Bundled product terms and conditions, a clause-by-clause guide

Your marketing lead has dropped a bundle offer on your desk: a starter kit, three products, one price, free shipping, live by Friday. Before it goes up, someone needs to write the terms that sit underneath it. That task usually lands on the business owner or the in-house operator, and it is where bundled offers quietly go wrong.

Bundled product terms are not a standalone contract. They are a layer of special rules that sits on top of your existing terms of sale or website terms and applies only when a customer buys several goods or services together as one offer. They bind the customer when the offer is accepted at checkout, and they do not replace your general terms. What they do is pin down the bundle-specific details: exactly what is included, what it costs, how it is delivered, what happens on a return, and what happens if the offer renews. Because the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), which is Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) (the CCA), applies item by item to everything in the bundle, the terms also need to work inside the consumer guarantees regime, which no contract can switch off.

The clauses that carry the bundle

Most bundled offers are covered by the same nine clauses. The order below follows the customer's journey, from what they are buying to what happens to their data, and each clause is where a specific ACL risk lives.

What is in the bundle, and what is not

This clause defines the offer. List every item in the bundle with enough specificity to remove doubt: product name, model number, size, colour, version and quantity. Then state what is not included, because exclusions are the first thing customers dispute. If you plan to substitute out-of-stock items, say so here, and say how you will notify the customer:

• The drafting choice that matters: name each item and variant, and tie any substitution right to a defined trigger such as stock failure or discontinuation, with a notice obligation attached.
• The variant to watch for: a clause giving you the right to substitute "items of equivalent value at our discretion" with no definition of equivalent value and no notice. Customers will challenge what "equivalent" means the first time a swap happens.
• The trap: claims about what each item does are representations, not marketing. Section 29 of the ACL prohibits false or misleading representations about a product's standard, quality or value, and under s 56 goods supplied by description must correspond with that description. The Federal Court's penalty in ACCC v Reckitt Benckiser (Australia) Pty Ltd [2016] FCAFC 181 shows the cost of getting this wrong: $6 million for marketing four identical Nurofen products as targeting different types of pain.

The price, the discount and the comparison

State the total bundle price in one figure, then show what the customer is actually paying for. If the bundle is promoted as a saving, the comparison must be real: s 29 of the ACL catches false or misleading representations about price, and a "was/now" comparison needs a genuine reference price you can substantiate. The single price rule in s 48 of the ACL adds a mechanical requirement: if you advertise a component of the price for goods or services ordinarily bought for personal or household use, you must also specify the total price prominently as a single figure. Delivery charges can be quoted separately, but only if you disclose them:

• Drafting minimum: one prominent total figure, a list of what is extra such as delivery or installation, and a note on how the discount was calculated.
• The trap: advertising "50% off" against a reference price the business never genuinely charged. The comparison fails under s 29 and refunds follow.
• The variant: per-item pricing alongside the bundle price. Useful for transparency, but it gives customers a ready-made argument about the value of each item when a partial return happens.

Who can buy, and for how long

State the eligibility criteria plainly: new customers only, one bundle per household, minimum age, business customers excluded. Then state the duration of the offer, either fixed start and end dates or "ongoing until withdrawn". If stock is limited, say so, and be honest about how limited. A "while stocks last" claim is a representation about availability, and making it when you know supply is thin invites the disputes it is meant to avoid.

Ordering, availability and stock-outs

Set out which channels the bundle is available through, whether there are geographic restrictions, and what happens if one item in the bundle is unavailable at order time. The choices are to ship the rest and backorder the missing item, to delay the whole order, to substitute, or to refund the missing item. Pick one and write it down; the common failure is promising flexibility the fulfilment team cannot deliver:

• The drafting choice that matters: define the customer's remedy if an item cannot be supplied, so the refund or substitute path is automatic rather than improvised.
• The trap: a checkout that sells the bundle while a component is actually out of stock, combined with terms that let you hold the whole order indefinitely. The customer experiences a delay, not a term.

Delivery and split shipments

If the bundle ships as multiple parcels, the customer needs to know before they pay: items ship separately, delivery may take longer, and tracking applies per parcel. If shipping is promoted as free, clarify whether that covers every parcel or only the first shipment. The single price rule in s 48 does not require delivery charges to be folded into the advertised price, but they must be disclosed in a way the customer sees before committing.

Returns, refunds and replacements

This is where bundled offers most often come unstuck, because the ACL applies to each item, not to the bundle as a single product. Every item carries the guarantees: acceptable quality under s 54 of the ACL, correspondence with description under s 56, and the rest of Part 3-2. Under s 259, if a guarantee fails and the problem is not a major failure, the customer can require you to remedy it within a reasonable time, and you can choose to repair, replace or refund under s 261. If the failure is major under s 260, the customer can reject the goods or recover compensation. Section 64 makes any term that purports to exclude these guarantees void.

Then draft the arithmetic for partial returns. If a customer returns one item from a three-item discounted bundle, what do they get back? The workable approach is to state that a refund for a returned item is calculated as a proportion of the bundle price actually paid, not the item's standalone price, and that the discount is not retained on items kept. State whether a faulty item will be repaired or replaced without unwinding the rest of the bundle:

• The trap: "no refunds on promotional items" or "all sales final". Void to the extent they exclude the guarantees, and they generate the disputes they were meant to prevent.
• The drafting minimum: an acknowledgement that ACL guarantees apply, a statement of the repair, replace or refund path for faulty items, and a written formula for partial-return refunds.
• The variant to resist: treating the bundle as one product so a single faulty item forces a refund of the whole bundle, or conversely refusing any remedy because "the bundle was discounted".

Subscriptions, renewals and minimum terms

For bundles that renew, state the renewal date, how the customer cancels, the notice period, and how price changes are handled. Then check the terms against the unfair contract terms regime in Part 2-3 of the ACL. Section 23 voids unfair terms in standard form consumer and small business contracts, and since penalties were introduced in 2022 a contravention exposes the business to pecuniary penalties. Terms that are hidden, one-sided or leave the customer with no practical way out, such as an auto-renewal buried in fine print or a unilateral price increase without notice, are the ones regulators and courts look at first:

• Drafting minimum: a clear renewal notification, a cancellation path that works in practice, and a stated formula for pro-rata refunds or early termination fees.
• The trap: an auto-renewal that only surfaces on the credit card statement. Even if a court would not call it unfair, the complaint volume alone is not worth it.

Promotions, bonuses and gift with purchase

If the bundle includes a bonus or gift, spell out the conditions to receive it: spend threshold, eligible products, time limits. Then state whether the bonus item is refundable or exchangeable if the customer returns the underlying purchase. A "free gift" that is quietly priced into the bundle is a representation about price that can mislead under s 29.

Data and privacy

Bundles collect data: delivery addresses, subscription details, payment information, marketing preferences. If your business is covered by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), Australian Privacy Principle 5 requires you to notify individuals at or before collection of who you are, why you are collecting the information, and how they can access it or complain about it. Link to your privacy policy from the bundle terms, and say how customer information will be used for renewals and marketing, with a working opt-out. Collect only what the bundle actually needs.

Optional clauses worth adding

Add any of the following clauses where the bundle has the relevant characteristics:

• Third-party brand permission: include this when the bundle contains goods carrying another brand, or when marketing references another business. You need the trade mark owner's permission, and the clause should record your authority to use the branding.
• Force majeure and stock failure: include this when the bundle depends on a single supplier or a seasonal product. It sets out what happens, such as refund, substitute or delay, if supply collapses, and stops the stock-out dispute from landing entirely on your terms.
• Pro-rata refund formula: include this as a standalone clause whenever the bundle is discounted and partial returns are likely. It does not change the consumer guarantees, but it removes the argument about how much the customer gets back.
• Price adjustment for ongoing bundles: include this for subscription bundles that may change price. It should promise notice and a chance to cancel before the new price applies, which keeps the term out of the unfair contract terms zone.
• Competition law caution: if the bundle ties a popular product to an unrelated one, or sits inside an exclusive distribution arrangement, get tailored advice before launch. Bundling is generally lawful, but forcing a customer to take an unrelated product as the price of getting another can raise issues.

When to have an Artificer Legal lawyer review your bundle terms

An Artificer Legal practitioner would review the bundle terms before the offer goes live, in this order. First, the inclusions and substitution drafting, because that is where the offer is actually defined. Second, the returns and refund mechanics, tested clause by clause against ss 259 to 261 of the ACL and the partial-return arithmetic. Third, the subscription and renewal terms, checked against the unfair contract terms regime and the penalty exposure in s 23. Fourth, the savings claims and marketing copy, to make sure every comparison can be substantiated. Last, the privacy notices, to confirm Australian Privacy Principle 5 compliance and working opt-outs.

We would push back on discretionary substitution without notice, on "no refunds" language that s 64 voids, on auto-renewals hidden in fine print, and on reference prices with no genuine basis. We would insist on precise inclusion schedules, a written refund formula, a prominent single price, and renewal notifications that work in practice. The review is cheapest before the first campaign, and it is the moment the terms can still be fixed without a customer having relied on them.

Where bundle terms usually break down: partial returns

If a bundled offer is going to generate a dispute, it will usually be about a partial return: one item faulty, three items kept, and a customer who wants the full discount on everything they keep plus a refund for the returned item. The terms that handle this well contain a written refund formula, a repair or replace path for faulty items that does not unwind the whole bundle, and a statement that the discount applies only to what is kept. Draft that arithmetic before launch, because once a customer has relied on the offer, the terms are no longer yours to interpret.

Bundled product terms supplement, rather than replace, your general terms of sale. They fix what is included, what it costs, who can buy, how it is delivered, how returns and renewals work, and how customer data is used. The ACL applies to every item in the bundle: the consumer guarantees cannot be excluded, misleading claims about price or product carry real penalties, and hidden or one-sided renewal terms are void. Write the terms so marketing, operations and the law say the same thing, and get a review before the offer goes live.