Gift cards sold in Australia must have a minimum three year expiry date and most post-purchase fees are banned.
Expiry dates
Gift cards must have a minimum three-year expiry date.
The expiry date must be displayed on the gift card. If there's no expiry date to redeem the card, this must also be stated.
Fees
Fees that can be charged
A business can charge a fee:
- for the gift card purchase
- for reissuing a lost, stolen or damaged card
- to cover the cost of processing a payment such as:
- overseas transaction fees
- booking fees
- credit card surcharge.
Fees that can't be charged
Once a gift card has been issued, post-purchase fees can't be charged, including:
- activation fees
- account keeping fees
- balance enquiry fees.
Exempt cards
The three-year minimum expiry period doesn't apply to cards or vouchers that are:
- supplied as part of a customer loyalty or employee rewards program
- supplied as part of a temporary marketing promotion to reward anyone who purchases particular goods or services
- given to consumers free of charge for promotional purposes
- sold for a particular good or service at a genuine discount- e.g. $50 card for salon services valued at $100
- redeemable only for a particular product or service that is available for a limited period, such as entry to an art exhibition or a concert
- second-hand gift cards.
The requirements also don't apply to:
- ATM cards, charge cards, credit cards or debit cards
- cards that are able to be reloaded or topped up, such as mobile recharge cards.
