Cancellation & Refund Policy Template (Australia)
Updated on 3 August 2026
This is a policy for your business to post or attach to a booking, appointment, or service purchase — not a letter for a customer to send you to cancel something. In Australia, one rule overrides everything else in a cancellation policy: you cannot exclude, restrict, or modify a customer's consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law, no matter how the rest of your policy is worded.
The policy below is the editor: type straight into the highlighted blanks and the wording reflows around what you write. Download a clean Word or PDF file with no sign-up and no watermark.
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Cancellation & Refund Policy
This Cancellation & Refund Policy applies to offered by , effective .
1. Your Consumer Guarantees
Nothing in this policy excludes, restricts, or modifies any guarantee, condition, or warranty that cannot lawfully be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law, including your right to a repair, replacement, or refund where goods or services are faulty, not as described, or do not do what they are meant to do.
2. Change-of-Mind Cancellations
- Cancellation window:
- Late cancellation charge:
3. Refunds
Refunds are issued via .
4. No-Shows
5. Contact
To cancel or ask about this policy, contact at .
"No refunds" is illegal — and the ACCC actively enforces it
Under the Australian Consumer Law, a business cannot use a policy or sign to exclude, restrict, or modify a customer's consumer guarantees — the ACCC has taken enforcement action specifically over blanket "No Refunds" and "No refunds on sale items" signage, treating it as misleading conduct. Consumer guarantees mean a customer is entitled to a repair, replacement, or refund when a product or service is faulty, not as described, or doesn't do what it's meant to do — sale items are not an exception.
What you can say: a sign or policy stating that you don't offer refunds for a simple change of mind is fine — that's a genuine gap the law leaves open. What you can't say, in any form, is that a customer has no right to a refund, repair, or replacement when something is actually faulty.
Where to display it
A cancellation policy is most useful when the customer sees it before they book or buy — on the booking page, order form, confirmation email, or point-of-sale signage. Put your change-of-mind cancellation window and fee in plain terms there, alongside the consumer guarantees statement, rather than leaving customers to find out your policy only after something goes wrong.
The clauses, explained
- What this policy covers
- States which bookings, services, or products the policy applies to.
- Consumer guarantees (mandatory)
- States plainly that nothing in this policy affects a customer's consumer guarantee rights under the Australian Consumer Law.
- Change-of-mind cancellations
- Your own cancellation window and fees for a customer who simply changes their mind — this is the part you actually control.
- Refund method
- How refunds are issued and how long they take, for both change-of-mind and consumer-guarantee cases.
- No-shows
- What happens if a customer doesn't show up or cancel at all.
Requirements checklist
Consumer guarantees cannot be excluded
A term or sign purporting to exclude, restrict, or modify a consumer guarantee is void — this includes "No Refunds" and "No refunds on sale items" signage, which the ACCC treats as unlawful.
ACCC — consumer rights and guaranteesChange-of-mind refusals are still allowed
A policy stating refunds aren't given for a simple change of mind is lawful — the restriction is on excluding rights for faulty or not-as-described goods and services, not on declining change-of-mind returns.
How to use this template
- Describe what the policy covers. Type into the highlighted blank to state which bookings, services, or products this policy applies to.
- Set your change-of-mind terms. Fill in your cancellation window and any fee for a customer who simply changes their mind — this is what you actually control.
- Leave the consumer guarantees clause as-is. This clause is required as written and should not be edited to add exceptions.
- Download and publish before the booking. Download the policy as a Word or PDF file, and display it before the customer books or pays.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a letter to cancel something I bought?
No — this is a policy for your business to post, explaining your own cancellation and refund terms to customers.
Can I put up a "No Refunds" sign?
No — the ACCC treats blanket "No Refunds" signs as unlawful because they misrepresent a customer's consumer guarantee rights, which can't be excluded.
Can I refuse a refund for a change of mind?
Yes — a policy that doesn't offer refunds for a simple change of mind is lawful. The restriction only applies to excluding rights for faulty, not-as-described, or otherwise guarantee-breaching goods and services.
Does this apply to sale items too?
Yes — consumer guarantees apply to items bought on sale just as they do to full-price items. "No refunds on sale items" is treated the same way as a blanket no-refunds policy.
What should I do about no-shows?
Decide and state your own rule for change-of-mind style no-shows — there's no general legal requirement here, so it's entirely up to your policy.
Disclaimer
This template and guide are provided for general information only and do not constitute legal advice. Australian Consumer Law consumer guarantee rights cannot be excluded regardless of any policy wording. Confirm your specific situation with the ACCC or a solicitor before relying on this document.
