Gift cards bought in NSW will have 3-year expiry date from March 31, 2018

Gift cards bought in NSW will have a three-year expiry date from March 31 next year, Minister for Better Regulation Matt Kean announced today.

Mr Kean said the NSW Government’s gift card reforms would put up to $60 million a year back in the hands of NSW shoppers.

“These Australian-first reforms will give consumers confidence that when they buy gift cards for friends or relatives, they’re getting value for money,” Mr Kean said.

“It’s a very frustrating experience to present a gift card only to find it’s expired, and the money has gone down the drain.

“Most gift cards now come with a 12-month expiry period but all cards sold in NSW from March 31 will allow consumers three years to cash in ”“ and that’s a big win.”

Mr Kean said the Australian gift card market was worth up to $2.5 billion per annum, with about 34 million gift cards sold nationally each year.

“Over the past five years NSW Fair Trading has had more than 1300 complaints about gift cards about expiry periods and undisclosed terms and conditions,” he said.

“This is all about putting consumers first and I call on businesses to put their customers first by extending expiry dates across the country.

“This is a NSW reform but there’s no reason all Australian consumers shouldn’t benefit too.”

This will form part of an ongoing suite of ”˜Consumers First’ reforms by the state government.

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