Gift Cards

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (15:27): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Business Services and Consumers a question about gift cards.

Leave granted.

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS: Members would be aware that this coming Sunday is Mother's Day, and many consumers choose to buy gift cards because it allows mum to buy exactly what she wants. Can the minister advise the chamber about what shoppers need to consider when choosing to buy gift cards?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (15:27): I thank the honourable member for his most important and very timely question. The member is correct: a gift card purchase from mum's favourite store or pampering service certainly allows her to choose her own special gift. However, it is timely to urge consumers to do their homework around gift cards, and to check carefully the terms and conditions of gift cards, as they vary from business to business. Doing some simple checks saves some big disappointments when mum goes to cash in her card and finds that it has expired or does not meet some other condition and she is not able to use it.

Some of the main points consumers need to be aware of before choosing to buy relate to the terms and conditions, particularly the limit on how and when the card can be redeemed. It is important to check the expiry date, and it may even be helpful, when giving your mum a gift on Mother's Day, to include a few reminders to make sure that she gets the most out of her gift. This may be as simple as putting an expiry reminder in her phone or even in your own phone. It is also important to be aware that some gift cards can have a one-time transaction limit. It pays to consider if cash change is offered for purchases that are less than the amount of the gift card—some businesses do offer that. Some shopping centres also offer multi-store cards, and consumers need to be aware that there are many shops or products that are excluded in the terms and conditions so check those sorts of things out as well.

Gift cards should be kept safe until you use them. They are essentially the same as cash and if you lose them it is extremely hard to replace them or redeem them. To avoid any risk of losing or misplacing a gift card, or not using it before the expiry date, it is best to use it as soon as possible. It is good to be aware that your normal consumer rights do apply, even to purchases made using a gift card. Make sure your mum knows that if something goes wrong with the purchase she can take it back to the shop for a refund or replacement or repair.

Consumers have protections under the Australian Consumer Law when they buy goods and services, and also, when they receive an item as a gift, consumer guarantees apply. For example, the goods and services must be of acceptable quality and match the description given by the salesperson or the packaging, they must be fit for purpose, and you can seek a remedy if a business sells you goods or services that do not meet these guarantees.

Before I finish I want to say that consumers should not only shop around for the best gift card but it certainly also pays to look around for the best price when buying a gift card. Popular Mother's Day gifts also include things like jewellery and appliances, and these are products where we often see pricing claims made in stores and in advertising that show a 'was but is now' price. Businesses use 'was now' pricing to attract consumers and to encourage them to buy a product they think is a great sale price. However, we all like to think that we have managed to get a good sale and a good price, and consumers need to use caution when they see 'was now' pricing, and they have the right to ask the trader to back up their claim if the claim seems unrealistic.

Don't fall for glossy price promotions, search online, compare catalogues and talk to store attendants to ensure that you pick up the right gift for your mum at a good price. I encourage members to go to the Consumer and Business Services website for more helpful information on rights and shopping tips in general. I would like to take this opportunity to wish the mothers in this chamber and those of the Assembly and also Parliament House staff a happy Mother's Day for this coming Sunday.