CONSUMER LAW INFORMATION FOR AUSTRALIA
1. SUMMARY OF RELEVANT RIGHTS AND REMEDIES AS A CONSUMER UNDER THE ACL
1.1 The Australian Consumer Law (“ACL”) applies to sales of products to consumers within Australia and also ordinarily applies extra-territorially to purchases made by Australian consumers from outside Australia. The ACL protects you by automatically giving you basic, guaranteed rights in relation to goods you purchase (“Consumer Guarantees”) at no charge. The ACL requires among other things that, taking account of the nature of goods, the price, any representations made by the supplier or manufacturer and other relevant circumstances, the goods must be free of defects, do what they are meant to do, be safe, durable and acceptable in appearance and finish, be fit for any particular purpose that the consumer makes known and comply with any description given or any demonstration model used.
1.2 In the event of a breach of a Consumer Guarantee where there is a major failure of the goods, consumers are entitled to reject the goods and choose a replacement or refund and claim compensation for any reasonably foreseeable loss or damage suffered by consumers as a result of the failure. Where the failure does not amount to a major failure, consumers are entitled to have the supplier repair or replace the goods, or provide a refund (at the supplier’s choice). Whether a specific product failure breaches a Consumer Guarantee and a consumer is entitled to a remedy under the ACL will depend on the specific factual circumstances including those mentioned in paragraph 1.3 below.
1.3 Consumer Guarantees have no set time limit but generally last for an amount of time that is reasonable to expect in the circumstances, given factors including the cost and quality of the goods, the use made of the goods or any representation made by the supplier or manufacturer. The duration of Consumer Guarantees is not affected by the duration of any applicable manufacturer’s warranty or the LocalCover warranty. The exact amount of time that Consumer Guarantees last in the case of a specific purchase varies depending on the circumstances.
1.4 Consumers with a claim for breach of a Consumer Guarantee should contact the supplier of the goods at first instance. If you are unable to reach a resolution with the supplier as to the remedy, you can seek independent advice and/or contact the ACCC (contact details below) or your state/territory fair trading body.
2. A COMPARISON OF THESE RIGHTS AND REMEDIES AND THE FEATURES PROVIDED BY THE LOCALCOVER WARRANTY
2.1 This summary and the following table offers a simplified comparison between the Consumer Guarantees and your contractual rights under the LocalCover Warranty. Neither this summary nor the table are intended to be or may be relied upon as legal advice and reading them is not a substitute for reading the full text and terms of your LocalCover Warranty. Certain limitations and exclusions apply in certain circumstances with respect to the LocalCover Warranty, including an exclusion if your product becomes faulty because of use with equipment not approved by the manufacturer. In addition, you can visit accc.gov.au for more information on the Consumer Guarantees.
2.2 In addition to your rights under the Warranty, you may have additional rights under a manufacturer’s warranty. You may need to check your purchase documentation to see if you have one.
3. ADDITIONAL BENEFITS UNDER THE LOCALCOVER WARRANTY NOT UNDER THE ACL
3.1 We appreciate that you may want the certainty of knowing that if products you buy are faulty they are covered for a specific time period.
3.2 When you purchase the LocalCover Warranty on your product purchased from overseas, you are obtaining certainty as to the duration of cover and the convenience of having the repair, replacement or refund managed for you by LocalCover (Australia) Limited (which is a company in New Zealand).
3.3 You will be entitled to the benefits set out below that are not available under the ACL, subject to the terms of your LocalCover Warranty:
- Certainty as to the exact period of cover.
- Convenience – if there is a problem with the product you purchased from overseas you can lodge a claim online, and there is a local company in Australia, which is a member of the LocalCover group, that can assist you with logistics, repairs, or replacement.
- Online claims system which is fast and easy to navigate.
- Australia wide toll-free phone numbers.
- If your claim has not been settled, or offered to be settled, within 30 days of the date that your claim is accepted, you are entitled to a refund of the original purchase price of your product.
THE ACCC’S CONTACT DETAILS
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission 1300 302 502
Indigenous Infoline: 1300 303 143
www.accc.gov.au
LOCALCOVER (AUSTRALIA) CONTACT DETAILS
Phone: 1800 958 575
Email: enquiries@localcover.com
www.localcover.com.au