Members that offer warranties against defects on services, or when supplying goods combined with services, will need to comply with new requirements coming into effect on 9 June 2019.

A warranty against defects is a representation to a customer that if goods or services provided (or part of them) are defective, you will provide a remedy. A representation only counts as a warranty against defects if it’s made at the time the goods or services are provided.

When supplying services

Members that offer a warranty against defects when supplying services, they will need to display the following mandatory text:

Our services come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law. For major failures with the service, you are entitled: 

  • to cancel your service contract with us; and 
  • to a refund for the unused portion, or to compensation for its reduced value. 

You are also entitled to be compensated for any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage.

If the failure does not amount to a major failure, you are entitled to have problems with the service rectified in a reasonable time and, if this is not done, to cancel your contract and obtain a refund for the unused portion of the contract.

When supplying goods combined with services

Members that offer a warranty against defects when supplying goods combined with services, they will need to display the following mandatory text:

Our goods and services come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law. For major failures with the service, you are entitled: 

  • to cancel your service contract with us; and 
  • to a refund for the unused portion, or to compensation for its reduced value. 

You are also entitled to choose a refund or replacement for major failures with goods. If a failure with the goods or a service does not amount to a major failure, you are entitled to have the failure rectified in a reasonable time. If this is not done you are entitled to a refund for the goods and to cancel the contract for the service and obtain a refund of any unused portion. You are also entitled to be compensated for any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage from a failure in the goods or service.

There will be no change to the current mandatory text that traders use for warranties against defects when supplying goods alone.

More information 

You can find out more about warranties against defects on the OFT website