Should Australian Consumer Law Provide Greater Protection to Travellers Affected by COVID Restrictions?

This essay discusses the impact of COVID-19 on the Australian airline sector and explores whether the Australian consumer law should provide greater protection to travellers affected by COVID restrictions. It argues for the need to protect the legitimate interests of businesses while also providing fair treatment to customers. The essay also discusses the rights of consumers under the Australian consumer law and suggests that companies should pay customers accordingly for activities that have affected them due to uncertainties and wrongful actions of companies.

Essay

TABLE OF CONTENT
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
Should Australian consumer law provide greater protection to travellers affected by COVID
restrictions....................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Coronavirus is an infectious disease that has affected businesses to the great extent. Airline
sector is the one that got affected the most (Mhalla, 2020). This essay is going to discuss all
situations under which consumers have right to ask for refund and other offers by Australian
airline sector. It will further argue or explore all those situations under which companies should
not give refund or other services to customers as per the Australian consumer law. This essay
shows impact of Covid-19 on travellers of airline sector and ways in which they got affected and
the extent to which they should be provided support.
MAIN BODY
Should Australian consumer law provide greater protection to travellers affected by COVID
restrictions
In regard to Covid-19, it can be said that it has affected businesses and consumers to the
great extent. Negative impacts have led to economic uncertainty. Airline industry is the one that
got affected the most. Due to Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, customers were bind to cancel
their flight tickets. They got affected the most. So, in this context, it is important to know
whether Australian consumer law should provide protection to all those travellers who got
affected by Covid-19 restrictions or not.
Consumer Protection Act is advising holiday makers in order to carefully consider the
terms and conditions of their travel bookings in relation to the cancellations of their flights or
postponements which expected to twinkle travel increase specifically over the festive season
such as Christmas and summer holidays. According to the Australian Consumer Law, it has been
identified that travel services cannot proceed due to the actions of the third party such as travel
agents or companies. It also includes restrictions on the travel imposed because of pandemic
situation, the consumers guarantee that the law must unlikely to apply. The Covid-19 does not
allow businesses to engage in dishonourable or do conscienceless conduct in contravention of the
ACL (Kubiczek and Hadasik, 2021). Under the conditions of improvement of travel restrictions
the airline companies try their maximum to provide credit notes to their passengers rather than
giving them proper refunds.
Under such circumstances, the businesses are required to be aware about the situations
and conditions that under the Australian Consumer Law, unfair contract terms are null and void.

The term may be unfair under which it causes a significant imbalance in the rights of the
consumers. Furthermore, it generates various obligations under the contract and causes damage
to the customers if they highly relied completely upon them. It however shows the necessity to
protect the legitimate interests of the businesses. This includes the terms that allows the
businesses to unilaterally change the terms of the contract and unfairly channelize the customer
within any event of a cancellation. The inclusion of ACL generates the situations that regulators
also expects that businesses does not mislead consumers about the operations of the terms and
conditions of tickets and bookings of seats or their claim to refund. As per the regulatory of
ACL, it had been expected that the companies provide free of charge refunds under the
conditions where the consumers are entitled to get refunds. And under the situations under which
they are unable to provide the same to their consumers, they must have specified the exact reason
for not applying that specific reason for not applying those terms and conditions under certain
situations.
Under the circumstances of flight cancellations and prohibited travel, the consumers are
liable to get refunds even where the contractual entitlement is to credit only as well. It is because
that consumers are not at all aware about the restrictions in advance, and they are unlikely comes
under the situation to use the credit note facility for their future travel purpose. During the time
of Covid-19, customers are already facing serious financial issues as many of them are lost their
employment. They felt loss of or reduced pay scale while working within the firm as they have
no other options to survive. Hence, by adopting the credit notes, the customers are no longer
been able to travel while there are still risks of Covid-19 for instance if the travellers are facing
any kind of disorder related to the immune system (Guo, 2021). Under these situations, the
businesses also consider their customers to entitled to waive their entitlement the firms may have
to retain their amount in order to cover their flight expenses.
During the time of Covid-19, there are few businesses or flights that still continues to
travel and provide their services domestically. But during that point of time by considering the
safety measure of the clients, the firms should refund the amount to their customers because it
includes specified reasons to not travel across the location. However, this causes a lot of
confusions among the clients who would like the certainty of cancelling their bookings and
receiving the amount of remedy during recent times. Hence, under both the conditions i.e. travel
prohibited and flight cancellations, the customers are entitled to get their refund of the whole

amount of bookings is also liable to get their refunded amount within a stipulated time duration
(Wingard, 2021). As early as businesses has received funds from a supplier or third parties that
are due to be returned to their consumers, the businesses must remit those funds to their clients as
soon as possible under specific pandemic situations which maintains their customers for longer
period of time frame in the future.
Due to complexity and increased case of Covid-19, Australian government banned
international and domestic flights. Federal and state travel continued to prohibit the possibility of
travel for consumers. It raised a questions in mind of customers as which rights they have in
regard to cancellation of airline travel in such conditions. In this context, some guidance has
been provided by Australian competition and consumer commission for those travellers who got
affected by cancelled flight. This guidance can help consumers in knowing their rights to some
extent only. As per this guidance, it is identified that customers have right to receive a refund or
other remedy in most of the circumstances. On the other hand, it is found that guidance, provided
by Australian competition and consumer commission is vague because of some areas of law are
complex. There are some specific situations according to which, consumers will get rights to
receive refund or other remedies (Beck and Hensher, 2020).
As per the Australian airlines, customers were given choice between cash refund and
voucher. Initially Tiger air issued credit vouchers but it was not stated on website. After
sometime, Airlines found difficulties in managing refund process and providing refunds to all
passengers who got affected with this uncertainty. So, after sometime, cash refund was
prohibited and consumer were receiving credit vouchers only but it was also dependent on the
type of airline. As per the Jetstar voucher, consumers were bind to travel within 12 months of
the booking date. But consumers choose not to fly and it has raised question as what customers
will get when their tickets have been cancelled because of this uncertainty. It can be understood
with all scenarios that happened at the time of Covid-19 such as:
Scenario 1 discusses some situations where traveling has been prohibited because of
increasing frustration at the time of war and legal prohibition on dealing with enemy. So, as per
this, it can be said that frustration is on airline sector because airlines was prohibited to perform
their side of bargain as per the international travel ban.
On the basis of this scenario, it can be said that Australian consumers law should provide
protection to customers to some extent because it has affected the whole sector. If this sector

provides full refund, then it may affect economy to the great extent that can affect local people
and businesses to the great extent.
It is mentioned in scenario 4 that Qantas, Airjet and other airlines gave credit voucher and
as per these vouchers, customers were allowed to travel for specific time period. But due to
increasing cases and cancellations of events like birthday parties, meetings, marriages, customers
denied to take these vouchers (Lin and Zhang, 2021). They said that due to cancellation of
events, they will not prefer to travel. But there are some contracts and laws in this sector. As per
the general rules and laws, customers are not allowed to get refund if they cancel their tickets.
There are few situations where customers are eligible to get refund such as: flight cancel and
travelling ban by government. In the context of Covid-19, it can be said that it was uncertain that
was not even predicted. There is no doubt that it has affected both customers and airline industry.
It has affected economic condition to the great extent but customers were not in fault. So, as per
this, there is responsibility of airline sector to give refund and other offers and it should be added
in Australian consumer law.
The main aim of Australian consumer law is to give fair treatment to customers and
solving their problems. Ticket cancellation because of international ban on travelling is one of
the uncertain condition and as per the Australian consumer law, customers should be given
support when such situations happen. Airline passenger contract is frustrated for many reasons
but this frustration is affecting both parties. There are number of negative impacts or
consequences of frustration. One of the main common consequence of frustration as per the
general law was: money paid towards a contract that has not been performed must be refunded. It
has been decided that as per the Australian consumer law, customers should be provided support
and refund. The reason behind it is to support customers and satisfying them (Wilson, 2020).
There are some rights that have been given to consumers as per the Australian consumer
law in airline sector. As per this law, there are some situations as per this, consumers are eligible
to get refund or other offers if their flight got cancelled. Some situations are:
 Length of delay of flights
 Reason for delay of cancellation
 Whether the airline is able to place passengers on another flight within a reasonable time
or not.

There are some compensation policies for airlines that operate in Australia and as per the
main policy, customers are being refunded if their flight has been cancelled or delayed. And as
per the consumer act, companies are required to provide all benefits and support that consumers
require. Those activities that have affected customers due to uncertainties and faults of
companies should be added in Australian consumer law and as per this, companies should pay to
customers accordingly (Wilson, 2020).
CONCLUSION
It has been summarised from the above essay that consumers should be given all support
that have affected them financially, physically due to some external environmental changes and
wrongful actions of companies. It has discussed all those situations under which consumers as
per the Australian consumer law have rights to ask for support and refund by companies from
airline sector. It has discussed some negative impacts of Covid-19 on airline sector and travellers
whose tickets got cancelled due to international travelling ban. Further, it has suggested about
rights that should be provided to travellers as per the Australian consumer law in order to satisfy
them and making them feel valued.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Beck, M.J. and Hensher, D.A., 2020. Insights into the impact of COVID-19 on household travel
and activities in Australia–The early days under restrictions. Transport policy. 96.
pp.76-93.
Guo, M., 2021. Human rights take flight: Border bans during COVID-19. Precedent (Sydney,
NSW). (165). pp.44-47.
Klemeš, J.J. and et.al., 2021. COVID-19 pandemics Stage II–energy and environmental impacts
of vaccination. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 150, p.111400.
Kubiczek, J. and Hadasik, B., 2021. Challenges in Reporting the COVID-19 Spread and its
Presentation to the Society. Journal of Data and Information Quality (JDIQ). 13(4).
pp.1-7.
Lin, Y.H. and Zhang, C., 2021. Investigating air travellers’ travel motivation during a pandemic
crisis. Journal of Air Transport Management, 97, p.102138.
Mhalla, M., 2020. The impact of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on the global oil and aviation
markets. Journal of Asian Scientific Research/ 10(2). p.96.
Wilson, K., 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic and the human rights of persons with mental and
cognitive impairments subject to coercive powers in Australia. International journal of
law and psychiatry, 73, p.101605.
Wingard, M., 2021. Can Privacy Survive in a Post-COVID World?.