Chargeback time limits in Australia: how long customers have to dispute

You shipped the order in November, the customer was happy, and you have long since spent the money. Then in March a chargeback notice arrives for it. Time limits decide whether that is possible, and they are longer than most sellers assume.

Chargeback time limits in Australia run from about 45 days to 210 days, depending on the card provider, the reason for the dispute and when the customer says the problem began. As a safe rule for your records, treat every card order as open to dispute for at least four months, and some for seven.

This guide on chargeback time limits in Australia is for you if:

• You want to know how long after a sale a customer can still dispute it.
• You have just received an old dispute and want to know whether it can be valid.
• You need to decide how long to keep orders, tracking and messages on file.

Last updated: 10 October 2026. Written by the ChargeFix team. Reviewed against sources on 10 October 2026.

The 30-second answer (TL;DR)

• Consumer Affairs Victoria says customers have roughly 45 to 120 days to dispute a card payment, depending on the provider. NAB's merchant page lists up to 210 days for eftpos and 120 days for Mastercard and Visa.
• The clock does not always start at purchase. AFCA says it usually runs from the purchase date, the date the goods were expected, or the date the customer learned they would not arrive.
• Once a dispute reaches you, Shopify usually gives you 7 to 21 days to respond, and the bank can take up to 75 days after you submit to decide.
• A single dispute can therefore sit open for well over three months, and the whole cycle from sale to final decision can pass seven months.
• Cash, transfers, cheques, direct debits and BPAY are generally outside the card dispute system, according to Consumer Affairs Victoria.
• Keep your order records for at least 12 months. That covers the longest limit we found plus the response and decision periods.

Quick note: Sellers often quote "120 days" as if it were a law. It is not. Time limits come from card scheme rules and each bank's own process, and they vary by scheme, by reason and by the date the clock starts. The numbers in this post are what the sources we opened on 10 October 2026 say, with the age of each source stated.

Chargeback time limits at a glance

Question	Short answer	Source
How long can a customer wait before disputing?	Roughly 45 to 120 days, varying by provider	Consumer Affairs Victoria
Is there a longer limit for any card?	NAB lists 210 days for eftpos	NAB merchant page
When does the clock start?	Purchase, expected receipt, or the day the customer learned goods would not arrive	AFCA factsheet
How long do you have to respond?	Usually 7 to 21 days on Shopify Payments	Shopify Help Center
How long does the bank take?	Up to 75 days after you submit	Shopify Help Center
How long can AFCA take?	A decision can take up to eight weeks	AFCA factsheet

What are the chargeback time limits in Australia for card payments?

Customers generally have between 45 and 120 days to dispute a card payment, according to Consumer Affairs Victoria, depending on their provider. NAB's merchant page goes further and lists up to 210 days for eftpos. Chargeback time limits in Australia therefore depend on the card used, so assume the longer figure for planning.

Two official-style sources give the range. Consumer Affairs Victoria's chargeback page, last updated 12 October 2023, says the window is 45 to 120 days from the transaction date and varies by provider. NAB's merchant guide, which carries no date on the page we opened, lists the cardholder limits it applies. NAB says these vary by reason code.

Card type	Cardholder dispute limit	Source and note
eftpos	210 days	NAB merchant page, undated
Mastercard	120 days	NAB merchant page, undated
Visa	120 days	NAB merchant page, undated
Any provider	45 to 120 days from the transaction date	Consumer Affairs Victoria, updated 12 October 2023
One bank's Visa debit process	Lodge within 45 days of the statement date, and no later than 90 days	AMP Bank, one bank's own limits

Do not read the AMP row as a general rule. It is one issuing bank's process for its own customers, and other banks differ. It shows why a single figure cannot cover every card.

Why do the numbers differ between sources?

Because they describe different things. The Consumer Affairs Victoria page is general consumer guidance and covers providers broadly. NAB's page describes limits from one acquirer's point of view, and notes they vary by reason code. AMP describes how one issuing bank accepts requests from its own customers. Each is correct for its own purpose. For a seller, the sensible response is not to pick one, but to plan for the longest.

Which payments fall outside the card dispute system?

Consumer Affairs Victoria says chargebacks are generally not available for cash payments, money transfers, cheques, direct debits and BPAY. That matters if you accept bank transfer for large orders. A customer paying by transfer cannot use the card dispute route. They still have their consumer rights, and they may complain to their bank, but the process and time limits are different. Our posts on Afterpay and Zip disputes and PayPal disputes cover two other systems with their own clocks.

When does the clock actually start?

The clock usually starts on the purchase date, but AFCA says it can run instead from the date the customer expected the goods or the date they learned the goods would not arrive. For late or undelivered orders, that can add weeks or months. Chargeback time limits in Australia therefore depend on your delivery date as well as your sale date.

AFCA's chargebacks factsheet says scheme time limits vary and usually run from one of three dates: the purchase date, the expected receipt date, or the date the customer learned the goods would not arrive. This is why a pre-order or a delayed delivery stays disputable far longer than a same-week sale.

Clock start	When it applies	What it means for you
Purchase date	Most ordinary disputes	The window starts the day the card is charged
Expected receipt date	The goods were meant to arrive on a date	A late order stays open longer, counted from the promised date
Date the customer learned goods would not arrive	A lost or cancelled delivery	The window starts when you or the carrier tell them

Our post on pre-order and backorder refunds and disputes goes through why long delivery promises extend your exposure.

Illustration: how far the exposure runs

This example uses a Click Frenzy sale. Suppose you take 60 orders in the sale week at an average of A$85. That is A$5,100 of card sales, all open to dispute for the limits above. The first order is on Monday 2 November 2026, with delivery promised for Monday 9 November 2026.

Milestone	Date	Days from order
Order placed	Monday 2 November 2026	0
45 days from order	Thursday 17 December 2026	45
120 days from order	Tuesday 2 March 2027	120
210 days from order	Monday 31 May 2027	210
120 days from promised delivery	Tuesday 9 March 2027	127
210 days from promised delivery	Monday 7 June 2027	217

Read the last two rows carefully. If a customer's eftpos dispute is counted from the promised delivery date, the last day to dispute is Monday 7 June 2027, more than seven months after the order. Add the response window of up to 21 days and the bank's decision period of up to 75 days, and the matter could stay open until Saturday 11 September 2027. The sale week is long over by then, but the A$5,100 is still exposed in principle.

How long do you have to respond once a dispute reaches you?

On Shopify Payments you usually have 7 to 21 days to respond, and the exact due date is shown in your admin. Shopify uses your store's timezone for the deadline, and says it is 11:59 PM when no time is shown. Treat the due date as fixed: evidence can be edited until then but not after you submit.

Shopify's pages say the evidence rules are strict. Files must be PDF, JPEG or PNG, each file up to 2 MB with 4 MB in total, one file per evidence type, and no links, audio or video. A PDF/A upload must be under 50 pages. Our post on the Shopify chargeback deadline in Australia goes through the deadline in detail, and the one on what to do in the first 24 hours covers the first day.

NAB's merchant page lists its own response windows for NAB merchants: 30 days for eftpos, 45 for Mastercard and 30 for Visa. It says NAB debits the merchant 10 calendar days after the notice for fraud disputes and 24 days for non-fraud disputes if no response is received. Those figures apply to NAB's own merchants, not to a Shopify Payments store, whose deadline is the one in your admin. They are still a good picture of how short merchant windows are compared with cardholder windows.

Clock	Who it applies to	Typical length	Where to find it
Cardholder dispute window	The customer	About 45 to 210 days, depending on card and reason	Consumer Affairs Victoria, NAB
Your response window	You, on Shopify Payments	7 to 21 days	Your dispute in the Shopify admin
Bank decision	The customer's bank	Up to 75 days after you submit	Shopify Help Center
AFCA decision	An AFCA complaint	Up to eight weeks	AFCA factsheet

Does the due date move for weekends and public holidays?

We could not confirm that. Shopify's payout pages say payouts are not processed on weekends or public holidays, but the pages we opened do not say whether a dispute due date shifts for them. Submit at least a business day early so a holiday cannot matter. If the date falls close to a long weekend, treat the Friday before as your real deadline.

How long does the bank take to decide?

Shopify says the bank can take up to 75 days after you submit your evidence to decide a chargeback, and 65 to 75 days for an inquiry. There is no appeal and Shopify cannot overturn the decision. A card scheme timetable replaces the usual bank complaint periods when the scheme rules are used.

Two other clocks can overlap with the bank's. AFCA's factsheet says a decision on a complaint can take up to eight weeks, and that AFCA checks whether the bank made reasonable efforts but cannot review a scheme decision. The ASIC ePayments Code, which most banks subscribe to, sets investigation periods of 21 and 45 days for unauthorised transaction complaints, but says scheme timeframes replace them where the bank resolves a dispute through scheme rules. It also says that if the matter is not resolved in 60 days, the bank must give reasons and updates every two months.

The Code is described by ASIC as "presently a voluntary code of practice", and it protects only consumers dealing with a subscriber. It also excludes facilities used for business purposes. For a seller, the point is simple: these periods describe how long the customer's bank may take, not how long you can wait.

Illustration: one dispute from start to finish

Take an A$240 order placed on Monday 2 November 2026 and promised for Monday 9 November 2026. The customer disputes on Monday 8 March 2027, which is 126 days after purchase and 119 days after the promised delivery date. If the bank counts from the promised date, a 120-day limit still allows it. If it counted from purchase, it would be 6 days late. That one detail can decide whether the dispute proceeds.

Step	Date	Notes
Dispute opened	Monday 8 March 2027	You are notified
Earliest response due	Monday 15 March 2027	7 days after notice
Latest response due	Monday 29 March 2027	21 days after notice
You submit	Friday 26 March 2027	Assumed, with evidence ready
Latest bank decision	Wednesday 9 June 2027	75 days after submission
Money exposed	A$240 plus a reported A$25 fee	A$265 if lost

The A$25 is the figure reported by third parties for Australian stores. We could not find it on Shopify's own pages, so confirm it with Shopify Support. The point of the table is not the fee, but the span: from the dispute notice on 8 March to the longest possible decision on 9 June is 93 days.

What are the time limits for other payment methods?

Afterpay, Zip and PayPal run their own systems with their own clocks, and the figures we found are not confirmed for Shopify stores. Adyen's documentation says Afterpay customers have 120 days and merchants have 13 days to defend. A Zip page says no chargeback starts after six months. PayPal's seller protection has its own proof rules.

These details are worth knowing but should be treated carefully. The Afterpay figures come from Adyen's integration guide, not from a Shopify page, so they describe one processor's flow. The Zip figure comes from a payments partner page that does not name Australia. We have not used Zip's own Australian Buyer Protection policy because it is dated March 2019. Our dedicated posts cover Afterpay and Zip disputes on Shopify and PayPal disputes on a Shopify store.

Method	Customer's window	Merchant's window	Confidence
Card via Shopify Payments	About 45 to 210 days	7 to 21 days	Confirmed on Shopify and bank pages
Afterpay via Adyen	120 days	13 days to defend	Not confirmed for Shopify stores
Zip via a payments partner	Up to 6 months	10 business days	Region not stated
PayPal	Governed by PayPal's own rules	Governed by PayPal's own rules	Check your PayPal account

How do the 2026 sale dates change your dispute windows?

Sale events bunch your orders into a few days, so their windows expire together. A Click Frenzy order on 12 November 2026 can stay open to a 120 day dispute until Friday 12 March 2027, and to a 210 day eftpos dispute until Thursday 10 June 2027. Chargeback time limits in Australia mean a November rush is still a June risk.

Click Frenzy falls on 12 November 2026, Black Friday on 27 November and Cyber Monday on 30 November. The table counts from the purchase date only. If the goods arrive late, or the clock runs from the promised delivery date, add the days between the two.

Sale day	Date in 2026	45 days	120 days	210 days
Click Frenzy	Thursday 12 November	Sunday 27 December 2026	Friday 12 March 2027	Thursday 10 June 2027
Black Friday	Friday 27 November	Monday 11 January 2027	Saturday 27 March 2027	Friday 25 June 2027
Cyber Monday	Monday 30 November	Thursday 14 January 2027	Tuesday 30 March 2027	Monday 28 June 2027

The 45 day column shows why December is not the end of the story. A customer who orders on Black Friday and waits for a late parcel can still dispute well into the new year. Meanwhile, you are busy with January returns and stocktake. A diary line for each sale week, using the template further down, keeps those windows visible.

Should you hold back stock or cash against this?

That is your call, and we have no source that sets a figure. What the dates do show is that sale revenue is not fully settled when the payout lands. If you are planning cash flow, treat a slice of sale week takings as still exposed until at least the 120 day mark, and for eftpos until the 210 day mark. Our post on the Shopify chargeback rate and account health warnings explains why disputes from a single busy week can also lift your rate for months.

How do time limits change your refund-or-fight decision?

Time limits tell you how long a refund remains a cheaper alternative to a dispute. Once a customer is inside their window, a refund before they call their bank avoids the dispute entirely. After the window closes, the card route is shut, though consumer law rights may still apply. Chargeback time limits in Australia therefore reward quick, clear answers to late complaints.

If a customer writes to you on day 100 of a 120 day window and you do not reply, you leave them 20 days to go to their bank. A reply the same day, with a clear remedy, often closes the matter. The ACCC says a major problem entitles the customer to a full refund, which our post on major vs minor failure under consumer guarantees explains. Compare that with chargeback vs refund in Australia, where the cost difference is set out in dollars.

Customer contacts you	Window status	Sensible move
Day 10 with a problem	Plenty of time left	Fix it in writing and keep the thread
Day 90 with a problem	Inside most 120 day windows	Reply the same day and offer a remedy
Day 130 with a problem	Past a 120 day limit, possibly inside 210 for eftpos	Treat it seriously, since the limit varies
Day 250 with a problem	Past every limit we found	Handle it under consumer law, with less dispute risk

How long should you keep your records?

Keep order, delivery and message records for at least 12 months from the sale. The longest cardholder limit we found is 210 days, and the response and decision periods can add up to about 96 days more, so a record kept for a year covers the full cycle, with a margin for a re-dispute.

The reasoning is straightforward. If the clock runs from the promised delivery date, 210 days brings you to Monday 7 June 2027 on our example order. Add 21 days to respond and 75 days for a decision and you reach September 2027. A year from the order is Tuesday 2 November 2027, which sits comfortably after that.

Record	Keep for	Why
Order confirmation and payment details	12 months or longer	Proves what was sold and when
Tracking and delivery proof	12 months	Shows the delivery date, which may restart the clock
Customer messages	12 months	Shows what was promised and agreed
Refund confirmations	12 months	Proves a refund was given if a dispute follows
Policy pages as shown at checkout	12 months	Shows what the customer agreed to
Tax records	The period your accountant advises	Separate legal retention rules may apply

Tax records are a separate question. Your accountant or the ATO's own guidance sets those periods, and we have not given a figure here.

Use this retention checklist when you set up your routine.

CHARGEBACK RECORD RETENTION CHECKLIST

At the time of sale:
[ ] Order confirmation saved with date and total
[ ] Product page and policy text as shown at checkout saved
[ ] Promised delivery date written in the order notes

At dispatch:
[ ] Tracking number and carrier recorded
[ ] Photo of the packed parcel, if practical
[ ] Delivery address checked against the order

At delivery:
[ ] Proof of delivery saved (tracking page or carrier record)
[ ] Any delivery photo saved
[ ] Customer messages saved, including delays

At any refund or return:
[ ] Refund confirmation saved
[ ] Message explaining the refund saved

Review each month:
[ ] Anything older than 12 months and past every dispute window
    can be archived
[ ] Anything tied to an open dispute stays until it is closed

A short diary entry for each sale week also helps. This template makes it quick.

DISPUTE WINDOW DIARY (one line per sale week)

Sale week: [DATES]
Orders: [NUMBER]   Total value: A$[AMOUNT]
First order date: [DATE]
Promised delivery range: [DATE] to [DATE]
Latest delivery actually made: [DATE]
Window at 120 days from last delivery: [DATE]
Window at 210 days from last delivery: [DATE]
Keep records until: [DATE + 12 MONTHS]

What's different for Australian merchants?

Australian merchants face limits set by a mix of card scheme rules, Australian banks' own processes, the ASIC ePayments Code and the AFCA complaint system. The sources are partly dated or undated, so the honest position is a range, not a single legal deadline.

• No single statutory deadline. We did not find an Australian law that sets one chargeback window for all cards. Consumer Affairs Victoria's page describes a range.
• Source age matters. The Consumer Affairs Victoria page was last updated on 12 October 2023. NAB's page has no date. Both were live when we checked on 10 October 2026, but your own acquirer or bank may have newer figures.
• Your processor's rules come first. For a Shopify Payments store, your admin shows the response date for each dispute. That date beats any generic figure.
• Consumer rights run alongside. Under Australian Consumer Law, a customer may still be entitled to a remedy long after a card dispute window has closed. A closed chargeback window does not end their rights against you.
• AFCA is the customer's route against their bank. AFCA's factsheet says it checks whether the bank made reasonable efforts. The complaint is against the bank, not you, and AFCA cannot review a scheme decision.
• Public holidays slow payouts. Shopify says payouts are not processed on weekends or public holidays, so any money returned to you after a win may take longer to arrive.
• Gaps remain. We could not confirm how due dates treat weekends, how Afterpay, Zip and PayPal timelines apply on Shopify, or any numeric chargeback-rate thresholds.

For the broader sequence, see how chargebacks work in Australia and the Shopify chargebacks Australia guide.

What mistakes do sellers make with chargeback time limits in Australia?

The biggest mistake is assuming a dispute window closes when the parcel is delivered. It can run from the purchase date, the promised delivery date or the date the customer learned something was wrong. The other mistakes involve throwing records away early, missing the due date, and treating one source's figure as universal.

1. Deleting records after 60 or 90 days. The limits above can run to 210 days, with a decision cycle after that.
2. Counting only from the delivery date. A late or lost order can restart the clock from the expected receipt date.
3. Quoting one number to customers. Telling a customer "you only have 30 days to dispute" is wrong and can prompt a complaint.
4. Leaving the response until the last day. A holiday, a slow upload or a file over 2 MB can cost you the case.
5. Using one bank's figure for everything. The AMP Visa debit limits are one bank's process. Other banks differ.
6. Ignoring non-card payments. Afterpay, Zip and PayPal have separate rules, and a transfer is generally outside the card system.
7. Closing the file after a win. Shopify says a bank can re-dispute a win, giving you a new deadline. Keep the evidence.
8. Assuming old guides are current. Time-limit figures in older articles may be out of date. Check the date on every source.

Frequently asked questions

How long can a customer dispute a card payment in Australia?

Consumer Affairs Victoria says roughly 45 to 120 days, depending on the provider. NAB's merchant page lists 210 days for eftpos and 120 days for Mastercard and Visa. AFCA says the clock may start from the purchase date, the expected receipt date or the day the customer learned the goods would not arrive.

How long do I have to respond to a chargeback on Shopify?

You usually have 7 to 21 days, and the exact date is shown on the dispute in your Shopify admin. The deadline uses your store's timezone, and it is 11:59 PM if no time is shown. You can edit evidence until the due date, but not after you select Submit now.

How long does the bank take to decide a chargeback?

Shopify says the bank can take up to 75 days after you submit your response, and 65 to 75 days for an inquiry. There is no appeal and Shopify cannot change the outcome. If the matter goes to AFCA, a decision can take up to eight weeks.

Does the time limit start on the purchase date?

Often, but not always. AFCA's factsheet says scheme time limits usually run from the purchase date, the date the goods were expected, or the date the customer learned they would not arrive. For late or undelivered orders, the later dates can extend the window by weeks or months.

Can a chargeback happen after more than 120 days?

Yes. NAB's merchant page lists 210 days for eftpos, and the clock can start from the promised delivery date rather than the purchase date. That is why we suggest keeping records for 12 months. Limits vary by card, reason and bank, so confirm yours with your processor.

Do the same time limits apply to debit cards?

Often, yes, though they vary by scheme and bank. NAB lists separate eftpos, Mastercard and Visa limits, and AMP describes its own Visa debit process with a 45 day and 90 day limit. Consumer Affairs Victoria says cash, transfers, cheques, direct debits and BPAY are generally outside the system.

Do Afterpay, Zip and PayPal use the same time limits?

No. They run separate systems. Adyen's documentation says Afterpay customers have 120 days and merchants 13 days to defend, but that is not confirmed for Shopify stores. A Zip partner page mentions six months, with no region stated. Check your own provider before relying on any figure.

How long should I keep chargeback evidence?

At least 12 months from the sale. The longest cardholder limit we found is 210 days, and the response and decision periods can add roughly another 96 days. A year covers the whole cycle, with room for a re-dispute. Keep anything tied to an open case until it closes.

Is there a law setting chargeback time limits in Australia?

We did not find one. Limits come from card scheme rules and bank processes, and the sources describe ranges. The ASIC ePayments Code sets investigation periods but is described by ASIC as a voluntary code, and it says scheme timeframes replace them. Customer rights under Australian Consumer Law run separately.

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Sources

• Chargebacks and inquiries, Shopify Help Center
• Responding to chargebacks and inquiries, Shopify Help Center
• Managing chargebacks in the Shopify admin, Shopify Help Center
• Resolving a chargeback or inquiry, Shopify Help Center
• Payout timing, Shopify Help Center
• Chargebacks, Consumer Affairs Victoria
• Chargebacks: prevention and dispute guide for merchants, NAB
• Chargebacks factsheet, Australian Financial Complaints Authority
• Transaction disputes, AMP Bank
• ePayments Code, ASIC
• ePayments Code, June 2022, ASIC
• Afterpay and Clearpay chargebacks, Adyen documentation