Reference · Laptops
How long should a laptop last in Australia?
The short answer
There is no fixed number in Australian law.The Australian Consumer Law guarantees that a laptop is of acceptable quality, which includes being as durable as a reasonable consumer would expect. The ACCC says plainly that there are "no set rules" for how long a product should last; it depends on the product, its price, what was promised and how it was used. source
The guarantee outlasts the warranty.In the ACCC's own worked example, a basic laptop with a one-year warranty whose processor and battery fail at eighteen months is likely notof acceptable quality, because "a reasonable consumer would expect a laptop to last for longer than one and a half years". source
The most-cited Australian figure is eight yearsfor a high-end laptop — Choice's estimate, as reported by ABC News in 2018. Choice's current buying guide gives no number at all. source
Australian Consumer Law
What the law actually says
Section 54 of the Australian Consumer Law guarantees that goods sold to a consumer are of acceptable quality. The ACCC's guidance on what that means for durability says:
"Consumer guarantees under the ACL apply for a reasonable time and in addition to any warranties that manufacturers and/or suppliers sell or give to you. This means consumer guarantees may continue to apply during the period of those warranties and after those warranties expire."
How long is reasonable turns on four things the Act itself lists:
- The nature of the good— the materials and components, and whether it was sold new, refurbished or as a factory second. A refurbished laptop's second-hand parts can reasonably be expected to last less time than new ones.
- The price — a higher price generally buys a longer reasonable life, though the ACCC warns price is not the only test.
- Statements made about it— on the box, by the salesperson, or in the warranty. A claim that something is "built to last" raises the bar the good has to meet.
- Any other relevant circumstances — heavy use shortens the reasonable life; light use extends it; a laptop leased on a 24-month contract should last at least the 24 months.
On the manufacturer's warranty specifically, the guidance is direct:
"A warranty can only complement these guarantees, not modify or remove them. This means that you can often expect a good to last longer than the supplier or manufacturer's warranty period."
Quotations from the ACCC's draft guidance on reasonable durability (2019). source
Worked example
The ACCC's own laptop example
The regulator's guidance uses a laptop to illustrate the point. It is worth reading in full, because it is the sentence a retailer is least able to argue with:
"Li Wei buys a basic laptop which comes with a one year manufacturers' warranty. The laptop's central processing unit and battery stop working one year and six months after purchase. It is likely Li Wei could claim the laptop is not of acceptable quality under the ACL because it is not reasonably durable. This is because a reasonable consumer would expect a laptop to last for longer than one and a half years, despite the manufacturer's warranty having expired."
Note what the example does not say: it does not name a number of years a laptop must last. It says eighteen months is too short for a basic one. A dearer machine, or one sold on a durability claim, sets a higher expectation. source
Figures
Published lifespan figures for laptops
No Australian regulator publishes a lifespan table. These are the figures that exist, with their provenance and age, so you can judge how much weight each carries.
| Source | What it says | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACCC durability guidance | A basic laptop failing at 18 months, one year after its warranty ended, is likely not of acceptable quality. | 2019 (draft) | source |
| Choice, via ABC News | "A high-end laptop should last eight years." | Oct 2018 | source |
| Choice laptop buying guide | No number. Advises choosing enough RAM and SSD storage "to last you a long time", since neither can usually be upgraded later. | Current | source |
Price matters in the ACCC's reasoning. Its parallel washing-machine example holds that a $1,250 machine failing at eight years could be claimed against while a $400 one failing at the same age could not; the same logic applies to a $3,000 laptop against a $1,000 one.
Warranty terms
Warranty periods for the laptops we rank
The written warranty is the floor, not the ceiling — every maker below says so in its own terms. As published on 7 September 2026, for the brands currently in our laptop ranking:
| Brand | Standard warranty (Australia) | Battery | On the ACL |
|---|---|---|---|
Apple
| Apple One (1) Year Limited Warranty. | Not separately stated on the page cited. | Apple: the limited warranty and AppleCare benefits "are in addition to rights provided by consumer law". source |
ASUS
| The period printed on the label on the underside of the notebook — "24M means 24 months, and 36M means 36 months" from the date the warranty started. | 12 months from the date of purchase. | ASUS: "ASUS products come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law." source |
Lenovo
| Set per product — the Limited Warranty defers the period to "Part 3 – Warranty Service Information" for your model. Check it by serial number. | Not separately stated in the document cited; see Part 3 for your model. | Lenovo: "The benefits given by this warranty are in addition to your rights and remedies at law, including those under the Australian Consumer Law." source 1 · source 2 |
HP
| 1 year (1/1/0) limited warranty — one year parts and labour, no on-site service. | Not separately stated on the page cited. | HP: "Our goods come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law." source 1 · source 2 |
Warranty periods are quoted from each maker's Australian terms on the date above and can change; the document linked in each row is the one that applies.
Remedies
If your laptop has died
The order matters. The ACCC's guidance on remedies, step by step:
- Go back to the retailer, not the manufacturer. The business that sold it is responsible for the remedy and cannot refuse to help by referring you to the maker. Bring proof of purchase — a receipt is enough, and the product does not have to be in its original packaging. source
- Work out whether the failure is major or minor. The ACCC treats a problem as major when the product is unsafe, is very different from its description, has one serious fault or several smaller ones that would have stopped you buying it, or cannot do its normal job and cannot easily be fixed in a reasonable time. source
- Major failure: you choose a refund or a replacement, and the seller cannot decide for you. Minor failure: the seller chooses, and will usually repair it free of charge within a reasonable time. source
- Being offered an extended warranty instead?The ACCC's advice: "always ask the retailer to list what it gives you over and above your automatic consumer guarantee rights." source
- If the retailer refuses, the next step is your state or territory consumer protection agency, and after that the relevant tribunal. The ACCC lists them. source
Recall register
Is any laptop we rank recalled?
Checked 6 September 2026 against the current Product Safety Australia feeds for computers, laptops and accessories (25 notices, 21 June 2019 to 30 June 2026) and lithium-ion batteries (25 notices, 7 March 2025 to 6 August 2026):
No notice matches any of the 7 laptops we rank.
Each ACCC feed carries only its 25 most recent notices, so this covers the current feeds, not every recall ever issued. Search the full register at productsafety.gov.au.
Questions people ask
Is the warranty on a laptop in Australia one year or two?+
Neither is fixed by law. The written warranty is whatever the maker publishes — Apple and HP state one year for the laptops on this page, ASUS prints the period on the notebook's label, Lenovo sets it per model. Separately, the Australian Consumer Law guarantees that the laptop is of acceptable quality for a reasonable time, and that guarantee applies in addition to the warranty and can outlast it.
My laptop is out of warranty and has just died. Do I have any rights?+
Possibly. The consumer guarantees do not end with the warranty. The ACCC's own worked example is a basic laptop with a one-year warranty whose processor and battery fail at eighteen months: the ACCC says a reasonable consumer would expect a laptop to last longer than that, so the owner could likely claim it was not of acceptable quality. Go to the retailer you bought it from, with the receipt.
Does the battery count, or is it excluded as a consumable?+
Makers often give batteries a shorter written warranty — ASUS, for example, states twelve months. The ACCC's durability guidance says that where a good has a limited-lifespan part that cannot be replaced and the whole good becomes unusable when it fails, you can expect that part, and therefore the good as a whole, to last a reasonable time after purchase.
Can the shop send me to the manufacturer?+
No. The ACCC states that the business that sold you the product cannot refuse to help by telling you to contact the manufacturer. You can approach the manufacturer yourself, but the retailer remains responsible for the remedy.
If it is not worth fixing
The questions people ask before buying — which one, at what price — are on the laptop ranking, which is re-checked weekly and priced daily. This page stays with the machine you already own.
Provenance
Sources
- ACCC — Consumer guarantees
- ACCC — Guidance on 'reasonable durability' (draft for consultation, 2019)
- ACCC — Repair, replace, refund, cancel
- ABC News, 26 October 2018 — "How long should a fridge, TV, laptop or smartphone last?" (figures attributed to Choice)
- Choice — How to buy a laptop that suits your needs
- Apple Support (Australia) — About the warranty coverage for your Apple device
- ASUS — Notebook warranty information for Australia and New Zealand
- Lenovo — Limited Warranty, Australia and New Zealand (L505-0010-02, 03/2021)
- Lenovo — Warranty lookup (Australia)
- HP Australia — OmniBook 5 range
- HP Australia — Store terms and conditions
- Product Safety Australia (ACCC) — recall register
Quotations from the ACCC and Product Safety Australia are © Commonwealth of Australia and reproduced under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Manufacturer terms are quoted from the documents linked above.