Offer Gift Vouchers in your salon? Or maybe you have some for your own personal use?

Here are some important changes to the Australian Law regarding Gift Cards/Vouchers that came into effect in 2019 which is a must read! 

 THE CHANGES

The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) made some slight changes in late 2019, to aid gift card consumers across Australia.

Please note; discount codes, specials and sales do not fall into these new laws listed below.

 

FINES

Cards and vouchers sold BEFORE 1 November 2019 continue to have the same expiry period and applicable fees as at the time of purchase.

If a business is found to be in breach of the new laws, it could be fined up to $30,000.

Gift cards sold AFTER the 1st Nov 2019, have some new rules attached to them.

 

These include:

• A mandatory, minimum three-year expiry period from the date the card or voucher is sold, must be observed, regardless of your business’s previous policy.
• All gift cards must clearly show an expiry date, either as a full date or as a period of time. If the expiry date is shown as a period of time, it must also include the date it was supplied or purchased so that the expiry date can be determined.
• Most post-purchase fees (fees charged after purchase) can no longer be charged, including activation fees, account keeping fees and balance enquiry fees.
• These new rules apply to all gift cards or vouchers sold on or after November 1, 2019, unless specifically excluded.

THE THREE-YEAR RULE?

  

• Able to be reloaded or topped up.
• For a service(s) available for a limited time, whereby the card or voucher expires at the end of that period. This is important and key for promotional offers for salon owners.
• Donated free of charge for promotional purposes.
• Supplied as part of an employee rewards program.
• Given as a bonus in connection with a purchase of a good or service for use in the same business (such as customer loyalty programs, or voucher towards your next purchase). Again, this is a key point for salon owners to consider when considering your 2020 salon promotions.

SUMMARY 

 

We know that the ins-and-outs of gift cards can be a headache for some salon owners, and hopefully this makes life a little easier.

It is advised that salon owners should check and update gift card terms and conditions on your website or any printed material, update your internal systems and check signage on gift card displays or point of sale.

For a complete breakdown of the detail of these law changes, please refer to the below link

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https://consumerlaw.gov.au/new-gift-card-laws