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Made-to-measure curtains: what to confirm before you order, and your rights if they arrive wrong
Made-to-measure curtains carry the same consumer guarantees as most things you buy, but a change of mind is not covered, so the fabric, size, heading, lining and purpose you confirm in writing before you pay are your best evidence if something arrives wrong.
Are made-to-measure curtains covered if they arrive wrong?
| Situation | Where it is stated | Decided before you pay, or after delivery? |
|---|---|---|
| 1. You simply changed your mind | ACCC and NSW Government | After delivery |
| 2. You found the product cheaper somewhere else | ACCC | After delivery |
| 3. You decided you didn't like the purchase | ACCC | After delivery |
| 4. You asked for the service to be done a certain way against the business's advice | NSW Government | Before you pay |
| 5. You were unclear about what you wanted | NSW Government | Before you pay |
| 6. The business told you the product would not meet your purpose and you bought anyway (fit-for-purpose guarantee does not apply) | ACCC | Before you pay |
In general, yes. The guarantees cover products and services bought for personal or household use; no page we read singles out made-to-measure goods. Measuring and fitting curtains is a service too. Most products and services bought in Australia after 1 January 2011 come with automatic consumer guarantees. What those guarantees don't cover is you changing your mind.
That is why a custom order needs more care at the start than an off-the-shelf one. We read the ACCC and NSW Government pages and picked out six situations where a business can refuse a free repair, replacement or refund. The pages list a few more: misusing the product, a problem you knew about before you bought, a service problem caused by someone else.
Three of them happen after delivery. You simply changed your mind, found the product cheaper somewhere else, or decided you didn't like the purchase.
The other three are settled before you pay. You asked for a service to be done a certain way against the business's advice, or were unclear about what you wanted. Or the business told you the product won't meet your purpose and you buy anyway.
Six grounds, half of them decided in the conversation before you hand over money. That split is our own count, not a figure either agency publishes. For made-to-measure curtains, it means the quote and the notes on it do a lot of your protecting for you.
What do the consumer guarantees promise on a curtain order?
A customer orders pink towels from a colour chart and receives red ones; the towels don't match the description, so the customer can claim.
A pale oatmeal linen swatch is approved for a bedroom; the curtains arrive in dark charcoal; they don't match the sample, so the guarantees apply.
The curtains arrive in the approved oatmeal, but you now prefer charcoal; that is a change of mind, not covered by the guarantees, though a seller with a change-of-mind policy must follow it.
For the curtains themselves, three promises matter most. They must be of acceptable quality, which the ACCC describes as safe, durable, free from defects, with an acceptable appearance and finish. They must be fit for a particular purpose. And they must match the description or sample or demonstration model.
At Curtains Newcastle we think "matches description" is the guarantee a made-to-measure buyer leans on most, because so much of the order is a description. The ACCC's own example: a customer orders pink towels from a colour chart and receives red ones, so the towels don't match and the customer can claim. Swap the colour chart for a fabric swatch and the logic reads the same way. The ACCC also notes a description can be written or spoken, though a written one is far easier to point to later.
Fit for purpose is the quiet one. It applies when you tell the business what you want the product for, or buy on its advice. If you never said the bedroom curtains were for sleeping past sunrise, and the seller neither advised nor advertised them for it, there is little for that guarantee to hold on to.
The measuring and installing count too. Services must be provided with due care and skill, and within a reasonable time if no date is agreed.
What should I put in writing before I pay?
Everything that makes your curtains yours. Keep it short and specific, and ask the seller to put it on the quote or confirm it by email.
- Fabric and colour. Hold the swatch at the actual window, in the light the room gets, and keep it or photograph it.
- Finished width and drop. If you are unsure what drop means for your window, How Curtains Should Fall walks through the options.
- Heading. Pinch pleat, wave or something else: our heading styles guide shows how each one looks.
- Lining. Unlined, standard, thermal or blockout changes how the curtain performs. Thermal vs blockout curtains explains the difference.
- Fullness. The Drapery Glossary covers the term if it is new to you.
- What the curtains are for. Privacy from the street, afternoon sun, a darker bedroom. Say it, and get it written down.
- Who measures and who fits. If the seller measures and installs, that is a service with its own guarantee.
- The returns and change-of-mind policy. CHOICE advises checking the returns policy before you buy.
- Any advice you went against. If the seller warned that a fabric wouldn't suit a west window and you chose it anyway, note that you understood. It is fairer to both of you, and the ACCC says the fit-for-purpose guarantee does not apply if the business tells you the product won't meet your purpose and you buy anyway.
If you want to think through fabric weight before anyone visits, the Curtain Fabric Guide is a good place to start.
Is it a fault, or a change of mind?
The consumer guarantees apply.
Possible major problem. For a major problem you choose between a refund and a replacement.
The seller may assess the curtains before giving a remedy. Refunds should be the full amount paid, in the same form as the original payment. General information, not legal advice.
Worked example, the answers shown on load (our application): you approved a pale oatmeal swatch and the curtains arrived dark charcoal. That doesn't match the sample, the same logic as ACCC's pink towels that arrived red, so the guarantees apply. A colour that far from the sample can fit ACCC's description of a major problem (very different from the sample), and if it is major you choose between a refund and a replacement; the seller may assess the curtains first.
This is the line that matters most for a custom order, so keep it sharp. If the curtains arrive as you approved them and you now wish you had picked another colour, the guarantees don't cover it. If they arrive in a different fabric, with a defect, or unable to do the job you told the seller about, they do.
CHOICE puts the change-of-mind side plainly: retailers are not obliged to give you a refund or exchange if you just change your mind or find that something doesn't fit. With made-to-measure curtains, "doesn't fit" raises the question of who measured. That is why the checklist asks you to write it down.
When something is genuinely wrong, the size of the problem decides the remedy. A major problem is one that is unsafe, is very different from the description or sample, would have stopped you buying if you had known, or can't be used for its normal or stated purpose and can't easily be fixed in a reasonable time. For a major problem, you choose between a refund and a replacement.
For a minor problem, the seller must fix it, at least with a free repair. If it can't or won't within a reasonable time, you can have it fixed elsewhere and the seller must pay the reasonable cost, or take a refund or replacement.
Two details are worth knowing. A refund should be the full amount paid and in the same form as the original payment. And the business may assess the product before giving a remedy, so don't throw anything out.
Does a Black Friday sale change any of this?
Retailers are “not obliged to give you a refund or exchange if you just change your mind or find that something doesn't fit”
They must still give a remedy for a faulty product.
No. A discount changes the price, not the guarantees. In 2026, Black Friday falls on 27 November, Small Business Saturday on 28 November and Cyber Monday on 30 November, and CHOICE says discounts are likely to run for about two weeks or even more. It expects major-retailer discounts of 20% to 50% off, though in some cases up to 70 to 80% (checked November 2026).
Signs saying “No refund on sale items” or “No refund after 7 days” are illegal, and guarantee rights have no set expiry date.
Signs saying “No refund if you change your mind” or “No refund for incorrect choice” are legal, which is exactly why the checklist above matters on a custom order. If a business does offer a change-of-mind policy, it must follow it.
Watch the checkout. CHOICE says most extended warranties sell rights you already have under the Australian Consumer Law. Warranties are extra promises on top of the guarantees, and a business can't remove the guarantees by saying you must sign an extended warranty.
Compare like with like. In CHOICE's survey, run in October 2025, 52% agreed Black Friday discounts “aren't always genuine”. A percentage off a curtain quote tells you little unless the fabric, lining, fullness, heading, measuring and fitting are the same on both. CHOICE's broader advice is not to make hasty buying decisions, which suits an order you can't send back on a whim.
If a sale tempts you towards a seller overseas, know that overseas sellers must follow the ACL, but in practice remedies can be hard to get.
Small Business Saturday is the gentler end of the week. CHOICE says it encourages consumers to shop locally and support small businesses. For curtains, local has a practical edge: you can ask your questions face to face and hold the swatch at your own window.
What do I do if my curtains arrive wrong?
Start with the seller. The ACCC says you first need to contact the business to discuss the problem and possible solution.
A business can't tell you to take a problem to the manufacturer, because the seller is responsible for resolving problems with what it sold.
Then build your record. Photograph the curtains beside the swatch you approved, measure what arrived, and keep the quote, emails and messages. NSW Fair Trading says a complaint should include details of the issue and copies of correspondence showing how you have tried to resolve it.
Work out whether it is minor or major using the check above. If the goods are large or heavy, the business is responsible for shipping or collecting them, and you should keep receipts for any return costs.
If the problem is with the service, such as the fitting, a major service problem lets you cancel and get a refund, or keep the contract and pay a lower price. The refund may not be the full amount, because you pay a reasonable amount for work already done.
If talking to the seller gets nowhere, NSW Fair Trading handles complaints. This is general information, not legal advice, and every case turns on its own facts.
Bring your questions to the measure, not the checkout
The cheapest protection on a made-to-measure order is a clear one. If you are planning curtains for a Newcastle home, book a measure and quote with Curtains Newcastle and bring the checklist with you. Ask for the fabric, finished size, heading, lining and fullness to go on the quote, and tell us in plain words what the curtains need to do in that room. Then you can weigh any sale on the things that matter.
Sources
- Black Friday and Cyber Monday online shopping tips, CHOICE
- Rights to a repair, replacement or refund, NSW Government
- Major problems, NSW Government
- Consumer rights and guarantees, ACCC
- Repair, replace, refund, cancel, ACCC
Pictures in this guide are illustrations, not photos of our jobs.