ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court says her department has experienced an enormous increase in travel-related complaints as many businesses attempt to use the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to rescind refunds and cancellations.

“We have seen an enormous increase in complaints since the pandemic started. We have seen a fivefold increase and they number in their tens of thousands. We’ve never seen anything like this in terms of travel-related issues before,” she said.

“We’ve seen a really complex situation here in relation to COVID-19 cancellations because unlike in a normal circumstance where you hand over your money – you don’t get what you paid for – then the consumer guarantees your statutory rights enable you to get a refund.

“In the COVID pandemic situation, unfortunately, that didn’t apply and so what we’ve had to look at are what are the terms and conditions of each contract that each airline or travel agent or tour operator has with its consumers.

“We’re really encouraging consumers to think about the flexibility of who you’re booking with how transparent they’re being.”