200. A reasonable claim is $1,070: $600 + $350 + $120. The cap doesn’t reduce it for a household move (s 64). You don’t claim back the $1,800 move fee, because the rest of the move was done.

Evidence to gather

1. The quote, booking confirmation, contract or terms, and any insurance you accepted or declined.
2. The inventory. The NT regulator advises that both parties sign it. If there isn’t one, make your own list with photos.
3. Photos or video of your things before packing, and of the damage straight after unloading.
4. Anything you signed on the day. Read any condition or damage report before signing and write down if you disagree. In one published NCAT appeal (Mitry v Zoom Relocations Group Pty Ltd [2018] NSWCATAP 88), the customer had signed a document on moving day noting pre-existing damage, and the claim was dismissed.
5. Proof of payment, repair quotes, receipts and replacement prices, one line per item, and receipts for extra costs.
6. Texts, emails and call notes, including any demand for more money and your reply.
7. The removalist’s legal name and ABN or ACN, from the invoice or the ABN Lookup. You need the exact name to file.

How to get your money back: 5 steps

Step 1: Tell the removalist in writing what went wrong and what you want

Report damage or missing items as soon as you find them. Phone if you like, then follow up in writing the same day: each item, what happened, and what you want. Attach photos, give a short deadline (South Australia’s regulator suggests a reasonable time, for example 7 days) and keep a copy. For other businesses, see our get your money back hub.

Step 2: No answer, a refusal or a lowball offer? Send a formal claim

Our Lost or Damaged Goods Claim lists each item in a schedule of loss with its value and how the value was worked out, relies on the due care and skill guarantee (s 60) and damages for foreseeable loss (s 267(4)), answers a “limited liability” or “no insurance” reply, and gives a 14-day deadline. It’s the kind of letter a tribunal expects to see before you file. You approve it before it’s sent.

Claim for your damaged or lost items – $49

For a no-show, a half-finished move or refused unpacking, use our Consumer Guarantee Letter instead. For a bill over the agreed price, use the Overcharge and Invoice Dispute letter. The general Letter of Demand ($49) is a fallback for anything else.

No-show or botched move: Consumer Guarantee Letter – $49

South Australia: at least 21 days before starting a minor civil action in the Magistrates Court, you must serve the removalist with a written notice of intention giving your name and address for service, enough detail of the claim and what you want, and any expert report (Uniform Civil Rules 2020 r 332.2). The alternative is a Form P1 Final Notice. Skipping it may affect whether you recover your costs, including the filing fee. Our $49 letter is written to serve as that notice where it includes the required details, so include your address for service and any repairer’s report.

Step 3: Complain to Fair Trading in the removalist’s state

Attach your letter. These services are free, but none of them can order the removalist to pay you.

• NSW: NSW Fair Trading, 13 32 20, online complaint form.
• VIC: Consumer Affairs Victoria, 1300 55 81 81, general complaint form.
• QLD: Office of Fair Trading, 13 QGOV (13 74 68), consumer complaint form.
• WA: Consumer Protection, 1300 30 40 54, Retail and automotive complaint form.
• SA: Consumer and Business Services, 131 882, consumer complaints.
• TAS: Consumer Affairs Tasmania (it took over from CBOS on 1 October 2026), 1300 654 499, contact page.
• ACT: Access Canberra, 13 22 81, consumer complaint form, with proof you wrote to the business.
• NT: NT Consumer Affairs, 08 8999 1999 or 1800 019 319, conciliation request (NT residents).

Step 4: Still unpaid? Send the final demand

The final demand quotes your first letter, the removalist’s reply (or silence) and any Fair Trading reference number, and says you’ll file a claim if it isn’t paid.

Send the final demand – $49

Step 5: File at the tribunal or court

Your claim goes to the forum in the table below (in WA, SA and Tasmania, a Magistrates Court claim). Every one of them can order payment and the return of goods the removalist is holding. Use the removalist’s exact legal name and ABN or ACN. The forms:

• NSW: NCAT “Consumer claim application about goods and services”, via the NSW Online Registry.
• VIC: VCAT goods and services claim via myVCAT (VCAT says expect about 52 weeks to a mediation or hearing).
• QLD: QCAT Form 1 “Application for minor civil dispute – consumer/trader dispute”, via QCase; serve it within 7 days.
• WA: Form 4 Minor Case Claim or Form 7 General Procedure Claim (Consumer/Trader), via the eCourts Portal.
• SA: a minor civil action on CourtSA, after the 21-day notice.
• TAS: the Magistrates Court Claim form, at a registry.
• ACT: ACAT “Civil Dispute Application”.
• NT: NTCAT Form 1 Initiating Application, using the registered company name.

Our Hearing Bundle ($97) puts your photos, inventory, quotes and receipts in the order a tribunal member or magistrate expects.

Prepare your tribunal application – $97

In WA, SA and Tasmania the same product prepares your court claim.

Where your claim goes in each state

File in the state where the removalist is based. For an interstate move, the tribunal where the move started or ended may also hear it: NCAT, for example, can hear a claim if the service was supplied in NSW or the contract was made in NSW. Fees are for an individual, from 1 July 2026.

Time limits. In NSW, NCAT can’t hear a consumer claim lodged more than 3 years after the cause of action first arose; after that only a court can, within 6 years. In the NT the limit for contract claims is 3 years. Everywhere else it is generally 6 years.

Interstate moves

• Most removalists are companies, and that usually settles it. In Burns v Corbett [2018] HCA 15 the High Court held that a state tribunal that isn’t a court can’t decide a dispute between residents of different states. Companies aren’t “residents” for this purpose, so it doesn’t stop a claim against a Pty Ltd removalist. NCAT has heard a NSW-to-Queensland move against a company removalist (City Removalists & Storage Pty Ltd v Glavanics [2023] NSWCATAP 300).
• If the removalist is an individual (a sole trader or partnership) living in a different state from you on the day you file, NCAT and VCAT send the case to a court. At NCAT you apply first, then go to the Local or District Court with leave, usually with no extra fee. At VCAT you apply directly to the Magistrates’ Court, paying the VCAT fee. QCAT says it hears these disputes itself. The WA, SA and Tasmanian Magistrates Courts are courts, so they aren’t affected. Check the removalist’s ABN record to see whether it’s a company.
• Serving the claim interstate is allowed under the Service and Execution of Process Act 1992 (Cth).

After you win: getting paid

If the removalist still doesn’t pay, the order can be enforced. In most states it is registered or filed with the court and enforced as a judgment: a garnishee order on bank accounts or wages, seizure and sale of property, or an examination where the debtor must answer questions about their finances. If the removalist is based in another state, the judgment or tribunal order can be registered in a court there and enforced as a local judgment (Service and Execution of Process Act 1992 (Cth) s 105).

Tribunals do not collect the money for you. In NSW, Victoria, Queensland, the ACT and the NT, an unpaid tribunal money order is first registered, recorded or filed with a court. In WA, SA and Tasmania the Magistrates Court decides the claim, so you already have a court judgment. Then you apply for the court’s enforcement tools.

Enforce your order – $97

Enforce your order – $97

Questions people ask

Can a removalist limit its liability to $100 per item?

Not for a household move. A term that tries to limit a removalist’s liability for failing to take due care and skill is void to that extent (ACL s 64). The s 64A exception covers only services not ordinarily bought for household use, and never allows a per-item cap. Our Lost or Damaged Goods Claim answers a “per item” reply.

Do I have to buy the removalist’s insurance to be able to claim?

No. Your consumer guarantee rights apply whether or not you bought insurance. NSW Fair Trading says removalists aren’t required by law to insure your property, and most only insure their vehicle. Insurance can still help: transit insurance covers loss or damage in transit and while packing and unpacking, and your contents policy may already include some cover.

Can a removalist refuse to unload my furniture until I pay more?

You only have to pay the price you agreed. In the regulators’ removalist example, the ACCC said the consumer “was only obliged to pay the amount that was originally agreed”. Demanding more may be misleading, unconscionable or coercive, and a tribunal or court can order your goods returned. If you pay to get them back, dispute the extra in writing that day.

The removalist didn’t turn up. Can I get my deposit back?

Yes, in most cases. The SA regulator treats a no-show without agreeing another date as a major failure, so you can cancel and claim a refund plus foreseeable costs, such as a replacement removalist. Our Consumer Guarantee Letter ($49) sets this out.

Who pays if a subcontractor broke my things?

The removalist you booked. The SA regulator says that if a removalist outsources the work, you can still seek a remedy from the removalist, because your contract is with them. The ACL’s defence for other people’s acts doesn’t apply to the due care and skill guarantee (s 267(1)(c)).

How long do I have to claim against a removalist?

In NSW, lodge at NCAT within 3 years; after that only a court can hear it, within 6 years. In the NT the limit is 3 years. In Victoria, Queensland, WA, SA, Tasmania and the ACT it is generally 6 years. Report damage to the removalist straight away, while the evidence is fresh.

The contract says claims must be made within 24 hours. Is that right?

Not necessarily. A standard form contract term that limits your right to sue, or the evidence you can rely on, is one of the ACL’s examples of a term that may be unfair (s 25), and an unfair term is void. Only a tribunal or court decides, so report damage quickly anyway and say in writing that you don’t accept the limit.

What can I claim for an old item that was broken?

Its fair value, not always the price of a new one. The ACCC says that for items with prior wear and tear it may be reasonable to pay part, but not all, of the cost of new. Use a repair quote where the item can be fixed, and a like-for-like replacement price where it can’t.

Can I take an interstate removalist to NCAT or VCAT?

Usually, yes, if the removalist is a company, as most are. The Burns v Corbett limit applies only when the removalist is an individual living in a different state from you. Then NCAT and VCAT send the claim to a court, while QCAT says it hears it itself. Check the removalist’s ABN record first.

Should I sign the removalist’s damage report or inventory on moving day?

Read it first and sign only what is accurate; if you disagree, write that on it. In one published NCAT appeal, the customer had signed a document on moving day noting pre-existing damage, and the claim was dismissed. The NT regulator advises that both parties sign the inventory.

Are removalists licensed in Australia?

Not as a rule. National consumer law has no removalist licence, Act or code, and Victoria, South Australia, the ACT and the NT don’t license removalists. Regulators still act on misconduct: in 2023 a Queensland removalist company and its director were fined $16,000 in total, after one customer was charged an extra $1,000 for trailer hire that cost $336.16.

What does the Lost or Damaged Goods Claim do?

It’s a formal claim letter to the removalist with an itemised schedule of each item lost or damaged, its value and how that value was worked out. It answers a “limited liability” or “no insurance” reply and gives a firm deadline. You approve it before it’s sent. Start at our Lost or Damaged Goods Claim page ($49).

Sources

Checked 19 October 2026.

• Australian Consumer Law (Competition and Consumer Act 2010, Schedule 2): ss 3, 4, 18, 21, 23-26, 29, 36, 50, 60-64A, 236, 243, 267-269
• ACCC and ACL regulators: Personal services industry guide (removalist examples)
• ACCC: Claiming compensation; Repair, replace, refund, cancel
• CBS SA: Furniture removalists factsheet; Using a furniture removalist
• NSW: Choosing a removalist; QLD: Using a removalist; WA: Choose your removalist wisely; NT: Removalists
• Consumer Affairs Victoria: removalists court action; removalist reports; QLD: removalist company charged (2023)
• Moneysmart: Contents insurance; AFCA: Make a complaint
• High Court: Burns v Corbett; NCAT: Federal jurisdiction; VCAT: What VCAT cannot do
• Courts SA: Before making a claim; Fair Trading Act 1987 (NSW); Limitation Act 1981 (NT)
• Fees: NCAT, VCAT, QCAT, WA, SA, TAS, ACAT, NTCAT

Claim Done is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. This page is general information. For a complex or high-value matter, speak to a lawyer or a free community legal centre.