In Australia, airlines don’t guarantee their timetables. The airline’s contract with you is to get you from A to B – as for when that happens, well, that’s a bit more fluid.
And if the airline doesn’t get you to your destination at the time specified on your ticket and you miss a connecting flight as a result, they won’t necessarily take responsibility.
According to the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport, and Regional Economics, 119,878 domestic flights (or 22.3%) were delayed by 15 minutes or more and 14,008 were cancelled in 2025.
So what compensation are you entitled to in Australia if a flight is delayed or cancelled? We take a hard look at what the various Australian airlines offer for domestic and international flights and how to make a complaint if needed.
There’s no mandated compensation scheme in Australia, as yet. What you’re entitled to depends on the conditions of carriage from your airline, whether the delay is caused by the airline, and the Australian Consumer law (ACL). If the cause of the delay is:
within the airline’s control(such as mechanical issues or crewing issues), most airlines will either carry you on another scheduled service as soon as space is available or give you a refund. It’s at the airline’s discretion, but some will provide meals, refreshments, accommodation and transfers appropriate to the length of the delay.
outside of the airline’s control (such as bad weather or volcano ash clouds), airlines will usually try to help you get to your destination, but they won’t be responsible for paying any costs or expenses you may incur as a result of the delay or cancellation.
Australia lags behind a number of other countries when it comes to clear guidance on compensation for the downstream costs associated with flight delays and cancellations.
The European Union, New Zealand, Indonesia and even the USA all have more specific guidance in place when it comes to rights and compensation so we’re keen to see exactly what rights will be established when the new Aviation Consumer Protection Charter and ombuds scheme comes into effect.
When it comes to international flights, consumers currently have some protections for damages as a result of delay through the Montreal Convention, provided you’re flying between twosignatory countries.
But even if you’re eligible for compensation for damages after a delay, airlines are able to side-step these obligations if they can prove that they “took all measures that could reasonably be required to avoid the damage [as a result of the delay] or that it was impossible to take such measures”.
We analysed the conditions of carriage from Virgin, Qantas, Jetstar and Rex to see how they stack up, both when the event causing the delay is their control, and when it’s not. This encompasses both their domestic and international flights.
When it’s within the airline’s control
The airlines offer the most help when a delay or cancellation is their fault. Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia all consider mechanical and engineering problems, crew or staff shortages, and IT outages as events that are within their control, while Virgin also counts overbooking.
All three will rebook you or give you a refund, and they’ll cover refreshments if you’re delayed over a certain time, and accommodation and transfers if you’re stuck overnight.
Rex, on the other hand, considers equipment and aircraft failures as beyond its control. Rex will pay for refreshments for delays over 90 minutes that are within it’s control, but it doesn’t pay for accommodation or transfers, whatever the cause.
Text-only accessible version
Airline compensation for events within their control
Rebooking on the next available flight
Qantas will rebook you on the next available flight if there’s a “significant change” to your flight.
Jetstar will rebook you on the next available flight if your departure time changes by three hours or more.
Virgin Australia will rebook you on the next available flight if your flight is cancelled, and may try to rebook you if your flight is delayed by two hours or more.
Rex will rebook you on another flight if possible.
Refunds
Qantas, Jetstar and Rex will give you a refund if you choose one instead of a new flight.
Virgin Australia will give you a refund or a travel credit if it can’t find you a suitable alternative flight.
Meals and vouchers
Qantas gives you a refreshment voucher if your flight is delayed by two hours or more. If you’re delayed overnight away from home, it provides about $30 per person for delays of under 12 hours, or about $60 per person for delays of more than 12 hours.
Jetstar gives you a meal voucher if your flight is delayed by three hours or more. If you’re delayed overnight away from home, it provides about $30 per person.
Virgin Australia gives you meal vouchers every two hours while you wait at the airport. If you’re delayed overnight away from home, it provides up to $30 per person per night.
Rex gives you refreshments or vouchers if your flight is delayed by more than 90 minutes, but these may not be available at airports with limited facilities.
Accommodation when you’re away from home
Qantas and Jetstar will arrange accommodation for you, or pay about $200 per room.
Virgin Australia will arrange accommodation for you, or pay up to $200 per room per night.
Rex doesn’t provide accommodation.
Transfers
Qantas covers transfers if you’re delayed overnight, including at your home airport.
Jetstar covers transfers if you’re delayed overnight away from home.
Virgin Australia covers transfers if you’re delayed overnight.
Rex doesn’t cover transfers.
Notes: *Qantas doesnt define “significant change” in terms of duration.
** alternative transport like bus, or flying to a nearby port may be offered.
Notes: Qantas doesnt define “significant change” in terms of duration.
Rex may arrange alternative transport like bus, or flying to a nearby port.
Sources: Qantas Conditions of Carriage and Compensation and Refunds page; Jetstar Conditions of Carriage and Compensation and Refunds page; Virgin Australia Guest Compensation Policy; Rex Conditions of Carriage and Distruption FAQ. Checked October 2026.
When it’s outside the airline’s control
When the cause is outside the airline’s control, such as bad weather, air traffic control problems or security issues, you’ll get much less help.
All four airlines will try to get you on another flight, none of their policies state that you’re entitled to meals, accommodation or transfers, but remember you’re always covered by the Australian Consumer Law regardless of the company’s policy.
Text-only accessible version
Airline compensation for events “beyond their control”
Rebooking on the next available flight
Qantas and Jetstar will make reasonable efforts to rebook you on the next available flight.
Virgin Australia will rebook you on the next available flight, but this may not apply during major events such as natural disasters.
Rex will rebook you on another flight if possible.
Refunds
Qantas will give you a refund if it can’t rebook you on a flight that’s acceptable to you.
Jetstar won’t give you a refund, but it will give you a flight credit.
Virgin Australia’s might give you a refund, but this may not apply during major events such as natural disasters.
Rex will give you a refund if you choose one.
Meals and vouchers
Qantas, Jetstart, Virgin and Rex don’t provide meals or vouchers.
Accommodation when you’re away from home
Qantas, Jetstart, Virgin and Rex don’t provide accommodation.
Transfers
Qantas, Jetstart, Virgin and Rex don’t cover transfers.
Notes: * Virgin’s compensation policy may not apply to significant events beyond its control like natural disasters or border closures.
Notes: Rex may offer alternative transport like bus, or flying to a nearby port.
Qantas says they will compensate under certain circumstances, but does not detail those circumstances.
Sources: Qantas Conditions of Carriage and Compensation and Refunds page; Jetstar Conditions of Carriage and Compensation and Refunds page; Virgin Australia Guest Compensation Policy; Rex Conditions of Carriage and Distruption FAQ. Checked October 2026
In the absence of specific regulation covering flight delays and cancellations in Australia, it’s still worth taking your complaint further if you think it’s valid.
In the first instance, take your issue up directly with the airline. Make sure you keep a record of any expenses you think you should be able to claim.
If this fails, you can take your complaint to the Airline Customer Advocate (ACA), the free, industry-funded complaint resolution service
Note: We’d like to think that you’d get some help from the Airline Customer Advocate, but we gave this industry-funded service a 2021 Shonky Award for leaving travellers stranded when they needed it most.
If you want to know more about your rights when it comes to missing baggage, overbooking, or when you become ill on a flight or you receive bad cabin service, see your rights in flight for more scenarios.
New aviation consumer protection laws are currently before the federal parliament. These laws, once passed, will set a minimum standard for how airlines can treat their passengers.
What the new laws will do
The laws will establish an Aviation Consumer Protections Charter that sets out minimum standards that consumers can expect from Australian airports and airlines operating both domestic flights and international flights in and out of Australia.
It aims to cover all services from bookings and check-ins, to baggage handling, accessibility, airport parking and, of course, the treatment customers can expect when things don’t go to plan.
The new Aviation Consumer Protections Charter will better protect customers flying domestic and international.
The minimum standards set out in the Charter will be enforced by the Aviation Consumer Protection Authority (ACPA), and a new Aviation Consumer Ombudsperson will provide a dispute resolution service.
As outlined in our submission about the new scheme, CHOICE is keen to see consumers given a right to a refund or rebooking regardless of the reason for the delay, as well as set amounts of compensation in terms of meals and accommodation.
When will the new rules start?
The government has said they’d like the key elements of this framework to commence before the end of 2026, but that will obviously depend on the timing of the bill passing parliament and the drafting of the supporting legislation.
What happens in the meantime?
As mentioned above, at the moment what you’re entitled to if your flight is delayed or cancelled depends on your general consumer rights under the ACL, as well as the terms and conditions of your airline. See below for how the airline policies compare, and how to make a complaint.
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Jodi Bird is the Managing Financial Content Editor at CHOICE. Previously at CHOICE, he worked as Travel project lead and as a Finance specialist.
Jodi has extensive experience in financial services, having worked with major banks such as CBA, Westpac and Credit Suisse. He enjoys breaking down complex consumer decisions into easy to understand steps and holding companies to account for failing their customers. He is regularly called upon for expert commentary by major broadcasters such as the ABC, SBS, and Channels 7, 9, and 10.
Jodi has a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Economics from the University of Wollongong. He is RG146 compliance certified to provide general advice for General Insurance and is a Responsible Manager on CHOICE's Australian Financial Services License. LinkedIn
Jodi Bird is the Managing Financial Content Editor at CHOICE. Previously at CHOICE, he worked as Travel project lead and as a Finance specialist.
Jodi has extensive experience in financial services, having worked with major banks such as CBA, Westpac and Credit Suisse. He enjoys breaking down complex consumer decisions into easy to understand steps and holding companies to account for failing their customers. He is regularly called upon for expert commentary by major broadcasters such as the ABC, SBS, and Channels 7, 9, and 10.
Jodi has a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Economics from the University of Wollongong. He is RG146 compliance certified to provide general advice for General Insurance and is a Responsible Manager on CHOICE's Australian Financial Services License. LinkedIn
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