Under a new law, customers may still have a right to return defective goods even if the manufacturer's warranty period has expired.

On January 1 this year the new Australian Consumer Law (ACL) came into effect.

It is largely based on the old Trade Practices Act but, for the first time, unifies most consumer law across the states and territories, and clarifies many of the old provisions it replaces.

One of the key provisions is s54 of the ACL, which is a statutory guarantee of acceptable quality enforceable against the suppliers of goods (i.e. retailers, dealerships, etc.), as well as manufacturers.

This section of the law requires that goods be fit for the purposes they are commonly used for, acceptable in appearance and finish, free from defects, safe and durable, all according to the standards of a "reasonable consumer".

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's chairman Graeme Samuel says this means that many goods come with a statutory guarantee against the supplier that lasts longer than the manufacturer's warranty.

"Sometimes you'll see manufacturer's warranties that may only be for three, six or 12 months in total, whereas the retailer's guarantee under the consumer guarantees can sometimes extend beyond that, having regard to the nature of the product and its intended use," Mr Samuel told ABC News Online.

In determining what is an appropriate period for a guarantee to apply, the law forces courts to consider the nature of the goods, the price of the goods, and statements made about the goods either on the packaging or by the supplier or manufacturer.

In layman's terms, that means a consumer can expect a longer legal guarantee to apply for goods that generally last a long time, that are relatively expensive, and where any claims are made about the quality and/or durability of the product by either the salesperson or manufacturer.

For example, if consumers generally buy a television with a reasonable expectation for it to last five years, then they may have a statutory guarantee against the retailer that lasts substantially longer than the one year manufacturer's warranty.

If the TV is a more expensive brand, especially one that makes claims about its quality and durability, it will be held to a higher standard of quality and durability under the ACL than a home brand that is half the price and does not make similar claims.

Obviously, the law does not protect consumers if their attention was drawn to the fault before the sale (either by spoken words or by a written notice), or they inspected the goods and the fault should have been obvious in that inspection, or the consumer causes the fault through misuse.

Consumer help

Mr Samuel says the ACL guarantees mean consumers should not hesitate in taking a product back to the place they bought it if the good has a defect or failure that is unusual given its age, even if the warranty period has expired.

He says the ACCC or state departments of fair trading will help consumers if retailers refuse to honour their legal requirements.

"If we find that a retailer is not honouring the obligations imposed on the retailer under the consumer guarantee provisions of the Australia consumer law then the ACCC will take action to deal with those issues," Mr Samuel said.

Commercial law academics say the Australian Consumer Law largely makes extended warranties redundant, as consumers will often have legal protection against defects in the goods beyond the manufacturer's normal warranty anyway.

Many consumers are currently unaware of the law but from next year retailers will be required by regulations to display a notice that informs customers they have rights beyond any contractual rights included in a warranty.

Mr Samuel warns businesses that informing customers of their legal rights is in an area the ACCC will be strongly enforcing.

"One of the areas where the ACCC has taken prosecutorial action has been in circumstances where retailers are representing to consumers that they have more limited rights than are currently available under the law," he said.

"It's important we think for, first of all, there to be no misrepresentation as to the rights of consumers but, secondly, for consumers to be made aware of their rights so that they're not beguiled into believing or misled into believing, through even the lack of information, that their only right is that, for example, of the printed manufacturer's warranty."

The ACL also prohibits unfair contract terms in standard form contracts, such as those commonly issued with gym memberships or phone plans.

The law also entitles consumers to a receipt upon request, to pay the lowest price if more than one is displayed with an item, and to see the total price of any good or service (including fees, charges and taxes).

The ACCC has already been busy enforcing a prohibition on false, misleading or deceptive claims, with Optus recently agreeing to pay $178,200 in fines for potentially misleading consumers with some of its phone cap advertising.

The consumer watchdog also secured a $2.7 million penalty against two overseas companies - Yellow Page Marketing BV and Yellow Publishing Limited - that were found to be masquerading as the Telstra-owned Yellow Pages in approaches to small businesses.

You can find more information on the ACL on its official website.

Consumers can contact the ACCC by phone (1300 302 502) or via its website.