17 December 2018

Gift card regulations a big win for consumers and businesses

People will be better off from the Morrison Government’s gift cards reforms, which passed Parliament in October.

Under the Morrison Government’s reforms, gift cards will have a minimum three year expiry period with the expiry date clearly disclosed on the card itself, reducing the level of loss from expired gift cards.

Regulations have now been made which specify circumstances where business can continue to offer gift cards without providing a three year expiry dates, including:

  • Certain temporary marketing activities;
  • Free promotional gift cards;
  • Cards for time-limited goods and services such as festivals;
  • Pre-owned cards sold in secondary markets; and
  • Cards supplied as part of an employee reward scheme or customer loyalty program.

These regulations balance people’s needs that will still benefit from the requirements for gift cards to have expiry information displayed on the gift card and the ban on post-supply fees, and ensure essential business activities can continue.

Businesses now have almost a year to adapt to the reforms.

The reforms commence on 1 November 2019.