Return and refund policy template for Australian online stores

TL;DR

A refund policy for an Australian online store needs two separate parts. The first covers what customers get when a product is faulty, unsafe or not as described. That's set by the consumer guarantees in Australian Consumer Law, and your policy can't reduce it. The second is your change of mind offer, if you have one, and that part is entirely up to you. The template below keeps the two apart. Fill in the bracketed parts, delete the options you don't use, and read the notes on what you can and can't say before you publish it.

If you want the background first, our guide to change of mind refund laws in Australia explains where the legal line sits. This post is the practical version: a policy you can copy and adapt.

Decide these before you fill it in

Whether you accept change of mind returns at all, and for how many days.
What condition items need to be in, and which products you won't take back for change of mind.
What a change of mind return gets the customer: a refund, store credit, an exchange, or their pick.
Who pays for return shipping on change of mind returns.

None of these choices change what you owe a customer whose item is faulty. That section of the policy reads much the same for every store.

The template

Copy everything from "Returns and refunds policy" down to the contact details, and replace anything in [square brackets].

Returns and refunds policy

Last updated: [DATE]

This policy applies to orders placed with [BUSINESS NAME] (ABN [ABN]) through [WEBSITE].

If your item is faulty, damaged or not as described

Our goods come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law. You are entitled to a replacement or refund for a major failure and compensation for any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage. You are also entitled to have the goods repaired or replaced if the goods fail to be of acceptable quality and the failure does not amount to a major failure.

If something you bought from us is faulty, unsafe, not as described or not what you ordered, email us at [EMAIL] or start a return at [RETURNS PORTAL LINK]. We may ask for proof of purchase, such as your order number, and photos of the problem. The item doesn't need to be in its original packaging.

Once we've looked at the item, we'll confirm the outcome within [NUMBER] business days. For a major failure you can choose a refund or a replacement. For a minor failure we'll repair the item, or we may offer a replacement or refund instead. If we confirm there's a problem, we'll cover the reasonable cost of sending it back to us [or: we'll send you a prepaid return label]. If the item is too large or heavy to post, contact us and we'll arrange to collect it.

The time limits and conditions in our change of mind policy below don't apply to faulty items.

Change of mind returns

We accept change of mind returns within [NUMBER] days of [delivery / purchase]. To be eligible, items must be [unworn, unwashed and with the original tags attached / unopened and in the original packaging].

We can't accept change of mind returns on [earrings, swimwear and underwear for hygiene reasons / gift cards / items marked final sale / personalised items]. This doesn't affect your rights if one of these items is faulty.

For a change of mind return you can choose [a refund to your original payment method / store credit / an exchange for a different size or colour]. Return shipping for change of mind returns is [free / $[AMOUNT], taken off your refund / paid by you].

Sale items

[Option A] Sale items can be returned for change of mind on the same terms as full-price items.

[Option B] Sale items can be returned for change of mind within [NUMBER] days for [store credit / an exchange] only.

[Option C] We don't accept change of mind returns on sale items.

Sale items come with the same consumer guarantees as everything else we sell. If a sale item is faulty, the faulty items section above applies.

Refunds and store credit

Refunds go back to your original payment method within [NUMBER] business days of [us receiving your return / your return being approved]. Your bank or card provider may take a few more days to show it.

Store credit is issued as [a gift card / credit on your account] and [is valid for [NUMBER] years from the date of issue / doesn't expire].

How to start a return

Go to [RETURNS PORTAL LINK], enter your order number and email address, pick the items you're returning and tell us why. [Print your return label and drop the parcel at [DROP-OFF LOCATION] / Follow the instructions in your confirmation email.] We'll email you when your return arrives and again once it's processed.

Contact us

[BUSINESS NAME], [ADDRESS]. Email [EMAIL] or call [PHONE].

Notes on what you can and can't say

The template follows what the ACCC says businesses can and can't do. These are the parts retailers most often get wrong.

The faulty items wording

The three sentences starting "Our goods come with guarantees" are the mandatory text the law requires in a warranty against defects. The ACCC says any written promise about what a business will do if something goes wrong can count as a warranty against defects, and a returns policy that explains how you handle faulty items arguably makes that kind of promise. Using the wording exactly as written is the simple, safe option. If you offer a separate warranty as well, the ACCC's guidance on warranties lists what else it has to include.

What you can put in a change of mind policy

Customers have no legal right to return something because they changed their mind, so you can attach conditions to it. The ACCC's own examples include:

limiting returns to a set number of days after purchase
excluding specific products, such as sale items
requiring the sale tag to still be attached
requiring the product to be in its original packaging

You can also offer store credit or an exchange instead of a refund, and charge for return shipping, as long as you say so before the customer buys. Whatever you publish, you have to follow.

What you can't say

All of these turn up in real policies:

"No refunds." The ACCC says it's illegal to rely on a policy like this because it denies rights customers have when a product is faulty.
"No refunds or exchanges on sale items." The ACCC calls this one out by name. It reads as though it covers faulty sale items too. "No change of mind returns on sale items" says what you mean.
"Exchange or credit note only on sale items." Same problem. A faulty sale item is owed the same remedies as anything else.
"Faulty items must be reported within 14 days." Consumer guarantee rights last a reasonable time, depending on the product and what it cost, and they can outlast any warranty. You can't shrink that to your change of mind window.
"Faulty items must be unused and in original packaging." Your change of mind conditions can't be applied to faulty products, and the ACCC says faulty products don't need their original packaging.
"Please contact the manufacturer about faulty items." The business that sold the product is responsible for the remedy. If the fault is the manufacturer's, you can recover the cost from them, but that's between you and them.
"Refunds for faulty items are issued as store credit." When a customer is owed a refund for a major failure, it should go back the way they paid unless they agree to something else.
"Customers pay return shipping on all returns." Once you confirm an item is faulty, you have to reimburse the customer's reasonable return costs.

Where the policy should appear

Customers should be able to read your policy before they buy, so link it from your footer, product pages and checkout. Use the same wording in order confirmation emails and in your returns portal. If the portal says one thing and the policy page says another, you've made two different promises, and customers will hold you to the better one.

Running this policy in Refundid

If you use the Refundid returns portal, most of this template becomes settings rather than fine print. Your return window is set in days and can count from the order, fulfilment or delivery date. Final sale, hygiene and other excluded products can be blocked from returns by product tag, SKU or discount level, and the portal shows the customer why.

Each return reason can be set up differently. A "Faulty" reason can ask for photos, come with free return shipping and go to your team for review before a label is issued. For change of mind reasons you can hide the refund option and offer only store credit or an exchange, while faulty returns still see a refund.

One thing to plan for: the return window and item blocks apply to the whole order, whatever the reason. A customer with a faulty item after your window closes, or a faulty item you've blocked, won't be able to lodge it in the portal. That's why the template gives a support email as well as the portal link. To see how it would work for your store, book a demo.