Lemon Laws Queensland: Faulty Car Refund or Replacement (2026)

Checked 19 October 2026 against the legislation, the Office of Fair Trading and QCAT. Written by the Claim Done content team. Claim Done is not a law firm and does not give legal advice; this page is general information.

Your rights in 60 seconds

• The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) always applies to a car bought from a dealer, new or used, of any age: it must be of acceptable quality for its price, age and kilometres.
• Major failure: refund or replacement, your choice (ACL ss 259(3), 263(4)). The dealer cannot force a repair on you.
• Minor failure: the dealer must fix it within a reasonable time, or you can have it fixed elsewhere at its cost or reject the car (s 259(2)).
• Queensland adds a statutory warranty for many used cars sold by a dealer: Class A (built no more than 10 years before the sale and under 160,000km) runs 3 months or 5,000km; Class B (older or higher kilometres) runs 1 month or 1,000km. You must give the dealer written notice of the defect before it ends. It sits on top of the ACL: when the warranty ends, your ACL rights do not.
• QCAT hears dealer car disputes up to $100,000 as “motor vehicle disputes” on Form 59. They are not $25,000 minor civil disputes.

Which state’s law applies to you

It is the state of the dealer that sold you the car that counts, not the state you live in. If the dealer is in Queensland, the Queensland statutory warranty, the Queensland Office of Fair Trading and QCAT are the ones that apply, even if you live in New South Wales or bought online and had the car trucked to you. If the dealer is in another state, read that state’s page: the Queensland warranty will not apply, even if you live in Queensland. The ACL applies either way.

Interstate buyers. QCAT currently hears your claim against a Queensland dealer wherever you live. The High Court’s decision in Burns v Corbett [2018] HCA 15 stops state tribunals that are not courts, such as the NSW and Victorian tribunals, from deciding disputes between residents of different states. QCAT is different: it is a court of record, the Queensland Court of Appeal has held that it is a court of a State (Owen v Menzies [2012] QCA 170), and its Appeal Tribunal has applied that to parties living in different states ([2018] QCATA 145; [2022] QCATA 3). Two appeals challenging QCAT’s status as a court are pending in the Court of Appeal; if they succeed, an interstate claim against a sole-trader dealer would go to a Queensland court instead. A claim against a company dealer (its name ends in Pty Ltd or Ltd), or by a buyer who lives in a territory, is not affected either way.

Live far from the dealer? If the car is more than 200km from the dealer’s business, you deliver it for warranty repair to the nearest qualified repairer the dealer nominates, or, at the dealer’s expense, to another repairer it nominates (MDCA Sch 1 s 9(1)(b)).

Your rights under the Australian Consumer Law

The ACL (Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)) applies in Queensland exactly as it does everywhere else. You are a “consumer” if the car cost $100,000 or less, or is a kind of vehicle ordinarily bought for personal or household use, so a family car is covered even above $100,000 (ACL s 3(1); Competition and Consumer Regulations reg 77A).

Acceptable quality (s 54)

The car must be fit for all its usual purposes, acceptable in appearance and finish, free from defects, safe and durable, as a reasonable consumer who knew its full condition (including hidden defects) would regard as acceptable. That is judged against the nature of the car, the price, anything the dealer or manufacturer said about it, and other circumstances such as age and kilometres. An old, cheap car need not be perfect, but it must run, be safe and last a reasonable time for what you paid.

The guarantee does not cover faults the dealer specifically pointed out before you agreed to buy (s 54(4)), faults your own inspection ought to have revealed (s 54(7)), or damage from abnormal use (s 54(6)). The car must also match its description, such as the model, year or service history advertised (s 56), and be fit for any purpose you told the dealer about, such as towing (s 55).

What is a major failure (s 260)

A failure is major if any of these apply:

• a reasonable consumer fully aware of the problem would not have bought the car;
• the car departs in a significant way from its description;
• it is substantially unfit for its normal purpose, or for a purpose you made known, and cannot be fixed easily and within a reasonable time; or
• it is unsafe.

Several minor faults can add up to a major failure. For contracts made on or after 18 December 2020, two or more failures, related or not, are a major failure if a reasonable consumer aware of them taken as a whole would not have bought the car (s 260(2)). The ACCC’s industry guide adds that repeated repairs that keep a car off the road for unreasonable periods are likely to be a major failure.

Refund or replacement is your choice (ss 259(3), 263(4))

For a major failure you can reject the car, and the dealer must act “in accordance with an election made by the consumer”: refund what you paid plus the value of any trade-in, or replace the car with one of the same type and similar value if one is reasonably available. A credit note is not a refund (s 263(5)), and the ACCC says a refund for a major problem should be the full amount you paid (ACL s 263(4)). If the car cannot be returned without significant cost to you, the dealer must collect it at its own expense (s 263(3)). Instead of rejecting, you can keep the car and claim its drop in value.

The rejection period (s 262)

You must reject within the time in which it would be reasonable to expect the fault to show up, considering the type of car, its likely use, how long it should last and how much use is reasonable. The Act sets no fixed number of days or kilometres, and the ACCC says the period can run past a warranty. Reject in writing as soon as you know the fault is major.

Damages, “sold as is” and the manufacturer

• Extra losses that were reasonably foreseeable, such as towing, inspection, a hire car or wasted registration, are recoverable (s 259(4)).
• “Sold as is” or “no refunds” does not remove the guarantees. A term that tries to is void (s 64).
• The dealer cannot send you to the manufacturer. The ACCC says the dealer “must not tell the consumer to go to the manufacturer for a remedy”; the dealer recovers its own costs from the manufacturer (s 274).
• The manufacturer owes damages only: the drop in value and foreseeable losses (ss 271-272), claimed within 3 years of when you first became aware, or ought reasonably to have become aware, of the failure (s 273). A refund or replacement comes from the dealer.
• Misleading you about your rights is penalised. Refusing a remedy is not yet a penalty offence (reforms are announced, not passed), but misleading you about your rights is: in February 2024 the Federal Court ordered Mazda Australia to pay $11.5 million in penalties for misleading 9 consumers.

If the car is on finance

• A dealer-arranged lender is jointly liable with the dealer for consumer guarantee failures if it is a “linked credit provider” (ACL s 278), up to the amount financed plus interest and costs (s 281).
• Rejecting the car can end the loan. If the sale is rescinded, you can end a tied loan from the dealer’s linked lender and recover interest you paid (National Credit Code s 135). Tell the dealer and the lender in writing.
• Keep paying while a minor fault is fixed, as the ACCC advises. If you cannot pay, give the lender a hardship notice, orally or in writing; it must answer in writing within set times (NCC s 72).

The Queensland dealer statutory warranty

The warranty is in Schedule 1 of the Motor Dealers and Chattel Auctioneers Act 2014 (Qld) (MDCA), with exclusions in the Motor Dealers and Chattel Auctioneers Regulation 2014. It is a promise by the dealer that the car “is free from defects at the time of taking possession and for the warranty period”, and that defects reported during the period will be repaired free of charge (Sch 1 s 7).

Before the sale the dealer must give you an approved-form warranty notice, and you sign a copy (Sch 1 s 6). Keep it. On “10 years old”: the test is the built date, not the compliance or first-registration date, and a car built exactly 10 years before the sale day is still Class A. (Some older government pages show only Class A and say “5 days”; the Act says 5 business days.)

If the dealer refuses the claim, misses the 14-day repair period or repairs badly, you can apply to QCAT (Sch 1 ss 13-14). QCAT can order payment of a stated amount, repair work, return of the car or an extension of the warranty period. If the dealer refused and you had the defect fixed elsewhere, QCAT can order the dealer to pay the reasonable cost (Sch 1 s 15).

Cooling-off in Queensland

Used cars bought from a motor dealer have a short cooling-off period (MDCA ss 98-113).

• How long. Until the dealer’s close of business on its next business day (if it closes before 5pm that day, the usual close on the following business day). It ends earlier if you take possession for anything other than an inspection or test drive (s 99).
• How to cancel. Give the dealer, or someone apparently working there, written notice that you terminate the contract (s 111). Related finance and insurance end too (s 112), and your trade-in must be returned immediately at no cost (s 113(3)).
• Cost. At most the $100 non-refundable deposit; nothing if you paid no deposit (s 106; Regulation s 10).
• No cooling-off for auctions, consignment sales for private owners, commercial vehicles, caravans, or unregistrable or wrecking vehicles; the Office of Fair Trading says new cars and private sales have none either.
• Paperwork mistakes give you 7 days. If the approved cooling-off statement was missing or materially defective, or the contract lacks the “COOLING-OFF PERIOD” clause (or, for a consignment sale, the clear-title guarantee statement), you can avoid the contract by written notice within 7 days after ownership passes (ss 97, 104, 105).

Compensation fund: the Queensland claim fund

Queensland has a claim fund (Agents Financial Administration Act 2014 (Qld) s 78). It does not cover a dealer that fails to honour the statutory warranty; the Office of Fair Trading says to apply to QCAT for that. It can cover financial loss from a dealer’s false representations about the car (MDCA s 216), failure to give clear title, failure to return cooling-off money or a trade-in (ss 104(4), 113), wrongful conversion or false accounts (s 215), or misappropriation of entrusted money or property.

Time limit: the earlier of 1 year after you become aware of the loss and 3 years after the event; if you started court or QCAT proceedings within that time, within 3 months after they end (s 85). How: the “Claim against the claim fund form”, emailed to claimsandrecoveries@justice.qld.gov.au or posted to Claims and Recoveries, Office of Fair Trading, GPO Box 3111, Brisbane QLD 4001. Lodging is free. Name the dealer’s correct legal entity.

New cars in Queensland

The statutory warranty covers used cars only, so a new car relies on the ACL guarantees (which can continue after the manufacturer’s warranty ends) plus the manufacturer’s warranty. There is no cooling-off for new cars.

What Queensland does add is a forum: Fair Trading Act 1989 (Qld) s 50A lets you take an ACL claim “relating to a motor vehicle”, new or used, to QCAT for up to $100,000, against the dealer or the manufacturer. Claims of $25,000 or less can be expedited (s 50B), and in any s 50A claim costs are limited to the dealer repaying your filing fee (s 50C).

Private sales and auctions

• Private sales: no statutory warranty, no cooling-off and no claim fund. The Office of Fair Trading says a private seller “is not bound by consumer guarantees”, and QCAT says it cannot hear private-sale motor vehicle disputes. The OFT recommends a PPSR check.
• Consignment for a private owner: no statutory warranty and no cooling-off, even though a dealer runs the sale.
• Auctions by a licensed chattel auctioneer: the statutory warranty applies only if the car was owned by a licensed dealer or auctioneer (MDCA s 145; Sch 1 ss 3(b), 5); a car auctioned on consignment for a private owner has none. Restorable vehicles are treated as waived when you register to bid. No cooling-off. The ACCC says most consumer guarantees do not apply to cars bought at auction.

Bought privately? See private sale rights in Queensland

Evidence checklist

1. The contract or tax invoice, with the dealer’s legal name and licence number.
2. The signed statutory warranty notice (Class A or Class B) and the cooling-off statement.
3. The advertisement or listing (screenshot it now, before it disappears).
4. Odometer photos from the day of sale and today, and dated photos and videos of each fault.
5. Your written defect notice and proof of when you sent it.
6. The dates you delivered the car for repair and got it back. The dealer must keep this record too (Sch 1 s 10).
7. An independent mechanic’s report or quote, ideally saying whether the fault was likely present at sale.
8. Every message with the dealer, notes of calls, and receipts for towing, inspection, hire cars and repairs.
9. Your finance contract, if the dealer arranged the loan.
10. Your Office of Fair Trading complaint reference number.

The 5 steps to a refund, replacement or repair

Step 1: Contact the dealer

Phone the dealer and describe the fault, then email the same description that day so there is a written record. Give them 24 hours to respond, and note every call (date, time, who, what was said).

In Queensland, make that email your written defect notice. If the car is still within the statutory warranty, head it “Defect notice under Schedule 1 of the Motor Dealers and Chattel Auctioneers Act 2014”, describe each defect, and ask where to deliver the car. The notice must reach the dealer before the warranty period ends. From the day the dealer has both your notice and the car, it has 5 business days to reply in writing and then 14 days to repair.

Step 2: No response or a refusal: send a formal demand

If the dealer ignores you, refuses, blames the manufacturer or offers less than you are entitled to, send a formal demand. Ours sets out the ACL and the Queensland statutory warranty, lists the defects, states your choice of refund, replacement or repair, and gives a firm deadline.

Send the dealer a formal demand – $49

Step 3: Complain to the Office of Fair Trading

Lodge a complaint with the Queensland Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and attach your demand letter: the OFT’s complaint guidance starts with talking to the business first, and the letter proves you did. Conciliation is free, informal and not binding (the OFT “can’t provide compensation or force a business to provide a refund”). It normally makes contact within 10 working days and aims to resolve most complaints within 30 days. It is not required before QCAT, but it gives you an official record and a reference number.

Step 4: Send the final demand

When the OFT gives you a complaint reference number, send a final demand quoting your first letter, the dealer’s response (or silence) and that number, with a short final deadline before QCAT.

Send the final demand – $49

Step 5: Apply to QCAT

Apply to QCAT as a motor vehicle dispute on Form 59. Use the statutory warranty route if you gave a written defect notice and the dealer refused, failed to repair in time or repaired badly; use the ACL route (Fair Trading Act s 50A) for a refund, compensation or damages; it is available whether or not the car had a statutory warranty. Then follow the QCAT process; the tribunal decides the outcome.

Prepare your tribunal application – $97

Where your claim goes

Full QCAT motor vehicle dispute fees from 1 July 2026 (QCAT Regulation 2019 s 8(3)): $31.60 up to $500 (or no amount claimed); $81.20 to $1,000; $144.50 to $10,000; $405.60 above $10,000. Fee waivers are available for financial hardship. Minor civil dispute fees do not apply.

How to apply. Complete Form 59, Application – Motor Vehicle Dispute. Lodge it in person at the QCAT registry in Brisbane or at any Magistrates Court outside Brisbane, or by mail to GPO Box 1639, Brisbane Qld 4001. The online QCase portal is listed for minor civil disputes only. The QCAT registry is at 259 Queen Street, Brisbane; QCAT’s own pages give different floors (Level 8 and Level 11), so confirm with QCAT before you go.

What happens next.

• Claims under $1,500 go straight to a hearing.
• Claims from $1,500 to $25,000 go to mediation first. Claims of $25,000 or less can be expedited and heard by an adjudicator. In every motor vehicle dispute, whatever the amount, QCAT can order costs only against a dealer it has decided against, and only to repay your filing fee, so it cannot order you to pay the dealer’s legal costs (Fair Trading Act s 50C; MDCA Sch 1 s 18).
• Claims over $25,000 get directions, and QCAT may appoint a motor vehicle assessor, whose fee of up to $1,200 is split between the parties as QCAT decides.

After you win: getting paid

QCAT itself does not enforce its orders. If the dealer does not pay, you file the QCAT order with a court, and it is then treated as an order of that court. For amounts up to $150,000, that court is the Magistrates Court.

Step 1: file the QCAT order with the court

File a copy of the QCAT order and an affidavit stating how much is still unpaid. You must do this within six years from the date of the QCAT order. Filing a QCAT order with a court is free. If the Magistrates Court decided your claim instead of QCAT, you already have a court order and can go straight to Step 2.

Step 2: apply for an enforcement warrant

Apply with Form 9 (Application) and Form 74 (Statement in support, sworn at least 2 business days before filing), plus the warrant form for the method you want. File at the court where the order was made or registered, or online through QCase. Apply within six years. Warrants usually expire after one year but can be renewed.

• Bank account or other money owed to the dealer: a warrant for redirection of debt (Form 76), or regular redirection from a financial institution (Form 77).
• Wages: a warrant for redirection of earnings (Form 78).
• Property: a warrant for seizure and sale (Form 75). You pay the bailiff’s execution fee.

Redirection of earnings (wages)

The court considers whether the debtor earns enough to pay on top of their living expenses, and whether the amount would cause unreasonable hardship. Serve the debtor and the employer; the employer gets Forms 79 and 80. The warrant does not come into force until seven days after the employer is served. While it is in force, no other enforcement warrant can be issued. If the debtor leaves the job, the employer files Form 81.

Finding out what they own: enforcement hearing

First ask the debtor to complete Form 71, a Statement of financial position. If it is not returned within 14 days, or the answers are inadequate, apply for an enforcement hearing with Form 9 and Form 46.

Enforce your order – $97

Queensland Office of Fair Trading contacts

Questions people ask

Is there a lemon law in Queensland?

No, there is no separate lemon-law Act in Queensland. Your protection comes from the Australian Consumer Law, which gives a refund or replacement for a major failure, plus the Queensland dealer statutory warranty in the Motor Dealers and Chattel Auctioneers Act 2014 for many used cars. QCAT hears these claims as motor vehicle disputes up to $100,000.

Can I return a used car to a dealer in Queensland?

Yes, if the car has a major failure you can reject it and choose a refund or a replacement under the Australian Consumer Law. Within the dealer’s cooling-off period (usually until close of business the next business day) you can also cancel for any reason, losing at most a $100 deposit. For a minor fault, the dealer can choose to repair it.

What is a major failure for a car?

A major failure is a fault so serious that a reasonable buyer who knew about it would not have bought the car. It also covers a car that is unsafe, departs significantly from its description, or cannot easily be made fit for normal use. For contracts from 18 December 2020, several minor faults together can be a major failure.

Does the Australian Consumer Law apply to second-hand cars?

Yes, the Australian Consumer Law applies to second-hand cars bought from a dealer, whatever their age or kilometres. The car must be of acceptable quality for its price, age and condition. Most consumer guarantees do not apply to private sales or auctions. The Queensland statutory warranty applies on top of the ACL for qualifying used cars.

I live in another state – which tribunal do I use?

Use the forum in the dealer’s state: for a Queensland dealer that is QCAT, wherever you live. QCAT currently hears disputes between residents of different states because the Queensland Court of Appeal has held it is a court (Owen v Menzies [2012] QCA 170), so the Burns v Corbett limit that sends some NSW and Victorian claims to a court does not move a Queensland car claim. Two appeals challenging QCAT’s status are pending.

How long do I have to reject a faulty car?

You must reject within a reasonable time, called the rejection period, which depends on the type of car, its likely use and how long it should last. There is no fixed number of days, and it can run past the statutory warranty. The Queensland warranty itself needs written notice of a defect before it ends.

Can the dealer refuse a refund and only offer repairs?

Not for a major failure: then you choose between a refund and a replacement, and the dealer cannot insist on a repair. For a minor failure the dealer may choose to repair, replace or refund, but must fix it within a reasonable time. Your ACL rights do not end when a statutory warranty expires.

What does it cost to go to QCAT?

A QCAT motor vehicle dispute costs $144.50 to file for a claim from $1,000 to $10,000 and $405.60 for a claim over $10,000 (from 1 July 2026). Smaller claims cost $31.60 or $81.20. Fee waivers are available for financial hardship. Whatever the amount claimed, QCAT can only order the dealer to repay your filing fee as costs, and cannot order you to pay the dealer’s costs.

What if the car was on finance?

If the dealer arranged the loan through a lender it works with, that lender is jointly liable with the dealer for consumer guarantee failures, up to the amount financed plus interest and costs (ACL ss 278, 281). If the sale ends, for example because you rejected the car, the National Credit Code usually lets you end a tied personal loan from a linked lender and recover interest you paid (s 135), unless you approached the lender yourself. Tell both the dealer and the lender.

Can I get my money if I win and the dealer still won’t pay?

Yes, there are legal ways to enforce an order the dealer ignores; see “After you win: getting paid” above. Breaching a QCAT warranty order is also a ground for disciplinary proceedings against the dealer (MDCA Sch 1 s 16). If the dealer arranged your finance, a judgment can be enforced against the lender after a written demand on the dealer goes unpaid for 30 days (ACL s 283).

Is there a cooling-off period for used cars in Queensland?

Yes, a used car bought from a dealer usually has a cooling-off period that ends at close of business on the dealer’s next business day, or earlier if you take the car. Cancel by written notice; you lose at most a $100 deposit. There is no cooling-off at auctions, for private sales, new cars, commercial vehicles or caravans.

Other states and related guides

• Lemon laws in Australia: every state compared
• Lemon laws New South Wales, Northern Territory and South Australia
• Bought a used car from a dealer and it’s faulty: what now?

Sources

• Motor Dealers and Chattel Auctioneers Act 2014 (Qld), including Schedule 1 (checked 19 October 2026)
• Motor Dealers and Chattel Auctioneers Regulation 2014 (Qld) (checked 19 October 2026)
• Fair Trading Act 1989 (Qld), ss 50A-50D (checked 19 October 2026)
• Agents Financial Administration Act 2014 (Qld), claim fund (checked 19 October 2026)
• Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009, Schedule 3 (checked 19 October 2026)
• Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), Schedule 2: Australian Consumer Law (checked 19 October 2026)
• National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (Cth), Schedule 1: National Credit Code (checked 19 October 2026)
• QCAT: Motor vehicle disputes (checked 19 October 2026)
• QCAT: Fees and allowances (checked 19 October 2026)
• QCAT: Lodging your application (checked 19 October 2026)
• Office of Fair Trading: Warranty for used cars (checked 19 October 2026)
• Office of Fair Trading: Cooling-off period for buying a used car (checked 19 October 2026)
• Office of Fair Trading: When you can claim (claim fund) (checked 19 October 2026)
• Office of Fair Trading: How we can help with complaints (checked 19 October 2026)
• ACCC: New and second-hand cars (checked 19 October 2026)