Shopify chargebacks Australia: the complete guide

A Shopify chargeback in Australia takes the money out of your next payout before you have said a word, and the clock on your reply is shorter than most owners expect.

Shopify chargebacks Australia merchants deal with start when a cardholder disputes a payment with their bank. On Shopify Payments, the disputed amount and an A$25 fee are debited from your payout, and you usually have 7 to 21 days to submit evidence. The card issuer decides, and there is no appeal.

This guide is for you if:

You have just received a chargeback or inquiry email from Shopify and want to know exactly what to do next.
You run an Australian store on Shopify Payments and want to understand the rules before your first dispute arrives.
You have lost disputes before and suspect the problem was timing, evidence, or how the response was put together.

Last updated: 9 October 2026. Written by the ChargeFix team. Reviewed against sources on 9 October 2026.

The 30-second answer (TL;DR)

A chargeback takes the disputed amount and a fee from you straight away. An inquiry takes nothing yet, which gives you a chance to settle it with a refund.
Your Shopify chargeback deadline is the date shown on the dispute, usually 7 to 21 days after it was filed. It is shown in your store's timezone, and if no time appears, it ends at 11:59 PM that day.
On the due date, Shopify Payments sends whatever you have to the card company, even if that is only the details Shopify collected on its own.
Evidence must be PDF, JPEG or PNG, no more than 2 MB per file and 4 MB in total, one file per evidence type, with no links, audio or video.
The bank can take up to 75 days after you submit to decide. The decision is final.
You cannot refund an order while a chargeback on it is open, because the bank already holds the money.
Winning does not remove the dispute from your dispute rate.

Quick note: Most owners treat the 120 day card window as their deadline. It is not. Your deadline is the date on the dispute inside Shopify, usually 7 to 21 days after it was filed, and Shopify sends whatever you have on that date.

From dispute to decision at a glance

Stage	What happens	Your move
Dispute filed	Shopify emails your store contact address. A chargeback debits the amount and fee at once, an inquiry does not.	Read the reason and the due date the same day.
Open	The evidence window is running. You can add and edit evidence.	Gather proof, and talk to the customer if that makes sense.
Due date	Shopify Payments submits your response to the card company automatically.	Submit yourself earlier so nothing is left to chance.
Submitted	The card company reviews the case. No more edits.	Wait. Do not refund.
Decision	Won, lost, or partly won, up to 75 days after submission.	Check your next payout.
After a loss	The amount stays with the cardholder and the fee is not returned.	Look for the pattern behind it.

What is a Shopify chargeback, and what is the chargeback vs inquiry difference?

A chargeback is a dispute where a cardholder asks their bank to reverse a payment, and the bank takes the money back from you while it investigates. An inquiry is an earlier, softer step where the bank asks questions but takes no money yet.

Shopify's help pages put the difference simply. With a chargeback, the bank immediately deducts the disputed amount and charges a chargeback fee. With an inquiry, neither the amount nor a fee is taken straight away. The cardholder might be your customer who is unhappy, or a person whose card was used without permission, so the same label covers very different situations.

The chargeback vs inquiry distinction matters because an inquiry is your cheapest chance to fix things. Shopify says a full refund on an inquiry ends it and prevents it turning into a chargeback later, because no funds were taken in the first place. A partial refund does not give you that protection. Once an inquiry becomes a chargeback, the refund option is gone.

Two other terms you will see. Representment is the formal name for your side of the story: the evidence you send back to the card company. The issuer is the cardholder's bank, and it is the party that makes the decision, not Shopify. Shopify has said it is not involved in deciding outcomes and is not liable for chargebacks on its platform.

Why do customers file disputes?

The common grounds behind Shopify chargebacks in Australia are goods or services that do not match their description, non-delivery or late delivery, duplicate or incorrect charges, unauthorised or unrecognised transactions, refunds that were promised but never arrived, and a business closing before supplying what was paid for. Consumer Affairs Victoria lists most of these, and CHOICE adds cancelled recurring payments.

Plenty of disputes are not fraud. A customer who cannot find your business name on their statement, or who waited too long for a reply to a polite email, will sometimes go straight to the bank because it feels faster. That is also why a clear statement descriptor and quick customer service prevent more disputes than any fraud tool.

How do Shopify chargebacks in Australia work, step by step?

A cardholder disputes a charge, their bank passes the claim through the card scheme, Shopify Payments debits your payout, and Shopify opens a dispute in your admin with a due date. You submit evidence, the issuer decides, and you are paid back or not.

In practice it runs like this for an Australian store on Shopify Payments:

The customer contacts their bank. CHOICE advises cardholders to try the merchant first, and notes that Visa may refuse some claims, such as items not received, if they have not.
The bank raises a chargeback or inquiry. The card scheme rules (Visa, Mastercard and others) decide the reason category and the allowed time.
Shopify notifies you. The email goes to your store contact address, which you can check or change in your store settings. Even a paused or closed store still receives these emails.
You respond inside the window. The due date is on the order page, in your store's timezone.
The issuer decides. Shopify says this can take up to 75 days after you submit, and that neither Shopify nor you can appeal.
Money moves. On a win, you get the amount back. On a loss, it stays with the cardholder.

If your store is enrolled in a network dispute resolution programme, some disputes are settled automatically before they become a formal chargeback. The customer is reimbursed, there is no evidence window, and the dispute shows as resolved. You cannot choose this per dispute, and Shopify's pages do not say which Australian stores qualify, so treat it as something you may see, not something to plan around.

Shopify chargebacks Australia: what does a lost dispute cost?

The fee is only the visible part. A lost chargeback costs you the order value, the goods, the postage you already paid, and the A$25 fee, plus the time you spend responding.

The Shopify chargeback fee Australia stores pay is A$25, a figure taken from published Shopify Payments fee tables that list the chargeback fee by country. We could not open Shopify's own fee table directly while preparing this guide, so confirm the current figure in your admin or with Shopify Support before you build any budget on it. The fee is also separate from any fee your own bank might charge on a different setup. NAB, for instance, publishes its own A$25 chargeback fee for its merchants, which is a different party and a different bill.

Shopify's own pages are slightly inconsistent about getting the fee back. The overview page says Shopify may refund the fee depending on your country or region, while the page on resolving disputes says a win returns the amount and the fee in your next payout. Treat a refunded fee as likely on a full win but not guaranteed, and check your payout detail.

Illustration: what one lost chargeback costs

To see how the Shopify chargeback fee Australia stores pay fits into the real cost, say a customer pays A$180 for an order. The goods cost you A$62 and you paid A$14 postage. The customer disputes it as not received, you submit nothing useful, and you lose.

Item	Amount
Amount debited back to the customer	A$180
Chargeback fee (not returned on a loss)	A$25
Total debited from your payouts	A$205
Original sale you were paid	A$180
Goods you will not get back	A$62
Postage already paid	A$14
Real loss against never making the sale	A$101

The A$101 is the fee plus the goods plus the postage. The A$180 you were paid is simply taken back. That is why a chargeback on a physical product usually hurts more than a refund would have: a refund on a returned item leaves you with the goods.

Illustration: ten disputes in a month

Take ten disputes of the same A$180 order, with the same costs. If you lose three, that is 3 times A$101, or A$303. On the seven wins, you pay A$25 each only if the fee is not returned, which is 7 times A$25, or A$175. So the month costs between A$303 (fee returned on every win) and A$478 (fee never returned), before counting your time and before counting the effect on your dispute rate.

The other cost is invisible. Shopify says a won dispute still counts toward your dispute rate. That is why prevention and early settlement are worth more than their direct savings, and why the rate has its own guide: Shopify chargeback rate and account health warnings.

Shopify chargebacks Australia: how long do you have to respond?

You usually have 7 to 21 days from when the dispute is filed. The exact due date is on the order page, shown in your store's timezone, and it ends at 11:59 PM that day if no time is shown. On the due date Shopify Payments submits your response automatically.

Your Shopify chargeback deadline is that window, and it is the only clock you should work to. Other clocks exist around it, and they confuse people constantly:

Clock	Who it belongs to	Typical length	Does it affect your deadline?
Shopify evidence window	Shopify Payments	7 to 21 days	Yes, this is your deadline
Cardholder dispute window	Card scheme and bank	Often 120 days, varies by card provider and reason	No, it only limits when the customer can dispute
Issuer decision time	Card issuer	Up to 75 days after you submit	No, it is a wait, not a deadline
Acquirer response window	A merchant's bank (for example NAB)	30 or 45 days, by scheme	Only if you process outside Shopify Payments

Consumer Affairs Victoria gives 45 to 120 days after the transaction for cardholders, depending on the card provider. NAB lists 120 days for Visa and Mastercard disputes (varying by reason) and 210 days for eftpos. CHOICE notes some "goods not supplied" claims can run from the expected delivery date, with an outer limit of 540 days. None of those numbers is your deadline. They tell you how long after a sale a dispute can still arrive, which is why you should keep records for at least that long.

For a full breakdown with a calendar, see Shopify chargeback deadline: how long you have to respond.

We could not verify how Shopify treats weekends or public holidays when it calculates the due date, and the help page does not say. Do not assume extra time. Aim to submit at least two business days before the date shown.

What should you do in the first 24 hours of a chargeback?

Read the reason and due date, check the order against your own records, decide whether to settle or fight, and start collecting proof. The first day is for triage, not writing.

A short version of the first day:

Open the order and note the reason, the amount and the due date. Write the date in your calendar with a reminder two days earlier.
Check whether it is an inquiry or a chargeback, because only an inquiry can still be closed with a refund.
Look at the order: delivered, collected, refunded, or still in transit.
Save a copy of your tracking page, customer messages and product page as screenshots before anything changes.
Message the customer if the situation is unclear and the tone can stay friendly.

The full playbook, with a message to send and a decision table, is in Shopify chargeback email: what to do in the first 24 hours.

How do you respond to a Shopify Payments dispute?

Open the disputed order, click Add evidence in the chargeback banner, upload your files, save, and either click Submit now or let Shopify submit on the due date. Put your strongest proof first and label every file.

A Shopify Payments dispute is answered from the order page, so there is no separate portal to learn. Shopify's guidance on structure is worth following closely, because reviewers may spend only minutes on a case:

Direct proof first. Delivery confirmation, a signed receipt, or access logs for a digital product.
Customer acknowledgements. Messages where the customer confirms receipt, agrees to terms, or accepts an offer.
Policies that apply. Your refund, shipping and terms pages as the customer saw them.
Supporting context. Order history, repeat purchases, matching addresses.

Label each item with what it is, its date and what it proves. Use screenshots of tracking pages and message threads instead of links, because reviewers cannot follow links and Shopify does not accept them.

What does Shopify include automatically?

For Shopify Payments, order details, addresses, IP address, fulfilment and tracking data, refund records, and prior orders and disputes are included without you doing anything. What you add is what only you have: customer emails, delivery photos, your policies and, for digital goods, access logs.

What are the file rules?

Files must be PDF, JPEG or PNG. PDFs must be PDF/A compliant, not PDF Portfolios, and under 50 pages. Each file can be 2 MB at most, and the total across all files 4 MB. Submit one file per evidence type, merging when needed. Do not include audio, video, external links or requests for the reviewer to contact you.

Menu wording changes, so follow what your admin shows. We have not verified the label on every button for Australian stores, but the order page banner and the Add evidence button are consistent in Shopify's own guidance.

Edits are possible until the due date. Once you press Submit now, nothing can be changed, so check the file once more before you do. The step-by-step version with a worked example is in How to respond to a Shopify Payments dispute in Australia.

What chargeback evidence works for each type of dispute?

The best evidence matches the customer's claim. For non-delivery, send proof of delivery. For not as described, send the product page and what you shipped. For unrecognised charges, send proof the buyer is the cardholder. For refunds not received, send the refund record.

Dispute type	Strongest evidence	Supporting evidence
Item not received	Tracking screenshot showing delivered, date and address; carrier delivery photo or signature	Customer messages, shipping policy, address match with the order
Not as described	Product page as it was on the order date, photos of what was sent	Customer emails, your return offer, packing slip
Unrecognised or unauthorised	Matching name, email, phone and delivery address; IP and login records; history of earlier orders	Statement descriptor explanation, customer contact after delivery
Duplicate or wrong amount	Order and payment records showing one charge	Refund record if a duplicate was already refunded
Refund not received	Refund confirmation with date and reference	Any message telling the customer when it would arrive
Cancelled subscription	Terms accepted, cancellation record, billing dates	Reminder emails sent before renewal

NAB's guidance for merchants points the same way: proof of delivery, matching customer details such as login, phone and delivery address, and refund confirmations are the evidence that carries weight. NAB also notes that where 3D Secure succeeds, fraud liability shifts to the issuer, which is a reason to check whether that is switched on in your checkout.

A full checklist you can copy sits in Chargeback evidence checklist for Australian Shopify stores.

Should you accept, refund or fight a dispute?

It depends on what the dispute is and how strong your proof is. An inquiry can be ended by a full refund. An open chargeback cannot be refunded. A chargeback you can document should be fought, and one you cannot document, on a small order, can reasonably be accepted.

Situation	Best move	Why
Inquiry, and the customer is owed money	Full refund	Shopify says a full refund ends the inquiry and prevents a chargeback
Inquiry, partial refund offered	Expect a possible chargeback	A partial refund does not prevent one
Open chargeback, customer now happy	Ask them to have the bank withdraw it, then submit the bank's withdrawal letter	A screenshot is not accepted. Letters can take 30 to 90 days or more
Open chargeback, you have strong proof	Submit evidence	A win returns the amount and may return the fee
Open chargeback, you have no proof, low value	Accept by not submitting or closing the form	You save the time, but the fee is not returned
Open chargeback on an order you already refunded	Submit the refund record	The refund is already in the automatic evidence

Accepting should be a decision, not a default. If you let the due date pass without evidence, Shopify Payments still submits what it has collected, so the real choice is between a response you shaped and one you did not.

What happens after you submit your evidence?

The card issuer reviews the case and decides, up to 75 days after you submit for a chargeback. Inquiries usually take 65 to 75 days and can run longer. You cannot add evidence or appeal after the decision.

There are four outcomes. A full win returns the disputed amount, and the fee in the cases described above. A partial win returns part of the amount. A loss returns nothing and the fee is not refunded. And with an inquiry, the result is either closed in your favour, with no money taken, or closed in the customer's favour, where it can escalate to a chargeback and the amount and fee are debited.

Two details surprise people. First, if the customer's bank disputes the same transaction again after you win, you get a new deadline and should resubmit your strongest evidence. Second, if a debit fails after you lose, for example because your Shopify balance and linked bank account do not cover it, Shopify tries again 3 business days later, and if that also fails you must update your bank account or contact Shopify Support.

What's different for Australian merchants?

General information, not legal advice.

For Shopify chargebacks in Australia, the fee is A$25, cardholders can dispute for up to 120 days in most cases, and a cardholder whose bank rejects a claim can complain to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. Your response window is Shopify's, not the scheme's.

Here is where Australian practice differs from the US-focused guides that dominate search results.

Time limits are quoted differently. Consumer Affairs Victoria says the window runs from 45 to 120 days depending on the card provider. NAB's merchant guide lists 120 days for Visa and Mastercard disputes, varying by reason, and 210 days for eftpos. Both are accurate for their source, and neither is your response deadline. Keep order records for at least 18 months, which covers the 540 day outer limit CHOICE mentions.

AFCA is part of the picture. If a cardholder's bank refuses to lodge or pursue a valid claim, the cardholder can complain to AFCA. According to CHOICE, AFCA checks whether the bank made reasonable efforts, chose the right reason, and reviewed the merchant's response, but it cannot reassess a card scheme's final decision. Small businesses can also use AFCA, which NAB lists as the escalation path after its own resolution team. For you, the point is that a well-documented response protects you at every stage.

Consumer law sits beside the card rules. Australian Consumer Law gives customers consumer guarantees, and a customer who is legally owed a remedy may get it through a chargeback even if you resist. CHOICE makes the same point: a retailer may end up refunding through the chargeback process even if it initially refused. We have not re-opened the ACCC guidance for this guide, so the detailed ACL rules, including major and minor failures and what a refund policy can and cannot say, are covered in separate posts that cite the ACCC directly.

Items we could not verify. Treatment of public holidays when Shopify counts the due date. Courier proof options and claim limits for Australia Post, Sendle, StarTrack and Aramex. Timelines for Afterpay and PayPal disputes, which run through their own systems, not card chargebacks. GST and BAS treatment of lost chargebacks. Speak to your accountant on that last one.

Banks that are not Shopify. If you also take payments through a bank terminal, a different clock applies. NAB, for example, tells merchants to respond within 30 days for Visa and eftpos and 45 days for Mastercard, and debits the account if nothing arrives within 10 calendar days after the first notice for fraud disputes, or 24 calendar days for others. That is NAB's process, not Shopify's, but it shows why you should never assume one deadline fits every processor.

A day by day plan for a 14 day window

Start on day one, finish early, and keep the last two business days empty. Here is a plan for a dispute filed on Monday 12 October 2026 with a due date of Monday 26 October 2026, which is 14 days. Shopify's window can be anywhere from 7 to 21 days, so your own dates will differ.

Illustration only. Dates are an example.

Day	Date	What to do
Day 0	Mon 12 Oct	Read the email and the order page. Note reason, amount, due date. Put reminders in your calendar for 22 and 24 October.
Day 1	Tue 13 Oct	Screenshot tracking, product page, policies and customer messages. Save to one folder.
Day 2	Wed 14 Oct	If it makes sense, message the customer in a friendly way (template below).
Day 4	Fri 16 Oct	Draft the cover note. List what each file proves.
Day 7	Mon 19 Oct	Check for a customer reply. Decide whether you are settling or fighting.
Day 9	Wed 21 Oct	Build the files. One per evidence type, merged and labelled.
Day 10	Thu 22 Oct	Check file types and sizes. Under 2 MB each, 4 MB total.
Day 11	Fri 23 Oct	Submit now. Read once more before you press the button.
Day 14	Mon 26 Oct	Due date. Shopify would have submitted automatically here. Nothing left to do.

Submitting on Friday 23 October leaves you a business day of buffer in case something is wrong with a file, or your internet drops, or a part of the process behaves differently from what the help page describes.

Copy-paste templates

A cover note for your evidence

Order: #[order number]
Customer: [name as on order]
Amount: A$[amount]
Dispute reason shown in Shopify: [reason]

Summary
On [order date], the customer ordered [product] for A$[amount] and paid by card. The order was shipped on [ship date] by [carrier], tracking [number]. The carrier's record shows delivery on [delivery date] at [address as on order].

Evidence attached
1. Tracking page screenshot, dated [date]: shows delivery to the address on the order.
2. Customer messages, [dates]: the customer wrote on [date] to confirm [what they confirmed].
3. Store shipping and refund policies, as shown at checkout on [date].
4. Order record: name, email, phone and delivery address match the billing details.

We ask that the dispute be decided in the merchant's favour on this evidence.

Keep the cover note factual. State dates and point to exhibits. Do not accuse the customer of anything, because reviewers read accusations as a weak case.

A message to the customer

Hi [first name],

We received a notice from your bank about order #[number] for A$[amount]. Before it goes further, we want to make sure you have what you ordered.

Our records show it was delivered on [date] to [suburb]. If something is wrong, tell us what happened and we will sort it out straight away. If everything is fine and the bank claim was a mix-up, you can ask your bank to withdraw it and we will help with any detail you need.

Thanks,
[Name], [Store name]

This stays friendly and offers a path. If the customer replies that all is fine, ask for the bank's formal withdrawal letter, because Shopify does not accept a bank statement screenshot.

How can you reduce chargebacks on your Shopify store?

You cannot remove disputes, but you can cut the avoidable ones: make charges recognisable, answer customers quickly, keep delivery proof, and review orders flagged as high risk. For Shopify chargebacks in Australia, these are the habits that NAB and Shopify themselves point to.

Recognisable charges. NAB advises clear business names and descriptors on statements. A customer who does not recognise the name will often call the bank before they email you.
Fast replies. Respond to complaints quickly and keep the conversation on record.
Refund to the original card. NAB's advice is to always refund to the original card, not by another method, so the customer sees it where they expect.
Review risky orders. Shopify's fraud analysis can flag high-risk orders, and you can review and cancel them to avoid a chargeback on a fraudulent transaction.
Keep proof by default. Screenshot tracking pages and save conversations when you fulfil an order, not when a dispute arrives.
Say what you sell. Product pages that match what you ship prevent the largest not-as-described category.

Prevention also protects your dispute rate. Shopify counts even won disputes toward it, so every dispute you avoid helps.

Common mistakes to avoid

Working to the wrong deadline. Using the 120 day figure instead of the date on the dispute.
Letting auto-submit decide. Shopify submits on the due date regardless, so doing nothing is still a response, just a poor one.
Trying to refund an open chargeback. The bank already holds the money, so you risk paying twice.
Uploading links or video. Neither is accepted, so use screenshots.
Splitting evidence across many small files. One file per evidence type, merged where needed, and under the 2 MB and 4 MB limits.
Accusing the customer. State facts and exhibits. Leave judgement to the reviewer.
Missing the email. Notices go to your store contact address. Check that it is monitored.
Submitting at the last minute. A file that fails a size check at 11:50 PM on the due date leaves you no room.

Frequently asked questions

How long do I have to respond to a Shopify chargeback in Australia?

Shopify sets a response window of 7 to 21 days from when the dispute is filed. The exact due date appears on the disputed order in your store's timezone. If no time is shown, assume 11:59 PM on that date, and aim to submit well before it.

What is the Shopify chargeback fee Australia stores pay?

Published Shopify Payments fee tables list A$25 per chargeback for Australia. We could not open Shopify's own table while writing this guide, so confirm the current figure in your admin or with Shopify Support. Inquiries do not trigger the fee unless they escalate into chargebacks.

Can I get the chargeback fee back if I win?

Shopify's pages are not consistent. The overview says the fee may be refunded depending on your country or region, while the page on resolving disputes says a win returns both the amount and the fee. Check the payout detail after a win to see exactly what came back.

Can I refund the customer while a chargeback is open?

No. Shopify says you cannot issue a refund while a chargeback is open, because the bank already holds the funds. The customer would have to get the bank to withdraw the dispute first, and you then submit the withdrawal letter as evidence and wait for the outcome.

What is the difference between a chargeback and an inquiry?

A chargeback takes the disputed amount and a fee from you immediately. An inquiry is a question from the bank that takes nothing at first. A full refund can close an inquiry and stop it becoming a chargeback, but a partial refund does not give that protection.

Can I edit my evidence after submitting it?

You can edit and add evidence until the due date. Once you click Submit now, the response is locked and nothing further can be changed. If you realise something is missing after submitting, you cannot add it, so check every file before you confirm.

How long does the bank take to decide a chargeback?

Up to 75 days after you submit. Inquiries usually take 65 to 75 days and can run longer. Shopify does not influence the decision, and the issuer's ruling is final, so there is no appeal route through Shopify. Plan your cash flow around that wait, because the disputed amount stays debited until the issuer rules.

What happens if I do nothing?

With Shopify Payments, your response is submitted on the due date even if you add no evidence, using only what Shopify collected automatically. You can also accept the dispute by closing the form without submitting, in which case the amount goes to the cardholder and the fee is not returned.

Does winning a dispute help my chargeback rate?

No. Shopify counts a won dispute toward your dispute rate, because the rate counts disputes, not just lost ones. Winning protects your money, but only preventing or settling disputes early protects the rate itself. Keep that in mind when deciding whether to fight a small order or settle it with an early refund on an inquiry.

Can customers in Australia dispute a payment months later?

Yes. Card scheme limits are often 120 days, and Consumer Affairs Victoria says limits range from 45 to 120 days depending on the card provider. Some claims for goods not supplied can run longer. Keep order, delivery and message records for at least 18 months.

Start free trial with ChargeFix

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Shopify chargebacks Australia: the complete guide for store owners