Industry Insights
Your goods arrived damaged. Or they didn't arrive at all.
You're frustrated, possibly out of pocket, and trying to work out what you're actually entitled to. This guide covers your legal rights as a shipper, what the carrier is obligated to do, and what the claims process actually looks like.
The honest answer upfront: your rights are real, but enforcing them is harder than it should be. Understanding the framework clearly is the first step to getting the best possible outcome.
Here's something most shippers don't know until something goes wrong.
Australian freight carriers are not common carriers under law. That means there's no universal legal standard setting out what they owe you when goods are lost or damaged. Their liability — what they'll pay, under what circumstances, subject to what limits — is governed almost entirely by their own terms and conditions. We've covered this dynamic in detail in our guide to carrier liability vs freight insurance if you want the full picture.
The contract you agreed to when you booked the shipment. The one almost nobody reads until something goes wrong.
This is the starting point for understanding your rights, because it means your rights as a shipper vary depending on who you shipped with. What one carrier will pay, another may lawfully exclude.
Before you do anything else, find the carrier's terms and conditions and look for four things:
Liability cap. Most carriers limit what they'll pay — either per kilogram of goods or per consignment. These caps are often far below the actual value of what you shipped.
Excluded goods categories. Fragile items, electronics, perishables, high-value goods — many carriers exclude these entirely or apply reduced liability. If your goods fall into an excluded category, you may have no claim regardless of fault.
Notification timeframes. Carriers typically require you to notify them of damage within a specific window — often 24 to 72 hours for visible damage, seven days for concealed damage. Miss that window and you may lose the right to claim entirely, regardless of the merits.
Dispute resolution process. How the carrier handles claims, what documentation they require, and what happens if you disagree with their decision.
Read these before you call anyone.
The carrier's contract doesn't operate in a vacuum. There's a legislative framework sitting above it — though it's less powerful than most shippers assume.
The Australian Consumer Law
The Australian Consumer Law — contained within Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) — provides consumer guarantees that apply to services, including freight services. The relevant guarantee is that services will be delivered with due care and skill.
If a carrier fails to handle your goods with due care and causes damage as a result, you may have grounds for a consumer guarantee claim. This applies if you're an individual consumer, or a business that purchased freight services valued under $100,000.
What it means in practice: you have a legal right to seek a remedy. That's not the same as a guarantee of quick payment. Exercising that right takes time, documentation, and persistence — and the carrier may contest it.
Liability caps — are they legal?
Yes, in most cases. Carriers can lawfully limit their liability if those limits are clearly set out in their terms and conditions and brought to your attention at the time of contracting. A carrier that limits liability to $2 per kilogram on a $3,000 electronics shipment is doing something that feels deeply unfair — but it's generally legal if it's in the contract you agreed to.
The Australian Consumer Law does provide some protection against unfair contract terms, but this is a complex area and not a quick fix for an individual claim.
The practical reality
Your legal rights exist. Enforcing them against a carrier that doesn't want to pay is a different matter — slow, uncertain, and often not worth pursuing relative to the value of the loss. The external dispute resolution landscape for freight is fragmented. Unlike insurance disputes, there's no single independent body that handles freight damage claims quickly and at no cost to you.
That structural gap is worth understanding, because it's the context for everything that follows.
When you notify a carrier of damaged or lost goods, here's what should happen:
They should acknowledge your notification in writing. They should provide their formal claims process and tell you what documentation they need. They should assess your claim against their terms and conditions. They should respond within a reasonable timeframe — usually specified in their terms. And they should either pay your claim or decline it in writing, with reasons.
What often actually happens: delayed responses, requests for documentation you may no longer have, partial settlement offers well below the goods value, or outright denial citing exclusion clauses or inadequate packaging.
Knowing what should happen is useful leverage when it doesn't.
More claims fail on documentation than on the merits. Whatever stage you're at right now, gather everything you can.
What supports a successful claim:
Photos of the damage, taken immediately on receipt — multiple angles, including the packaging. A delivery receipt or proof of delivery that notes the damage — ideally signed before you accepted the goods. Your commercial invoice showing the value of what was shipped. The consignment note or booking reference. Written notification to the carrier within their required timeframe, with a timestamp you can prove.
What kills claims:
Signing a proof of delivery that says "received in good condition" when goods are visibly damaged. Disposing of damaged packaging before an assessor has seen it. Notifying the carrier outside their notification window. Having no invoice to substantiate the goods value. (If packaging is being raised as a defence, our packaging guidelines set out what reasonable commercial packaging looks like.)
If you've already made some of these mistakes, it doesn't automatically end your claim — but it does weaken your position. Document everything from this point forward regardless.
One practical tip if damage isn't visible at delivery: write "received unchecked, subject to inspection" on the proof of delivery before signing. It preserves your options without requiring you to prove fault at the door.
A denial isn't necessarily final. Here's how to respond.
Get the reason in writing. You're entitled to know exactly why your claim was declined. A phone call is not enough — ask for written confirmation of the denial and the specific grounds.
Review their reasoning against their own terms. Carriers sometimes decline claims that their own terms and conditions would cover. Read the terms carefully and compare them to the stated reason for denial. If there's a discrepancy, put it to them in writing.
Escalate internally. Most carriers have a formal complaints or escalation process. Use it. Put your escalation in writing, reference the specific terms you're relying on, and keep records of every response.
External options — if internal escalation fails:
State and territory Fair Trading bodies can assist with consumer disputes, including freight damage claims. They can facilitate mediation and, in some cases, investigate complaints against carriers. Find yours at your state government's consumer affairs website.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) handles systemic issues and can take action against carriers engaging in unfair practices — but it doesn't resolve individual disputes.
Small claims tribunals in each state and territory can hear freight damage claims within their jurisdiction limits, which vary by state but typically range from $10,000 to $25,000. Filing fees are low and you don't need a lawyer. This is the most accessible formal avenue for most small business claims.
The honest assessment:
The external dispute resolution landscape for freight is not well designed for individual shippers. There's no single independent body that handles these disputes the way the Australian Financial Complaints Authority handles insurance disputes — quickly, at no cost, with binding outcomes. If you end up in a protracted dispute with a carrier over a $1,500 loss, the time cost of pursuing it often exceeds the value of the claim.
This is a real gap in consumer protection for freight — and it's worth knowing about before you need it.
If you're a business that ships goods to customers, the dynamic is slightly different — and often more expensive.
The freight contract is between you and the carrier. That means the claim rights sit with you as the sender, not with your customer who received the damaged goods. Your customer will come to you first. And you'll likely need to resolve it with them — refund, reship, replace — before you've received anything from the carrier.
So the loss compounds. You're out the goods. You're out the replacement or refund. And you're now pursuing a carrier claim that may take weeks, pay only partially, or be declined entirely.
This is the hidden cost of relying on carrier liability that most shipping calculators don't account for. The goods value is one number. The total cost of a failed delivery — including customer management, reshipping, and claims overhead — is a larger one.
If you've made it this far, you're probably wondering what a different outcome would have looked like.
With per-shipment transit insurance in place, the process works differently at almost every point.
The claim goes to an independent insurer, not to the carrier. There's no excess to clear before the claim is assessed — it starts from dollar one. The target resolution time is five business days, and FreightInsure handles claims end-to-end rather than handing you back to the carrier. Because the insurer is independent, you're not negotiating with the party responsible for the loss.
There's no liability cap tied to a per-kilogram rate. No exclusion for goods the carrier decided weren't packed to their standard. No fragmented external dispute process if the first answer is no.
Without freight insurance, you're working inside a system the carrier controls. With it, you're working inside a system designed to assess and pay valid claims.
That's not a pitch — it's a structural difference. You've just experienced what the first system feels like.
Can I claim for damaged freight if I didn't take out insurance?
Yes. You can pursue a claim through the carrier's liability process regardless of whether you have freight insurance. Your success depends on the carrier's terms and conditions, the documentation you have, and whether the damage falls within what they're obligated to cover. Freight insurance makes the process faster, more certain, and independent — but its absence doesn't eliminate your right to claim.
What if the carrier says the goods weren't packed properly?
Inadequate packaging is one of the most common grounds for claim denial — and one of the most contested. If your packaging genuinely didn't meet reasonable commercial standards, this is a legitimate carrier defence. If it did, push back. Document the packaging standards you used, reference any industry guidelines that apply to your goods category, and put your response in writing. Carriers sometimes raise packaging as a reflexive defence rather than a substantiated one.
Do I have rights if I'm the recipient, not the sender?
Your consumer law rights apply to the contract you're party to. If you purchased goods that were shipped to you and they arrived damaged, your rights are primarily against the seller — not the carrier, because you have no contract with the carrier. The seller then has rights against the carrier. If you arranged the freight yourself and are the named shipper, your rights sit directly against the carrier.
How long does a freight damage claim take?
It depends entirely on the carrier. Some resolve claims within two to three weeks. Others take months, particularly if there's a dispute about liability or packaging. There's no mandated timeframe in Australian law for carrier liability claims — unlike insurance claims, which are subject to regulatory requirements around response times.
Can I take a carrier to small claims court over damaged goods?
Yes. Small claims tribunals in each state and territory can hear freight damage disputes within their limits. In NSW, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) handles claims up to $100,000. In Victoria, VCAT handles claims up to $100,000. Filing fees are modest and the process is designed to be accessible without legal representation. For claims under $10,000–$15,000, this is often the most practical formal avenue if the carrier won't engage.
What's the difference between a freight claim and an insurance claim?
A freight claim is made against the carrier under their liability terms — you're asking them to compensate you for loss or damage caused during transport. An insurance claim is made against an insurer under a policy — an independent party assesses and pays the claim without the carrier's involvement. The practical differences are speed, certainty, and who controls the process.
If you're mid-situation, here's the short version:
Find the carrier's terms and check their notification window. Photograph everything immediately. Note the damage on the proof of delivery before signing. Notify the carrier in writing today.
For a step-by-step walkthrough of the documentation, lodgement, and escalation process, see our guide to making a freight claim in Australia.
Industry Insights
Industry Insights
Industry Insights
