Cancelled or delayed flight: refund, rebooking, and compensation for costs

What to do now

Official ACCC pages: Travel delays and cancellations. ACCC media release: Jetstar, Tigerair, Qantas and Virgin Australia to fix refund policies. Department of Infrastructure: Making a complaint (Aviation Consumer Ombuds Scheme interim page).

Clock: No fixed deadline before contacting the airline, but act as soon as your flight is cancelled or significantly delayed. Wait: Each airline has its own complaint handling timeframe (check the airline's Customer Charter). Airline Customer Advocate responds within 20 working days of lodging. Fee: Free to contact the airline and the Airline Customer Advocate; tribunal fees vary by state and claim size.

1. Contact the airline today, in writing if possible (email or the airline's complaint form). Ask for the reason for the delay or cancellation, whether consumer guarantees apply, and your remedy. State what you want (refund, or replacement flight within reasonable time, or compensation for costs you incurred). Keep a copy.

2. Follow the airline's complaints process and seek internal review if the airline's response is unsatisfactory. Check the airline's Customer Charter (usually on the airline's website under customer service or terms and conditions). Allow the timeframes the airline states.

3. If the airline refuses or the resolution is unsatisfactory, escalate. For Qantas, Jetstar, or Virgin Australia, contact the Airline Customer Advocate (ACA). For other airlines, or if the ACA does not resolve it, contact your state or territory consumer agency (listed below under escalation).

4. If agency mediation does not resolve it, consider small claims tribunal or court. The ACCC does not resolve individual disputes.

This is legal information about flight cancellation and delay rights in Australia, not personal legal advice.

Consumer guarantees and reasonable time

Under the Australian Consumer Law (Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010), airlines must meet consumer guarantees when they sell a flight service. The guarantee that applies to cancellations and significant delays is: services must be provided within a reasonable time (when no time is fixed in the contract).

Flight services also carry the guarantees that they will be supplied with due care and skill and be fit for any purpose you made known to the airline (ACL sections 60 to 62).

When a flight is cancelled or significantly delayed, and the airline does not rebook you on a replacement flight within a reasonable time, the airline must give you your choice of:

• a replacement flight within a reasonable time (for example, the airline's next available flight to the same destination), or
• a full refund of the part of the fare not used.

If you had to book a new flight with another airline because the original airline had no reasonable replacement flights, you may have a right to reimbursement from the original airline for the cost of that flight.

You may also be able to claim reasonably foreseeable loss caused by the delay or cancellation, such as accommodation, meals, transport, and lost income. Keep all receipts.

What is a reasonable time?

The ACCC states there is no fixed definition of reasonable time. It depends on:

• the length of the delay
• the cause of the delay or cancellation
• whether the airline offered a replacement flight at an alternative time
• when that alternative flight is

A court or tribunal decides what is reasonable if you and the airline disagree. In one 2018 VCAT case, the tribunal found that offering the next available flight 4 days later was not reasonable (Wells v Tiger Airways Australia Pty Ltd, VCAT 2018).

When consumer guarantees do not apply

Airlines do not have to give replacement flights or refunds under consumer guarantees if:

• you changed your mind or missed the flight for reasons unrelated to the airline (for example, arriving late at the airport)
• a third party prevented the airline from supplying the service (for example, government travel restrictions, as with the COVID-19 flight cancellations)

If a third party caused the cancellation or delay, your right to a refund or replacement depends on the terms and conditions of your booking. Check the airline's conditions of carriage and the fare rules.

Problems within the airline's own control are different. Common examples are a mechanical fault, crew shortages or scheduling problems, and overbooking. In those cases the consumer guarantees usually apply.

The ACCC says airlines should be proactive and truthful in telling you the reason for the delay or cancellation, and what compensation you may be entitled to under both the airline's compensation policy and consumer guarantees.

Airline compensation policies

Most airlines operating in Australia publish a compensation policy on their website. These policies set out what the airline will provide if a flight is delayed or cancelled, such as meals, accommodation, or transfers.

Airlines often give different levels of help depending on whether the delay or cancellation was within the airline's control or outside its control (for example, weather, third party action).

Your consumer guarantee rights sit on top of airline compensation policies. An airline's policy cannot take away or reduce your consumer guarantee rights. If the airline offers only a travel credit when you are entitled to a refund under consumer guarantees, you can refuse the credit and insist on the refund.

Unlike the EU, Australia has no law that sets fixed cash payments for flight delays or cancellations. What you can recover is a remedy under the consumer guarantees (a replacement flight or a refund) plus reasonably foreseeable losses you actually incurred.

Worked example with dates

• 10 September 2026: you book a $250 flight from Sydney to Melbourne departing 15 October 2026 at 9:00am, to get to a 2:00pm business meeting that day.
• 14 October 2026, 8:00pm: the airline emails to say the flight is cancelled because of a mechanical fault. The only replacement it offers is on 16 October at 11:00am, the day after your meeting.
• 14 October 2026, 9:00pm: you email the airline. You explain the purpose of the trip, say a flight the day after the meeting is not within a reasonable time for this booking, and ask for a seat on another 15 October flight or a full refund. You keep a copy.
• 15 October 2026, 6:30am: the airline replies that it has no seats on 15 October and offers only a travel credit. You decline the credit in writing, book a $350 seat with another airline departing at 10:00am, and make the meeting. You keep the receipt.
• 20 October 2026: the airline still has not refunded you. You ask for $350 in total: the $250 refund plus the $100 extra the replacement seat cost. When it refuses, you lodge with the Airline Customer Advocate (if the airline is Qantas, Jetstar or Virgin Australia) or your state or territory consumer agency, attaching the booking, the cancellation email, your emails and the receipt.
• If that does not resolve it, you can consider a small claims tribunal or court.

Escalation if the airline refuses

Airline Customer Advocate (Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin Australia only)

The Airline Customer Advocate (ACA) is a free, independent service for unresolved complaints about Qantas, Jetstar, and Virgin Australia. You must:

• first use the airline's complaint process (follow the airline's Customer Charter and allow the stated timeframes)
• seek a review from the airline if the initial response is unsatisfactory
• lodge with the ACA within 12 months of the event or circumstance
• not have already taken the matter to court, tribunal, or a government authority

The ACA aims to respond within 20 working days from the date you lodge your complaint (excluding any time they ask you for more information). In 2025, 1,758 eligible complaints were lodged and 85% were resolved.

State and territory consumer agencies

If the ACA cannot help, or if your complaint is about another airline, contact your state or territory consumer agency:

• NSW: NSW Fair Trading
• Victoria: Consumer Affairs Victoria
• Queensland: Queensland Fair Trading
• Western Australia: Consumer Protection WA
• South Australia: Consumer and Business Services SA
• Tasmania: Consumer, Building and Occupational Services Tas
• ACT: Access Canberra (Consumer rights and disputes)
• Northern Territory: Consumer Affairs NT

The agency may mediate or provide information. If mediation does not resolve it, the next step is usually tribunal or court for money claims. The ACCC does not resolve individual disputes but may take action if many consumers report similar misleading conduct.

Aviation Consumer Ombuds Scheme (not yet operating)

The Aviation Consumer Ombuds Scheme is not yet operating. The Aviation Consumer Protection Bill 2026 was introduced to Parliament in April 2026, and the scheme is expected to begin in 2026/2027 after the enabling legislation passes. An interim ombudsperson was appointed but has no formal resolution or investigative powers for consumer complaints. When the scheme is operating, it will provide an impartial dispute resolution service for complaints about airlines and airports that cannot be resolved directly.

Before the scheme starts, you must use the existing channels above.

Chargebacks for card payments

If you paid by debit or credit card and the airline refuses a refund to which you are entitled, you may also be able to dispute the transaction through your bank (a chargeback). Card schemes set time limits, so contact your bank as soon as the airline refuses. Contact your bank or card provider and ask to dispute the transaction. For more detail, see the related guide Chargebacks and debit card transaction disputes.

Chargeback is a separate payment remedy through your bank. It does not replace your consumer guarantee rights against the airline. A failed chargeback does not stop you pursuing a consumer guarantee claim.

Travel insurance

Travel insurance is a separate route. Some policies cover extra costs such as accommodation and meals when a flight is cancelled or delayed. Check your policy for what is covered and how to claim.

Your consumer guarantee rights against the airline apply whether or not you have travel insurance.

A 2019 Federal Court case

In one enforcement action, the Federal Court found in 2019 that Jetstar misled consumers by representing that Starter and Plus fares were not refundable, when in fact consumers were entitled to refunds (and compensation for reasonably foreseeable losses) if there was a failure to comply with a consumer guarantee (ACCC v Jetstar Airways Pty Ltd, Federal Court 2019). Jetstar admitted the conduct and the court ordered it to pay $1.95 million in penalties.