Mandatory notices |
The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) provides all consumers with a number of protections and sets out a number of rules that businesses need to adhere to when providing goods or services, including giving mandatory notices or information to consumers in certain circumstances.
Warranties against defects or manufacturer´s warranty
A warranty against defects is provided in addition to consumer guarantees.
If you choose to provide a warranty against defects to consumers, then the document you provide evidencing that warranty must comply with specific ACL requirements.
A warranty against defects is often highlighted on a label, packaging, attached to the receipt or on a document inside the product´s packaging. For example, statements like ´2 year warranty´ or ´12 month replacement guarantee´ are warrantees against defects.
All documents evidencing a warranty against defects must be presented in a certain way, and must include specific information to ensure that consumers understand the warranty and know how to make a claim.
A document which evidences a warranty against defects must state:
- what you as the business (giving the warranty) must do if goods are faulty or defective - e.g. repair or replace the goods
- what the consumer must do to claim under the warranty - e.g. not misuse the goods
- the following information about the business giving the warranty:
- name
- business address
- telephone number
- email address (if any)
- the warranty period
- what a consumer must do to claim under the warranty - e.g. how to contact you and where to send the claim
- whether you or the consumer are responsible for expenses associated with a warranty claim and how the consumer can claim back any expenses incurred
- that the benefits provided to the consumer by the warranty are in addition to other rights and remedies available to the consumer under the law.
In addition to the requirements above, a document evidencing a warranty against defects must include mandatory text to ensure consumers are aware that any warranty against defects operates in addition to consumers´ rights under the ACL. This mandatory text is:
| 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 for 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. |
For the purposes of the warranty against defects provisions, a ´document´ includes any material on which there is writing or printing, or on which there are marks or symbols. A document which contains a description of the features or terms of a warranty against defects will be a ´document evidencing a warranty against defects´. While such a document will often consist of a piece of paper or pamphlet outlining the terms and conditions of a warranty and be provided by a business inside the product´s packaging, the packaging itself may also, in some circumstances, be considered a document evidencing the warranty against defects.
Where a product´s packaging is a document evidencing a warranty against defects, the requirements are met as long as the information required by the ACL and the mandatory text are included with the product, and are not inconsistent with the statement on the packaging. The mandatory information must be available with the product itself - it is not sufficient to refer consumers to information on a website or in-store.
Repair notices
Any business that repairs goods is required to provide a repair notice to a consumer before accepting goods for repair, if:
- the goods are capable of storing user-generated data
- the repairer sometimes uses refurbished parts to fix a good.
A repair notice must be provided to a consumer before goods are accepted for repair. Where goods are accepted for repair in person, the consumer must be provided with a written repair notice. It is not sufficient to refer consumers to a sign at your business premises. The consumer must be given a copy of the repair notice. Where there is no face-to-face contact, for example, where a consumer sends the goods to the repairer, they must be provided with a written copy of the notice. In this case, the repair notice may be provided by email, mail or facsimile, before the business starts the repairs.
User generated data
User-generated data is any data stored on goods, such as:
- files stored on a computer hard drive
- telephone numbers stored on a mobile telephone
- songs stored on a portable media player
- games saved on a games console
- files stored on a USB memory stick.
A notice relating to the repair of goods that are capable of retaining user-generated data must state that the repair of goods may result in the loss of the data. For example, the repair notice could say:
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The repair of your goods may result in the loss of any user-generated data, please ensure that you have made a copy of any data saved on your goods. |
Refurbished goods or parts
If a repairer sometimes uses refurbished parts to fix a good (rather than new parts), or sometimes replaces a defective good with a refurbished version, they must also give the consumer a repair notice prior to accepting goods for repair.
A repairer must provide this repair notice regardless of whether or not they know prior to inspecting the goods that they will use refurbished parts in a particular repair or supply refurbished goods as an alternative to repair.
A refurbished good or part is likely to be considered as a used good/part that has been reconditioned or restored to an acceptable working order.
There is specific wording required by the ACL for this notice. These words are:
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Goods presented for repair may be replaced by refurbished goods of the same type rather than being repaired. Refurbished parts may be used to repair the goods. |
User-generated data and refurbished goods or parts
If both repair notices are relevant to your business, you should ensure that both notices are included, whether they are provided as a single document or two separate documents.
Last reviewed 01/01/2012 |
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