The EOFY sales have started, with some retailers already dropping prices
This year’s discounts have averaged 5–50% off, but it’s still early days
Expect bargains, but good deals are still available at other times of year and the EOFY season also comes with extra scam risks
At CHOICE, we’re the last people to endorse frenzied sale shopping, but it’s true that the end of the financial year (EOFY) can be a good opportunity to grab a bargain.
Helpfully timed to break up the months between the Boxing Day sales and the Black Friday discount block in November, this run of bargains in the middle of the calendar year can serve up big deals on a broad range of items, not all of them work-related.
This guide breaks down what these sales are, when they start and end, how you can get a bargain and what you should avoid.
The EOFY sales are a recurring round of discounts leading up to the end of Australia’s financial year on 30 June. They regularly attract billions in consumer spending.
Sales happen at this time because many retailers want to improve their financial position by the end of the fiscal year and clear out old stock to make space on the shop floor for new items.
Retailers use EOFY sales to clear stock and boost takings before the end of the tax year.
This need to shift older products is why you’ll see some retailer deals at this time of year advertised as “stocktake” or “clearance” sales.
However they’re branded, these events also come at a time when many of us are thinking about which of the year’s purchases we’ll be able to claim back on tax, as we turn our minds to lodging our tax returns.
Recognising this, many retailers take the opportunity to present us with deals on products that could be a last minute work-related, claimable purchase – such as laptops, smartphones or printers – to lessen our levies or even help us get a tax refund.
Just because a retailer says you can claim a purchase [on tax] doesn’t always mean you actually can
That’s why you’ll often see a lot of financial jargon, promises to help “smash” your taxes and invitations to “claim everything you can” mixed in with sales promotions from retailers at this time.
But just because a retailer says you can claim a purchase doesn’t always mean you actually can. What we’re able to deduct from tax varies from person to person, so consider your personal circumstances before buying something you plan to claim.
This focus on pushing goods that you can claim as a tax deduction means you’ll often see deals on tech and appliances at EOFY.
The 2026 sales kicked off this month with deals from tech retailers like Bing Lee, Officeworks, Vodafone and Kogan, along with discounts from manufacturer brands like Lenovo and HP.
But it’s not just about the home office – you can also look forward to deals from big names in clothing, toys, furniture and homewares – think David Jones, Myer, Koala, Appliances Online and Amazon.
So far, this year’s discounts have averaged 5–50% off, but it’s still early days.
As more retailers join the fray, we tend to see EOFY discounts average 20–50% on selected items (not all stock), while some reductions reach as high as almost 90%.
EOFY officially falls at the end of June, but many brands start their sales in the weeks (or even a whole month) beforehand.
This year has been no exception, with several retailers dropping EOFY deals in the first two weeks of May.
But most major vendors are holding back and haven’t started their sales yet – expect most to unveil their EOFY, clearance or mid-year deals later this month or in early to mid-June.
Each brand’s EOFY sale period is different, so keep an eye on your favourite retailers.
Once they’re here, these EOFY offers can last anywhere from a few days to weeks, depending on the retailer.
Sales by major brands will often last for up to a month, but are rarely truly site- or store-wide, despite sometimes promising to be.
Big businesses can chop and change which products they’re actually discounting during a long sales period like EOFY – your favourite product discounted one day may return to full price the next, or vice versa.
In previous years, we’ve seen retailers extend their sales beyond their originally advertised end dates by up to eight days, ensuring deals last into early July.
So with start and end dates and discounts not set in stone, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on your favourite retailers by following them on social media or signing up to their email newsletters to see what’s being discounted and when.
Even if they haven’t started yet, many outlets already have webpages set up ready to share their EOFY offers, so bookmark these and start checking them from now throughout June for extra information.
Even though you can find significant discounts (up to almost 90% in some instances) on popular items during the EOFY sales, this run of bargains isn’t the be-all and end-all and some discounts may not be as good as they seem.
Even when deals are legitimate, we’re seeing more and more sales periods crop up throughout the year and some of these come with discounts just as good as those on offer during EOFY sales.
In a lot of cases, you don’t have to wait until June to get a good deal
On top of recent additions to the established sales calendar, such as Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday, individual retailers are also having their own flash sales on an increasingly regular basis.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has picked up on this trend, observing “weaker than usual” spending during previous EOFY seasons due to there being more and more sales in the lead up to this traditional sales block.
In other words, in a lot of cases, you don’t have to wait until June to get a good deal, so it pays to follow your favourite brands on social media to catch offers as they come up.
Australian Consumer Law (ACL) gives you certain rights when you buy a good or service from a business selling in Australia, whether it be a physical store or online.
Companies can’t take away these rights with anything they do or say, even during sale periods.
Under the law, retailers must provide a remedy (refund, replacement or repair) for a faulty product, but they’re not obliged to give you a refund or exchange if you just change your mind or find that something doesn’t fit.
With more sales throughout the year, you may not have to wait until EOFY to get a good deal.
What to avoid at EOFY
Dud products
There’s no point saving big bucks on a product if it’s a poor performer and as mentioned above, we see plenty of duds mixed in with EOFY bargain stock.
Whether you’re buying a TV, headphones, a smart speaker or a home appliance, check CHOICE reviews and sign up to our regular rundowns of products to avoid to ensure you’re getting a good deal.
Dangerous items
If you’re browsing this year’s EOFY sales for kids’ toys, it can be hard to resist light-up or singing novelties going for bargain prices.
Before you buy, it’s worth remembering many of these contain small button batteries which have proven fatal in cases where children have been able to extract and swallow them.
Therefore, we recommend not buying any children’s toys, baby safety items or electronics from cheap overseas websites – these products are the least likely to meet Australian safety standards – and checking ACCC Product Safety’s latest recalls to make sure what you’re purchasing isn’t currently subject to a recall.
Unfortunately we still often see toys being recalled for failing to follow button battery safety standards
E-scooters, e-bikes, hoverboards and other e-rideables powered by lithium-ion batteries will also feature in this year’s sales. These products have caused fires in the past when users settled for cheap batteries or chargers and left them plugged in unattended.
Only buying e-rideables, batteries or chargers from reputable Australian businesses (and not from overseas via the internet) is a good way to stay safe.
Charging these products outside your home, away from beds, sofas or carpets, and only during times when you can keep an eye on them (not overnight) is another smart strategy.
Extended warranties are extra guarantees about the lifespan of a product that retailers commonly offer on expensive items.
Sometimes also called “protection” or “product care” plans, these add-ons come at a cost, but most of them aren’t worth it.
This is because they often carry the same or weaker protections as your existing (and free) ACL rights, which decree that expensive products should last a reasonable amount of time, such as a few years.
If staff are trying to upsell you to one of these plans, ask what rights it will give you beyond the ACL.
Scams
We often see scammers trying to siphon off consumer spending during the sales with dodgy websites designed to steal money and information from unsuspecting shoppers.
Incoming regulations requiring tech companies and other big businesses to prevent, detect and disrupt scams will hopefully reduce the chance of this occurring again, but it’s still worthwhile getting familiar with the common shopping cons scammers may deploy this year.
While you’re shopping, you may also find yourself the target of other scams commonly circulating around EOFY.
For example, tax scams often peak around this time of year, so you might receive messages claiming to come from the Australian Tax Office or other government agencies trying to get you to hand over money or information. Learn how to spot these phishing attempts with our guide to the most common tax scams.
Liam Kennedy is a Journalist with the Editorial and investigations team. He answers consumers' most burning questions, from which scams to be aware of and how to save money, to whether new services and products are worth using and how the latest developments in consumer news could affect them.
Prior to CHOICE, Liam worked in production in daily news radio and podcasting.
Liam has a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the University of Technology Sydney. LinkedIn
Liam Kennedy is a Journalist with the Editorial and investigations team. He answers consumers' most burning questions, from which scams to be aware of and how to save money, to whether new services and products are worth using and how the latest developments in consumer news could affect them.
Prior to CHOICE, Liam worked in production in daily news radio and podcasting.
Liam has a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the University of Technology Sydney. LinkedIn
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