Gift cards will soon be valid for three years and post-purchase fees banned, in what Building and Construction Minster Guy Barnett has called a win for local consumers.
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The reforms, passed through federal parliament on Thursday night, will force gift cards to be valid for at least three years, and are aimed at reducing consumer losses.
Mr Barnett said the state government welcomed the result.
“Gift card terms and conditions vary widely, making it hard for consumers to understand their rights and obligations, often resulting in financial loss when gift cards expire,” he said.
In other new:
“As the current chair of the Legislative and Governance Forum on Consumer Affairs, I personally facilitated an out-of-session vote in September 2018 to enable CAF Ministers to vote on the reforms.
“Following endorsement from all CAF Ministers, changes to legislation were progressed through Commonwealth Parliament to create nationally consistent regulation of gift cards.”
Gift cards will also be required to display prominent expiry dates and post purchase fees on gift cards will be banned.
The timing of the changes allows industry a 12-month transition period to ensure that the consumer protections will apply to gift cards supplied from November 1, 2019.
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Jessica Willard
Being a health reporter to me is about more than just reporting the problems. It's about asking why they are happening in the first place and what needs to change to fix it.
Being a health reporter to me is about more than just reporting the problems. It's about asking why they are happening in the first place and what needs to change to fix it.
