This page includes information about the consumer guarantees that apply to flight services under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). Consumer guarantees apply in addition to contract rights and cannot be excluded by contract terms.
Users of this page are reminded that this page is not intended to be an exhaustive list of rights you may be entitled to as a consumer under the ACL, and it is not legal advice. You are strongly encouraged to refer to the ACCC website or seek independent legal advice should you require more information.
When you purchase an airline ticket, you are buying a contract of carriage that does not guarantee departure and arrival times.
While we strive for a high degree of reliability, the operation of an airline is a dynamic and comprehensive operation dependent on many factors. The reality for all airlines is that flight disruptions may be unavoidable for a variety of reasons, including weather conditions. This may impact on how and when we are able to get you to your destination and even on whether we will be able to get you to your destination at all.
For the avoidance of doubt, Rex offers its services only on a best effort basis and the nature of that service cannot guarantee any individual traveller that they will be able to reach their destination in time for an event, meeting or any other particular purpose for which they are travelling.
The ACCC website recommends that if you need to be at your destination at a specific time, you should:
- carefully consider your travel requirements;
- allow yourself extra time to arrive at your destination; and
- take out appropriate travel insurance to cover you for any unexpected disruptions to your travel plans.
If you are making travel arrangements through a third party reseller or an Online Travel Agent, please be aware that they do not have authority from Rex to make any representations on our behalf about the suitability of Rex’s services for your particular situation.
Your contract rights when you book a flight with us are contained in our Conditions of Carriage and Fare Rules. For information on how we deal with flight delays and cancellations under our contract terms, including the alternatives you may be offered and when we offer you a full refund, please visit our Flight Disruption FAQs page.
If you are a consumer and you purchase an airline ticket, you are entitled to the following consumer guarantees under the ACL. These apply in addition to your contract rights:
- A guarantee that the services provided by the airline will be rendered with due care and skill (section 60).
- If the consumer has made known a particular purpose, or the result they wish to achieve, a guarantee that the services provided by the airline will be reasonably fit for that purpose or such that they might reasonably be expected to achieve that result, but this guarantee does not apply in situations where it is unreasonable for the consumer to rely on the skill or judgment of the airline (section 61).
- If there is no time fixed by contract or to be determined in an agreed manner, a guarantee that the services provided by the airline will be supplied within a reasonable time (section 62).
Please note that these descriptions of the consumer guarantees contained in the ACL are for general information only. Whether or not they apply to your situation is a matter for legal advice.
If one or more of the consumer guarantees applies to your situation, you will be entitled to a remedy under section 267 of the ACL if we have failed to meet that consumer guarantee and, in the case of the consumer guarantees in section 61 and section 62, you will be entitled to a remedy, provided that the failure is not only because of:
- an act, default or omission of, or a representation made by, a person other than us, our agents or our employees; or
- a cause independent of human control that occurred after the services were supplied.
The type of remedy available under section 267 will depend on whether the failure can be remedied and whether it is a major failure. Section 268 of the ACL defines exactly what a major failure is, but as an example, there is a major failure if a reasonable consumer, fully acquainted with the nature and extent of the failure, would not have acquired the services.
The remedies that could apply under section 267 if we have failed to meet a consumer guarantee are:
- If the failure can be remedied and it is not a major failure, a consumer can require us to remedy the failure within a reasonable time. If we don’t or can’t do that, then the consumer can terminate their contract with us or alternatively have the failure remedied by someone else and by action against us recover all reasonable costs incurred in doing so.
- If the failure cannot be remedied or it is a major failure, a consumer can terminate their contract with us or alternatively by action against us recover compensation for any reduction in the value of the services.
- If the contract with us is terminated in either of the above situations, a consumer can, by action against us, recover a refund to the extent that the consumer has not already consumed the services at the time the termination is made known to us.
- In addition to the above remedies, a consumer can, by action against us, recover damages for any loss or damage suffered by them because of the failure if it was reasonably foreseeable that the consumer would suffer such loss or damage.
We recommend that passengers purchase travel insurance appropriate to their travel requirements to cover for any eventualities which may arise.
Consumer guarantees do not apply if you have simply changed your mind about your flight or discover that you can buy the services for a lower price elsewhere.
Your contract terms might allow you to make changes subject to the Fare Rules applicable to the category of ticket purchased. Please visit our Fare Rules page for more information.
For booking related matters, please call the Customer Contact Centre on 13 17 13.
All feedback, including requests for refunds, can be lodged through our website here. Please allow up to 15 business days for us to respond. More time may be required for complex situations.