Check a gift card for the minimum validity, the expiry display and post-supply fees
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- From the card and its terms, copy the date it was supplied, the expiry wording, any fee the recipient pays after purchase, and any description of the card as reloadable, second-hand, a loyalty or employee reward, a supply to a charity or a government agency, a genuine discount, a short-run event, a donation, or a temporary promotion. Do not decide that an exception applies.
- What the lawyer must review
- The lawyer decides whether the card meets the rules. The ACCC says a gift card purchased on or after 1 November 2019 must be redeemable for at least 3 years after the day it was supplied or purchased. The 3-year rule does not apply to a card that can be reloaded or topped up, is donated for promotional purposes, is available only for a specified period, is supplied at a genuine discount, is part of an employee reward scheme or a customer loyalty program, is second-hand, is part of a temporary marketing promotion, or is supplied to certain charities or government agencies. The expiry date must be prominently displayed. It may be shown as a period of time if the issue date is also displayed. If there is no expiry, the card must say so. The display rule does not apply to a second-hand card, a card supplied to certain charities or government agencies, or a card that can be reloaded or topped up. A card purchased after 1 November 2019 must not charge a post-supply fee, such as an activation fee, an account-keeping fee, a balance-inquiry fee or an inactivity fee. A booking fee that is the same or largely the same as for another payment method, a currency-exchange fee, and a fee to reissue a lost, stolen or damaged card are not post-supply fees on the page. The post-supply fee rule does not apply to a second-hand card, a card supplied to certain charities or government agencies, or a reloadable card. The page says there are penalties for breaking the gift-card rules and does not set the figures out. If the business was sold as a going concern, or the buyer purchased the shares in the company that owns it, the new owner must honour existing gift cards and discount vouchers. If the company becomes insolvent, the page says the consumer becomes an unsecured creditor. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Gift Cards) Act 2018 was not opened.
- Written for / version
- US
Open a jurisdiction version of this task to see which instruments apply: US
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Do not begin AI assistance until the responsible lawyer has defined and confirmed its permitted scope. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Use the supply or purchase date on the card. The 3-year rule on the page starts at 1 November 2019.
- Do not treat a reloadable card as subject to the 3-year, display or post-supply rules. The page takes those cards out.
- Do not state a penalty figure. The page says penalties exist and does not list them.
Sources
- ACCC, gift cards and discount vouchers · 2026-10-22
These are suggested working checks. Confirm the required checking with the responsible lawyer before work starts; the checking approach does not establish permission to use AI.