Join a gym or hire a fitness provider
The law can protect you if you're planning to hire a fitness provider or join a gym or fitness centre. These can include health clubs, martial arts clubs, indoor sporting centres, CrossFit gyms, sauna houses, yoga centres, bathhouses or wellness centres.
Make sure you understand your rights and responsibilities to avoid getting stung.
Signing up
You'll have to sign a membership agreement with the business. The agreement will set out both parties' rights and responsibilities. It will be a legally binding contract and must be in writing.
You must be given an opportunity to read the agreement and the fitness centre's rules before you sign anything. The centre must also have a copy of the Queensland Fair Trading (Code of Practice—Fitness Industry) Regulation 2003 for you to read if you want to.
The agreement must include at a minimum:
- the name and address of both parties to the agreement
- the address of the facilities where the fitness services are to be supplied
- the ABN or ACN number of the fitness provider
- all services to be provided
- the fitness service's fee structures
- details of a third-party payment system (if they use one)
- the cooling-off period (including the start and end dates)
- your right to end the agreement if you suffer a permanent sickness or injury
- any other reasons you can end the agreement before it expires
- the process to end the agreement
- the opening or start date of the service (if you sign up before they open for business or provide that service).
The cooling-off period
New agreements must include a cooling-off period of 48 hours. During this time, you can change your mind about joining and cancel your membership agreement without needing to give a reason.
The cooling-off period:
- begins when you sign the agreement or on the day the business opens (if you sign up before this day)
- ends 48 hours after you sign up.
If you want to cancel the agreement, you must tell them in writing before the 48 hours is over. It's advisable to keep some evidence that the fitness centre received the written notice within the 48-hour cooling-off period.
The fitness provider must refund any money you've paid in advance, but can deduct the costs of any services—such as exercise screenings—you used during the cooling-off period and a reasonable administration fee (if there is one).
If they charge an administration fee this must be noted in the membership agreement.
You must receive your refund from the fitness provider within 14 days.
Membership fees
Before you sign a membership agreement, the supplier must give you a written fee statement in plain English. It needs to outline the total fees and charges for the length of your membership.
Regular fees
The statement must tell you about their regular fees. These can include:
- the joining fee
- your membership fee
- an entry fee for each visit
- any fees for services or programs.
Administrative fees
They must also tell you about their administrative fees. These might be for:
- cancelling within the cooling-off period
- ending your membership due to permanent sickness, injury or another reason
- transferring your membership to another fitness centre or person
- suspending your membership
- anything else they outline in the agreement.
Discounts
If a gym offers you a free or discounted fitness service in your membership, they need to fully explain:
- how much the service usually costs
- whether they increased their usual fee before the offer
- any decrease or reduced quality of service as a result of the offer.
Prepaid fees
If you sign up on a prepaid membership agreement for over 12 months, you only have to prepay the first 12 months.
It's illegal for a gym or fitness centre to offer you a prepaid agreement that expires more than 12 months after the purchase date.
Where a fitness provider hasn’t started providing the agreed services—but wants to accept prepaid fees—they must place all prepaid fees into a solicitor's trust account. They mustn’t access the prepaid fees until:
- the fitness facility is open
- you've used the fitness service
- the 48-hour cooling off period has passed and you haven't decided to cancel the agreement.
They can't sell memberships that start more than 3 months before they start providing the agreed fitness services.
Ongoing agreements
Ongoing (or rollover) membership agreements have an initial membership period—usually 6 or 12 months—that will continue beyond the initial term.
It's illegal for a gym or fitness centre to offer you an ongoing agreement with a minimum term longer than 18 months.
Your membership paperwork must state that it's an ongoing agreement.
At least 2 months before the end of the initial period, the supplier must write to you explaining:
- the end date of the initial agreement
- that your membership will continue
- how you can end the agreement (if you want).
Fixed term agreements
Fixed term membership agreements are usually for 6 or 12 months and won’t continue beyond that initial term.
Your membership paperwork must state it's a fixed term agreement.
It's illegal for a gym or fitness centre to continue taking payments without authority after the end of a fixed term agreement.
Prepaid agreements
Under prepaid membership agreements—which can be fixed or ongoing—you pay the full amount of the membership at the start. Prepaid arrangements are limited to 12 months payment in advance.
Prepaid agreements can be cheaper than other options. However, if the fitness centre goes out of business before your membership period has ended, you risk losing money.
Fitness centres can't sell or renew a prepaid membership if the lease on the premises expires before the end of the membership period.
Fitness Industry Codes of Practice
Fitness service operators must also abide by the Queensland Fair Trading (Code of Practice—Fitness Industry) Regulation 2003 and AUSactive Code of Ethics.
Make a complaint
If you have a problem with a gym or fitness provider, the first thing you should do is talk to them. Usually, people want to do the right thing and will be happy to fix any problems.
You can call in, phone or write to the manager. They must make every reasonable effort to solve the problem quickly and fairly. They must show you their complaint handling procedure which must:
- be simple and easy to use
- comply with Australian standards for handling complaints.
Sometimes the business won't help. If this happens, you can make a formal complaint to the Office of Fair Trading. You might also be able to complain to AUSactive—the peak body for the fitness industry—however you can only do this if your gym or fitness provider is a member.