Removalist Broke Your Stuff? How to Get Compensation in Australia

You watched them drop the dresser. You found the TV screen cracked when you unpacked. The fridge has a dent, the bed frame is snapped, and three boxes just aren’t there. When you called, they said “sign here that everything arrived” and pointed to a clause saying they’re not liable unless you bought their insurance.

That clause doesn’t work the way they want it to. Moving is a service, and the Australian Consumer Law says services have to be delivered with care. Broken furniture is the definition of not delivering with care.

Your rights

• Due care and skill (s 60 ACL). A removalist guarantees the service will be provided with due care and skill. Damaging your goods in transit is a breach. This guarantee cannot be excluded by contract (s 64 ACL). Any term saying “no liability for damage” is void to the extent it tries to exclude it.
• Remedies (s 267 ACL). You can recover the cost of repair or replacement, and reasonably foreseeable consequential loss.
• Bailment. When a removalist takes possession of your goods, they become a bailee and must take reasonable care. If goods are lost or damaged in their custody, the onus is on them to show they weren’t negligent.
• Unfair contract terms (ss 23–28 ACL). Terms that limit liability to a token amount (e.g. “$50 per item”), require claims within 24 hours, or force you to buy their insurance are the sort of one-sided terms that can be declared void.
• Misleading conduct (s 18 ACL). Telling you that you “have no rights” without their insurance is misleading.
• AFRA members. If the removalist is a member of the Australian Furniture Removers Association, they’ve signed a code of conduct and there’s a dispute process.

What to do right now

1. Photograph every damaged item immediately. Wide shots and close-ups, plus any packaging. If you have “before” photos from the listing or your own phone, pull them together.
2. Make a written list within 24–48 hours. Item, damage, estimated replacement or repair cost. Email it to the removalist so it’s timestamped, even if their form has a shorter window.
3. Get repair or replacement quotes. Two quotes for repair, or current retail prices for replacement of like-for-like items. For electronics, a repairer’s written assessment that it’s beyond economic repair.
4. Check the contract and your insurance. If you did buy transit insurance, lodge that claim in parallel. If you have home contents insurance, some policies cover goods in transit. Note: you can still claim against the removalist directly regardless.
5. Write to the removalist. State the damage, cite s 60 and s 64 ACL, reject any exclusion clause, and demand the quantified amount within 14 days.
6. Send a Letter of Demand. Removalists are used to complaints fading away. A formal letter with photos, quotes, and a tribunal deadline is a different thing. Many pay at this point rather than lose a morning at NCAT or VCAT.
7. Escalate. Complain to AFRA (if a member), your state fair trading body, then file at the tribunal. Missing boxes may also warrant a police report for lost/stolen property, which some insurers require.

“You signed the delivery docket”: why that doesn’t end it

Almost every removalist will point to the delivery docket you signed at the end of a twelve-hour move. Here’s why it’s weaker than they think:

• You couldn’t inspect. Signing that goods were delivered is not signing that they were undamaged. You can’t unpack 60 boxes while the truck idles. Tribunals accept that damage is discovered on unpacking.
• Latent damage. Internal damage to electronics, cracks under packaging, and breakages inside boxes are latent by nature. A reasonable time to notify is what applies, not “before the driver leaves”.
• Unfair term. A term making the docket signature a full release of liability is precisely the kind of one-sided term that can be declared void under the ACL.

Valuing your claim. For repairable items, the repair quote. For destroyed items, the reasonable replacement cost of an equivalent item, not necessarily brand new (though for near-new items, near-new price). For sentimental items with no market value, tribunals generally award replacement cost only, so be realistic. For lost boxes, itemise the contents from memory and any photos, and estimate honestly.

“We’re not insured for that.” Their insurance situation is their problem, not yours. Whether or not they have cover, they’re liable under s 60 ACL. Most removalists carry public liability and goods-in-transit cover, and once your letter arrives, that insurer often takes over the negotiation.

Interstate and backloading. If your goods were transferred between trucks or depots, the company you contracted with is still responsible for the whole chain. Don’t let them send you to a subcontractor.

Who to complain to

AFRA (Australian Furniture Removers Association) for members. State fair trading (NSW Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs Victoria, Queensland OFT, Consumer Protection WA, CBS SA). The ACCC for misleading conduct about your rights. For interstate moves, your state tribunal still has jurisdiction if you contracted in that state. If they used a subcontractor, your claim is still against the company you paid.

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