Selling gift cards

As a retailer, you must comply with the national Australian Consumer Law (ACL) rules for gift cards and discount vouchers.

This page explains the rules and guidelines you need to follow.

General rules and guidelines

Show the expiry date clearly on the card or voucher—gift cards sold in Australia have a 3-year minimum expiry period.
Make sure the terms and conditions (T&Cs) are clear—your customers should understand the T&Cs when they buy the card. Give them a copy or make them available on your website and encourage the buyer to pass the T&Cs on to the recipient.
Don’t mislead your customers—be honest and specific about which products they can buy with the card, which stores will or won't accept it and any other T&Cs or inclusions and exclusions.
Don’t charge post-purchase fees—once you have issued a gift card, you must not charge fees that would reduce its value—for example, activation, account-keeping or balance enquiry fees. You can still charge fees you would normally charge as part of a transaction—for example, overseas transaction fees, booking fees or replacement fees for lost, stolen or damaged cards.

Read these guidelines about managing values and balances on gift cards:

Don’t set a minimum-spend limit—a customer shouldn't have to spend a minimum amount to use the card.
Don't force a customer to use the whole amount in one transaction—allow a customer to spend some of the total value (e.g. $40 of a $100 gift card) by adjusting the remaining value or issuing a new gift card for the balance.
Offer cash change for small amounts remaining on the card—for example, if the gift card is for $100 and the consumer spent $90, you should offer to pay out the balance in cash.
Help customers check the balance for free—offer an online balance check, but if that's not possible, make the service available in store.

The rules don't apply to cards or vouchers that are:

for something that's only available for a limited time where the card or voucher expires at the end of that period, for example
- entry to a concert or exhibition
- a temporary marketing promotion for a $50 wine voucher that's valid for 1 month and given out as a bonus with another purchased item
free as part of a promotion—for example, each visitor to a local shopping centre on a single day gets a $20 gift card to use at any store in the centre on that day only
for a specific, discounted good or service—for example, a $50 voucher for a salon service valued at $100
part of a rewards or loyalty program and issued as a bonus with a purchase for use in the same business.

You should record the details of gift cards you sell so you can replace any that are lost or stolen.

Make sure to keep your customers advised of the status of their gift cards if your business changes hands or goes into administration, receivership or liquidation.

If you sell your business, we encourage you to take steps to make sure that the new owner will still honour previously purchased gift cards.