Field guide · 2025
Mattress in a box returns and your consumer rights
Mattress in a box returns work under two separate sets of rules, and mixing them up is the most common mistake. A comfort trial is an offer the store chooses to make. Your consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law are rights you have by law, whatever the store says.
A comfort trial is the store's own promise
Many online mattress brands let you sleep on a mattress for a set number of nights and send it back if you do not like it. That is a "change of mind" return. The law does not make a business offer one.
The ACCC, which is the national consumer regulator, says the consumer guarantees give you no right to a repair, replacement or refund when the reason is a change of mind, a lower price somewhere else, or simply disliking the item. There is one catch. If a business does have a change of mind policy, it must follow it.
So read the trial terms before you buy. Look for the number of nights, who pays for return freight, whether the mattress must be in a certain state, and how the refund is paid. Those terms are the store's to set, and they can differ a lot from brand to brand.
Consumer guarantees are different, and they are automatic
Consumer guarantees are basic rights that apply when you buy most goods and services from a business in Australia. The ACCC describes them as automatic. They cannot be negotiated away, and they continue for a reasonable time depending on the product.
The ACCC also draws a clear line between these rights and a warranty. A warranty is an extra promise a business makes. It applies in addition to your consumer rights, not instead of them.
A comfort trial sits in the same place as a warranty. It is something extra the store offers. It does not replace or shrink what the law already gives you.
What counts as a major problem with a mattress
If a product has a major problem, you pick either a refund or a replacement of the same type of product. The ACCC lists what makes a problem major. The product is unsafe. It is very different from its description or sample. It has one serious problem, or several small ones, and you would not have bought it had you known. Or it cannot do its normal job and a fix would take more than a reasonable time.
Think of a mattress that arrives with a split seam that exposes the filling, a mattress that sags badly soon after you start using it, or one that is a different size from the one you ordered. Whether a fault is major depends on the facts, so keep photos, your order details and your messages with the seller.
For a smaller fault, the business must at least give a free repair.
What a refund should look like
The ACCC says a refund for a major problem should be the full amount you paid. The business must not take money off to account for the use you have had of the product. The refund should come back in the same form as your original payment, unless you and the business agree on something else.
You can also choose to keep the product and be paid for the drop in value caused by the problem. In some cases you can claim extra compensation for other loss or damage as well.
The business may assess the product before it gives you a remedy. That is allowed. What it cannot do is rely on a "no refunds" policy or on its terms and conditions to deny your rights. The ACCC says that is illegal.
Who you ask, and a warning sign to watch for
The business that sold you the mattress is responsible for fixing the problem. The ACCC says businesses must not tell you to go to the manufacturer.
In November 2024 the ACCC announced that Koala & Tree Pty Ltd, trading as Koala Living, a furniture and homewares retailer, paid penalties of $56,340 after three infringement notices. The ACCC said the retailer wrongly stated that rights to remedies for faulty goods were limited to 72 hours or the length of the manufacturer's warranty. It also said delivery charges were not refundable, when a consumer can be entitled to compensation for foreseeable loss, which can include delivery charges.
The lesson for any buyer is simple. If a store says your rights end when the trial or warranty ends, check that claim against the ACCC's guidance. Start by asking the seller in writing, and if the answer does not fit the rules above, you can report it to the ACCC or contact your state or territory consumer protection agency.
This guide is general information only. The ACCC does not settle single disputes or give legal advice, so for a mattress dispute ask your state consumer agency.