Equipment Warranty and Returns Policy

This policy applies to Equipment we supply to you in connection with a Service, including:

(a) Equipment we sell you outright, such as a modem, router or mobile handset you buy from us; (b) Equipment we supply as part of a plan but which remains our property for as long as you have the Service; and (c) SIM cards and eSIM profiles we issue to you for a mobile Service.

This policy does not cover:

(a) equipment you already own or buy from someone else and connect to our Service (BYO devices, your existing modem or router, mesh units, handsets and the like); (b) cabling and equipment inside your premises that belongs to you or to the owner of the premises, including telephone sockets, internal data cabling and any wiring installed before your Service started; or (c) equipment owned and maintained by a Supplier, such as an nbn network termination device or nbn connection box — faults with that equipment are handled as a Service fault under the Faults and service assurance section of Section C.

Where this policy uses a term that is defined in Section A, it has the meaning given there.

Equipment we supply comes with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law (Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)).

Nothing in this policy excludes, restricts or modifies those guarantees, or any other right or remedy you have under a law that cannot be excluded. If a provision of this policy is inconsistent with such a right, that right prevails and this policy is read as if modified to the extent necessary to comply with it.

Some parts of this policy give you more than the law requires — for example our change of mind returns position. Those parts are additional to your legal rights, not a substitute for them.

Under the Australian Consumer Law, Equipment we supply to you comes with guarantees including that it will:

(a) be of acceptable quality — safe, durable, free from defects, acceptable in appearance and finish, and fit for all the purposes for which that kind of equipment is commonly supplied; (b) be reasonably fit for any purpose you told us about, or that we told you it would be fit for, before you bought it; (c) match the description, sample or demonstration model we gave you; and (d) come with a clear title, undisturbed possession and no undisclosed securities.

What counts as acceptable quality takes into account the nature of the Equipment, its price, what we and the manufacturer said about it, and how it was used.

These guarantees apply for a reasonable period after supply, which depends on the Equipment and what a reasonable person would expect of it. They are not limited to the length of any manufacturer warranty period.

A failure is a major failure if, for example: the Equipment would not have been bought by a reasonable consumer who knew about the problem; it is substantially unfit for its normal purpose and cannot easily be fixed within a reasonable time; it does not do what you told us you needed it for and cannot easily be fixed within a reasonable time; it is significantly different from the description or sample; or it is unsafe.

If there is a major failure with Equipment we supplied, you can choose to:

(a) reject the Equipment and ask for a refund; or (b) reject the Equipment and ask for an identical or equivalent replacement,

and you may also claim compensation for any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage caused by the failure. You may instead choose to keep the Equipment and ask us to compensate you for the drop in its value.

If the failure is not a major failure, we can choose to repair the Equipment, replace it, or refund you. We will do that within a reasonable time. If we take too long, or cannot fix the problem, you can then treat the failure as a major failure and choose one of the remedies above.

You do not need the original packaging to make a claim, but proof of purchase helps us process it quickly. Your bill, order confirmation or account history is fine.

Much of the Equipment we supply also comes with a warranty given by its manufacturer. A manufacturer warranty is a promise made by the manufacturer, not by us.

A manufacturer warranty is in addition to your rights under the Australian Consumer Law. It does not limit those rights, and your rights against us are not limited to what a manufacturer warranty covers or to the period it runs for.

If it is easier or faster for you to deal with the manufacturer directly — for example where the manufacturer offers advance replacement or an authorised service centre near you — we will tell you that, give you the manufacturer's warranty details, and help you make the claim. That is your choice, not a condition of us helping you.

If Equipment we supplied is not working properly, contact us on 1300 994 884 or through the contact channels published at lightningip.com.au.

To help us sort it out quickly, please have ready:

(a) the make and model of the Equipment, and its serial number or IMEI if you can find it; (b) a description of the symptoms, including when the problem started and whether it happens all the time or only sometimes; and (c) what you have already tried, such as a restart, a factory reset, a different cable or power outlet, or testing another device on the same Service.

We may ask you to try some basic checks with us before we treat the problem as an Equipment fault. That is because a lot of problems that look like Equipment faults are actually Service faults, and the other way around. We will only ask you to do things that are reasonable and that you can safely do yourself.

Once we have the information we need, we will assess the fault as soon as reasonably practicable and tell you what we propose to do. We will keep you informed while a claim is open, including if an assessment or a manufacturer's process is taking longer than we expected.

Assessment may involve remote diagnostics, or asking you to return the Equipment to us or to an authorised service centre. If we ask you to return Equipment for assessment of a warranty claim, we will pay the cost of that return.

Where we hold suitable stock, we will offer you replacement or loan Equipment while your claim is being assessed. Loan Equipment remains our property and must be returned when your claim is finalised. We cannot always guarantee that loan Equipment is available, and we will tell you honestly if it is not.

If Equipment is replaced, the replacement may be new or refurbished but will be of at least equivalent specification and condition. Replacing Equipment does not restart or extend your Minimum Term.

Please back up anything stored on a device before you send it to us. Repair or replacement can erase data or settings on the device, and we cannot recover them for you.

We are not required to repair or replace Equipment at our cost where the problem was not caused by a failure of the Equipment itself. Examples include:

(a) physical damage, including drops, cracked screens, crushing and damage in transit after risk has passed to you; (b) liquid damage, moisture ingress, or exposure to heat, dust or weather beyond what the Equipment is designed for; (c) use that is not in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, including use with incompatible accessories or power supplies; (d) repair, opening or modification by anyone other than us, the manufacturer or an authorised service provider; (e) damage caused by a power surge, electrical fault or lightning strike; (f) normal deterioration of a rechargeable battery's capacity over time and through charge cycles; (g) consumable and wear items, such as cables, cases, chargers, SIM trays and mounting hardware; and (h) loss or theft of the Equipment.

This clause describes when a repair or replacement is not something we have to provide at our cost. It does not exclude, and is not intended to exclude, any consumer guarantee or other right you have under the Australian Consumer Law. If we assess a fault as falling into one of the categories above and you disagree with our assessment, tell us — we will look at it again, explain our reasoning, and you can take the matter further under our Complaints Handling Policy.

Where a problem is not covered by warranty, we may still be able to offer a repair, a replacement or a new device at your cost. We will quote you before doing any chargeable work.

If you buy Equipment from us and simply change your mind, we will accept a return as a matter of goodwill. This is more than the law requires — the Australian Consumer Law does not give you a right to a refund for change of mind — and it is offered on the following basis:

(a) you tell us you want to return the Equipment within 14 days of receiving it; (b) the Equipment is unused, in its original condition, in its original undamaged packaging, and complete with all accessories, manuals and included items; (c) you pay the cost of returning the Equipment to us, and we recommend you use a trackable method because you carry the risk until it reaches us; and (d) we may deduct the reasonable cost of restoring the Equipment to saleable condition, or decline the return, if it comes back incomplete or not in the condition described above.

We will process an accepted refund to the payment method you used, or as a credit to your account if you prefer, within a reasonable time of receiving and checking the Equipment.

The following cannot be returned for change of mind:

(a) a SIM card or eSIM once its packaging has been opened or the SIM or profile has been activated; (b) a Service that has been activated or used, or a Charge for work already performed; and (c) Equipment that has been custom-configured, unsealed software, or an item we told you at the point of sale was not returnable.

This clause does not affect any cooling-off right you have under the Your right to change your mind clause in Section A, or your rights if the Equipment turns out to be faulty.

Where we supply Equipment as part of a plan and tell you it remains our property, you have the right to use it for as long as you have the Service, and:

(a) you must take reasonable care of it, keep it at the Service address where we tell you it must stay, and not sell, hire out, encumber or dispose of it; (b) you must not open, modify or attempt to repair it, or allow anyone other than us or a person we authorise to do so; (c) you must tell us as soon as reasonably practicable if it is lost, stolen or damaged; and (d) you must return it to us, in reasonable condition allowing for fair wear and tear, within 21 days after your Service ends, using the return method we tell you about.

If you do not return our Equipment within that period, or you return it damaged beyond fair wear and tear, we may charge you a non-return or damage Charge. The amount of that Charge is set out in your Critical Information Summary or in our price list published at lightningip.com.au, and will not be more than a reasonable estimate of the cost to us of replacing or repairing the Equipment.

We will give you reasonable notice, and a further reasonable opportunity to return the Equipment, before we charge you a non-return Charge. If you pay a non-return Charge and then return the Equipment in reasonable condition, we will refund it.

If you are having trouble returning Equipment — for example because of illness, a move, or family or financial circumstances — talk to us. We will work something out with you, and you can also ask about our Financial Hardship Policy.

We do not offer equipment on a pay-it-off-over-the-term arrangement, and we do not bundle free equipment with a plan. There are two ways you can get Equipment from us: buy it outright, or take it under Hardware as a Service.

Hardware as a Service (HaaS) is available with a Hosted Voice Service. Under a HaaS arrangement:

(a) we loan you the Equipment you need — which may include a modem, networking equipment and VoIP devices — for a monthly Charge set out in your Critical Information Summary; (b) the arrangement is month to month. There is no term, and you can end it by ending the Service or by asking us to take the Equipment back; (c) the Equipment remains our property throughout. You do not acquire any ownership interest in it, no matter how long you pay the monthly Charge; (d) you must take reasonable care of it and use it as we direct — see Equipment that remains our property; and (e) when the arrangement or the Service ends, you must return it in good working order (fair wear and tear excepted) within 21 days, or allow us to collect it. If you do not, we may charge you its non-return value.

Because HaaS Equipment is ours, we maintain it: if a HaaS device fails in normal use, we will repair or replace it at no charge to you. That does not cover loss, theft, or damage caused by misuse — see Damage and misuse are not warranty issues.

Equipment you buy outright is yours, and is covered by the consumer guarantees described in this policy. We sell Equipment only to existing customers, or to new customers at signup.

We will send Equipment to the delivery address you give us. Please make sure that address is correct and that someone can receive the delivery, because we may charge you the reasonable cost of redelivery if a delivery fails because the address was wrong or nobody was available.

Risk in Equipment passes to you when it is delivered to you or to a person at the delivery address. Title to Equipment you buy outright passes to you when we have received payment in full for it. Title to Equipment supplied as part of a plan is dealt with in the Equipment that remains our property and Equipment you pay off over the term of your plan clauses.

If Equipment arrives damaged, or an item is missing from your delivery, tell us within a reasonable time of delivery — as soon as you notice is best. We will arrange a replacement or refund and we will not charge you for the return. Please keep the packaging until we have sorted it out, because a carrier may need to inspect it.

Any delivery timeframe we give you is an estimate based on information from our carrier, not a guarantee. We will tell you if we become aware of a delay that affects you, and you can cancel an order for Equipment that has not been dispatched.

Equipment we supply is configured to work with the Service you have ordered. If you factory reset it, change its configuration, or use it on another provider's network, it may stop working with your Service, and we may charge a reasonable fee to reconfigure it.

You can use your own equipment on most of our Services, but we do not warrant that equipment we did not supply will work with the Service, and we cannot support its configuration. If you use BYO equipment:

(a) you are responsible for making sure it is compatible, in good working order, and approved for connection to a telecommunications network in Australia; (b) we may ask you to test with equipment we supply before we escalate a fault to a Supplier; and (c) if a fault turns out to be caused by your own equipment, we may charge you for a technician visit or a Supplier's fault-finding Charge, as set out in the Faults and service assurance section of Section C.

Unlocking a mobile device, modifying its firmware or software, or installing unofficial software may affect how the Service works on that device, may void a manufacturer warranty, and may make it harder for us to diagnose faults. It does not, on its own, affect your consumer guarantees for a fault that has nothing to do with the change you made.

Some Equipment and features depend on the underlying network. Mobile Services we resell must not be used for machine-to-machine applications or as a mobile back-up or failover service — see the mobile terms in Section B.

Cabling work that connects to a telecommunications network must be performed by a registered cabler in accordance with the cabling provisions of the Telecommunications Act 1997 (Cth), the ACMA cabling rules and the applicable customer cabling industry code.

This means neither you nor an unregistered tradesperson may install, extend or alter fixed cabling or sockets that connect to the network at your premises. Plugging Equipment into an existing socket is fine.

If you arrange cabling or installation work yourself, you are responsible for making sure the person doing it is a registered cabler and that the work complies with the applicable rules. Non-compliant cabling can cause faults, may make a Supplier decline to attend, and may lead to a Charge for a wasted or abortive visit.

More detail about cabling, sockets and equipment at your premises is in the Equipment and customer cabling section of Section C.

To make a warranty claim, ask for a repair or replacement, or request a return, contact us on 1300 994 884 or through the contact channels published at lightningip.com.au. Tell us what the Equipment is, what has happened, and what outcome you are after. We will tell you what we need from you and what happens next.

If you are not happy with how we assess a claim, how long it is taking, or a Charge we have applied, you can make a complaint. Our Complaints Handling Policy explains how we handle complaints, the timeframes we work to, and how to escalate a complaint inside Lightning IP.

You can also contact the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman at any time — the TIO is free and independent, and its details are in our Complaints Handling Policy, on your bill and on our website. For issues about consumer guarantees you can also contact the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission or your State or Territory consumer protection agency.