Right now, anyone holding tickets to an upcoming major event is probably feeling a little uncertain it'll go ahead.

Key points: The ACCC says you should be entitled to a refund for events cancelled by organisers

The ACCC says you should be entitled to a refund for events cancelled by organisers You could be on shakier ground if events are cancelled due to a government lockdown

You could be on shakier ground if events are cancelled due to a government lockdown Consumer advocates recommend ticketholders complain if they are denied a refund

The Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix, Tasmania's Dark Mofo winter festival and the Pixies' Australian rock tour are among events that have been suddenly cancelled because of the coronavirus threat.

Governments have flagged the prospect of bans on mass gatherings and doctors are calling for that to happen sooner rather than later.

So, where do you stand if the big occasion you've been planning for is cancelled in the name of community safety?

Consumer rights watchdogs say in normal circumstances, if an organiser cancels an event, ticketholders are entitled to an automatic refund for the ticket (but not necessarily for booking fees).

"If an event organiser has decided to cancel, whatever the circumstance is, you still haven't got what you paid for — so you're still entitled to a refund," NSW fair trading commissioner Rose Webb says.

"You should mostly get a refund automatically, particularly from the big platforms and big organisers."

But these are not normal circumstances, and if an event is cancelled due to public health concerns in the face of coronavirus, you might not have an absolute legal right to your money back.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) agrees that while you may be entitled to a refund for an event cancelled by an organiser, the opposite is true if it's cancelled because of the government.

Where things get a little shaky

Earlier this week, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said it was only a matter of time before large sport and cultural events would be cancelled to combat the spread of coronavirus.

On Friday morning, he declared there would be no spectators at the Melbourne Formula 1 GP.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 39 seconds 39 s Daniel Andrews spoke to media on his way into a meeting in Sydney on Friday morning.

Race officials called the whole thing off shortly after.

It followed McLaren Racing's decision to pull out of the event after an employee tested positive.

At a press conference on Friday, Australian Grand Prix Corporation chief executive Andrew Westacott said the cancellation had "a lot of financial consequences" but refunds would be provided.

"We will work through with the fans on the refunds applicable to their ticketing arrangements," he said.

"We are reaching out [to them] and we are saddened for the fans and the staff."

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 45 seconds 45 s An official announced the cancellation to fans at the gate.

There remains no immediate plans to cancel AFL matches, but the Premier has warned "extreme measures" would probably need to be taken in the future.

The ACCC says if that were to happen, you "may not be entitled to a refund under the consumer guarantees in the Australian Consumer Law".

The Consumer Action Law Centre's Gerard Brody says some providers might have clauses in their contracts to cover them in extraordinary circumstances.

"Some ticket providers or sellers may argue that they have what's called a 'force majeure' clause in their contract, which is really a clause that gives them an out if there are events that are unforeseen by the parties at the time they entered into the contracts."

Ticketek's terms and conditions state that ticketholders would not be covered "where any national or international body or agency has imposed or issued a travel ban, advisory, warning or restriction on the movement of people due to the outbreak of a Communicable Disease".

But Ticketek moved to reassure consumers.

"If any event is cancelled due to the coronavirus, Ticketek will refund customers. There is no grey area," a spokesperson for Ticketek said.

Insurance might not pay off

Mr Brody advises that even if a ticket-seller or event organiser points to a contract clause to deny you a refund, you should still complain.

"There are other commitments that many venues and ticket sellers make to their customers through industry codes of conduct," he says.

"For example, the large ticketing companies are all members of Live Performance Australia, which do commit to providing refunds where services aren't provided.

"So while ticket providers may argue this, I think consumers can equally argue that they are entitled to a refund."

He says the one thing you might want to rethink, though, is paying extra for ticket provider insurance.

"It's often sold as a bit of peace of mind. But you may also have rights under law or under your contract to a refund," he says.

"So I don't think it's worth buying those insurances that are tacked on to ticket sales.

"In fact, there's some potential law reform that may really restrict that sort of insurance being offered in that way."

Industry promises to do the right thing

Live Performance Australia's executive director Evelyn Richardson says the industry is keen to reassure ticket buyers that they're protected under Australian consumer law.

"If an event is cancelled or postponed, then the Australian consumer law applies — if an event is cancelled then consumers get their money back, they get a refund," she says.

"If it's postponed, they get an opportunity to attend that postponed event, but if they don't want to do that, then they get a refund."

Earlier this week, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival cancelled its biggest ticket event after the headliners, billed as some of the biggest names in Chinese comedy, were denied visas to visit Australia.

Fun Factory All Stars, hosted by mega-star Dan Li with comedians BO Pang, ROCK, Li Yang, Dou Dou, Mian Wang and CY was booked to perform next month in the 2,000-seat main auditorium of Melbourne Town Hall.

Organisers tell the ABC they're confident Fun Factory All Stars will be re-scheduled for 2021.

Before the event was cancelled, a spokesperson for the festival said "the refund policy is the same whether we have coronavirus or not: people will get a refund in the event a show is cancelled."

Sport could be played in 'stadiums with no crowds'

There are now also question marks over coming sporting seasons. In the US, the NBA this week suspended its season, and a game was cancelled at the last minute after a player tested positive for coronavirus.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 23 seconds 23 s An American basketball caller was jeered when he announced an NBA game was cancelled at the last minute.

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan told reporters this week that if mass gatherings were suspended "then we will play games in stadiums with no crowds".

He said the AFL had a working group to deal with the issue of coronavirus and was listening to the Government's advice.

Rose Webb, the NSW fair trading commissioner, says when it comes to sporting memberships that grant entry to a set number of games, figuring out fair refunds would more complicated than refunding a single ticketed event.

The ABC has contacted the AFL for further comment.

What is the event goes ahead, but you're in isolation?

If you simply can't use the tickets you've bought because you're in quarantine, you're much less likely to have a legal claim to a refund.

"If it's your decision not to attend — even if it's a very unfortunate decision that you made because of being sick — that's not anything the ticket seller has done or has caused to happen," Ms Webb says.

"So in that case you wouldn't have the same right to a refund."

But it might be worth trying.

"There's no refund if people just feel unwell," Live Performance Australia's Evelyn Richardson says.

"But we've advised our members they should provide refunds to people required to self-isolate after travel or infection by a household member."

You could also try to sell your ticket, but in this environment, consumer groups wouldn't recommend you as a seller to any potential buyers.

The organisers of Dark Mofo acknowledged its cancellation would "murder an already massacred tourism environment". ( Supplied: MONA/Remi Chauvin )

Ms Webb says event-goers should always be careful to ensure they're buying tickets from legitimate providers, especially if there's a chance you'll need a refund.

"[With] some of those resale sites, it is a bit more complicated and you might not be as successful in getting your money back, just depending on the circumstances of how the site operates," she says.

"We suggest people should be very careful buying from those sites to make sure that they understand really fully the terms and conditions and ... in these sorts of times particularly check your rights for a refund."

What about tickets bought from resellers?

The Ticket Brokers Association of Australia's Joshua Gladwell represents local secondary ticket sellers.

He says his members are bound by the same laws as companies like Ticketek and Ticketmaster, and would be subject to the same process as ticket-holders trying to get refunds for tickets that had been onsold.

"People who buy from us can't approach the event organiser … so it's an added impediment or step, but that by no means precludes them from obtaining a refund," he says.

"The examples where it may do so is where they're buying from shonky operators offshore like Viagogo … or from disreputable sellers on Gumtree or eBay."

So if you're buying from a friend or a reseller, the advice is to buy from someone you trust, because not everyone is legally required to refund your ticket.

"The difficulty is most of the consumer law only applies in circumstances that are called 'in trade of commerce'," Ms Webb says.

"You selling a ticket to a friend is probably not the same as a person operating a commercial operation, so your friend might not have the same legal protection, but the principle should be the same."