Blade 5 of 5 · Buying

Buying shutters: your rights

Shutters bought for a home, and the work of fitting them, come with the consumer guarantees in the Australian Consumer Law, which the ACCC says “can’t be taken away by anything a business says or does.” If a salesperson approaches you uninvited, the ACCC’s rules for unsolicited sales, including a 10 business day cooling-off period, can apply; NSW Fair Trading says a measure-and-quote visit can count too, if the supplier then tries to negotiate a deal, on the visit or later.

General information, not legal advice. The ACCC and your state or territory consumer protection agency are the places to check.

Two purchases in one: the product and the fitting

Shutters are usually bought as a product and a service together, and the ACCC lists guarantees for each.

The shutter itself

“A product sold to a consumer must be of acceptable quality.” “Any description of a product by a business must be accurate, whether written or spoken.” And where you chose from a sample or a demonstration model, “the product must have the same quality and features.”

The installation

“Service providers must carry out all services using an acceptable level of care and skill. Their work must be at least as good as what a competent service provider with average skills and experience would provide.” Services, and any resulting products, “must be fit for any stated purpose.”

In a showroom, that sample guarantee covers the slat or finish you were shown. The ACCC also notes there are “no set rules for deciding whether a product is of acceptable quality, or how long a product should last for.”

Warranties sit on top

“Consumer guarantees are automatic and can’t be taken away. Warranties are extra promises that a business can choose to make on top of the consumer guarantees.” A warranty against defects “does not limit or replace these rights”, and after it expires “the consumer guarantee of acceptable quality usually still applies.” Businesses “must not pressure or mislead consumers to buy an extended warranty.”

A warranty need not be a formal certificate. The ACCC says “words on packaging or labels and terms in contracts can also count as warranties against defects.” So the brochure, the quote and the contract are all worth keeping.

If something goes wrong

  1. Start with the business that sold it. The ACCC says: “Businesses must not tell consumers to take the problem to the manufacturer or importer.”
  2. Know the size of the problem. “When a product has a major problem, consumers can choose between a refund or replacement.” For a minor problem, “the business must fix the problem or repair the product for free.” For services, the ACCC adds: “When a service has a major problem, consumers have a right to alter their agreement with the service provider.”
  3. Look past the fine print. Policies such as “no refunds” cannot deny these rights: “It’s illegal for businesses to rely on store policies or terms and conditions which deny these rights.”
  4. Ask for help if it stalls. The ACCC does not resolve individual disputes, and says that if the business doesn’t fix your problem, “you can speak to your local state and territory consumer protection agency.”

The measure-and-quote visit

NSW Fair Trading gives an example that fits window coverings exactly: “If you ask a supplier to provide a quote (such as measuring for blinds) and the supplier tries to enter into negotiations or later contacts you to negotiate a deal, then a resulting agreement would be considered an unsolicited consumer agreement.” If something goes wrong, “it’s the responsibility of the business to prove that the agreement was not an unsolicited consumer agreement.”

What the ACCC says the salesperson must do

  • Visit only “weekdays between 9 am and 6 pm” or “Saturdays between 9 am and 5 pm”, and never on Sundays or public holidays.
  • “tell the consumer who they are, what business they represent, and why they are calling or visiting.”
  • Leave straight away when asked, and not contact you again for the next 30 days after a door-to-door visit.
  • “provide them with an easy-to-read sales agreement.”

A ‘do not knock’ sign at your door must be treated “the same as a specific request from a consumer to leave.” As at October 2026, the ACCC says the rules “don’t apply to agreements where the total value is less than $100”.

The cooling-off period, and when it grows

“After signing a sales agreement, the consumer has 10 business days to change their mind.” The ACCC lists, as at October 2026, when that period stretches:

“The cooling-off period becomes 3 months if the salesperson:”

  • “phones or visits the consumer outside the allowed hours”
  • “doesn’t give their name or the name and address of the business they represent”
  • “doesn’t say why they are calling or visiting.”

“The cooling-off period becomes 6 months if the salesperson:”

  • “doesn’t tell the consumer about the cooling-off period”
  • “doesn’t give the consumer a written copy of the sales agreement”
  • “doesn’t include information and documents they are required to include in the agreement, such as the form that may be used to cancel the agreement”
  • “supplies products or services during the cooling-off period (except for electricity, gas, emergency repairs and products that cost less than $500).”

Pressure has its own limit: “It’s also against the law for a business to use physical force, coercion or undue harassment on consumers.”

Buying in a showroom or online is different: “When a consumer buys a product from a store or website, there is no automatic right to a cooling-off period.”

A written quote that describes the product, the finish and the fitting gives both sides something to hold, and the ACCC says any description “must be accurate, whether written or spoken.”