The package arrives broken and the seller says the courier is to blame — or says you should have bought shipping insurance. The ACL focuses on whether the goods supplied meet consumer guarantees.
The ACL does not turn the seller's delivery obligations into an optional insurance product
Australian consumer guarantees require businesses to supply goods that meet basic standards including acceptable quality and matching their description. The ACCC gives damaged-on-delivery examples in which the supplier can still have an obligation to provide a remedy.
This means a seller cannot simply avoid its consumer-law obligations by inserting “transport damage is your risk” into ordinary consumer terms where that clause attempts to exclude statutory rights.
What remedy is available?
If the damage means the product has a major failure, the consumer can generally choose a refund or replacement. If the problem is minor, the business generally has the opportunity to repair it free of charge.
The exact classification depends on the nature and seriousness of the damage.
Do you have to prove the courier caused it?
Not necessarily. The consumer's primary relationship is with the seller, and the issue is whether the goods supplied meet the consumer guarantees. The ACCC specifically explains that a product arriving damaged can fail the acceptable-quality guarantee even where the damage may have occurred in transit.
The seller can then pursue the carrier or insurer separately. That is not normally the consumer's job under the statutory consumer-guarantee remedy.
What about optional shipping insurance?
A consumer may choose to buy additional insurance for extra risks, but that does not automatically replace the ACL. A seller cannot tell a consumer that they have no consumer-guarantee rights because they declined an optional transport-insurance product.
Document the condition immediately
- Photograph the unopened package.
- Photograph packaging damage.
- Photograph the product and serial/identification details.
- Keep the delivery record.
- Notify the seller promptly.
- State the remedy you seek if the failure is major.
What about additional loss?
If the failure to meet a consumer guarantee causes reasonably foreseeable loss or damage, the ACL can allow compensation in addition to the primary remedy. The loss must be connected to the failure; the existence of a broken parcel does not automatically create an unlimited damages claim.
What this means practically
- Do not accept “the courier damaged it” as the end of the consumer claim.
- Do not assume optional shipping insurance replaces ACL protections.
- Classify the failure as major or minor.
- Preserve packaging and delivery evidence.
- Ask the retailer for the statutory remedy and let the retailer resolve its carrier claim separately.
Sources
- ACCC — Repair, replace, refund, cancel: accc.gov.au
- ACCC — Consumer rights and guarantees: accc.gov.au
- ACCC — Example of damaged goods on delivery: accc.gov.au
- ACCC — Compensation claims: accc.gov.au
Related Kibbo Tools
- Damaged Delivery Evidence Pack — preserve packaging, photos, tracking, and seller communications.
- Refund & Warranty Claim Generator — structure a refund, replacement, or repair request.