Gym Membership Cancellation Rules in Australia: A State-by-State Guide for Gyms and Studios

In The Subscription Playbook I write about the old gym model: sign people up in January, count on most of them never coming, and make it hard to leave. It worked for a long time. It's also the reason gym memberships are a byword for subscription traps, and why regulators keep coming back to them.

The good news is that the gyms and studios I see doing best have moved on. They make joining easy and leaving easy, and they keep members because the experience is good. That's also the direction the law is heading.

This guide is for gym, studio and fitness business owners. It sets out the main rules by state as at October 2026. It's general information, not legal advice. Codes change, so always check the current version for your state.

The national layer: the Australian Consumer Law

Wherever you are, the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) applies to memberships sold to consumers. The parts that matter most:

• Unfair contract terms. Terms in standard form consumer contracts can be void if they're unfair. Since November 2023, using or relying on unfair terms can attract penalties. NSW Government guidance gives examples of potentially unfair gym terms, such as preventing cancellation when you're seriously ill or injured, or requiring an unreasonably long notice period.
• Misleading conduct. Saying "no refunds under any circumstances" can be misleading, because consumers have guarantees that can't be excluded.
• Consumer guarantees. Services must be provided with due care and skill and be fit for purpose. If you close a location or can't provide what was paid for, members may be entitled to a remedy.

State by state

Queensland

Queensland's fitness industry code is a regulation made under the Fair Trading Act 1989 (Qld), in force since 1 July 2003. Based on the current consolidated version, the key rules are:

• Cooling-off: 48 hours. It starts when the client signs, or on the opening day if they sign before the centre opens. The client can terminate by written notice and must be refunded within 21 days, less any unpaid fee for services already supplied and the administration fee.
• Administration fee cap. For cooling-off and medical terminations, the administration fee can't exceed the lesser of A$75 or 10% of the membership fee.
• Medical termination. A client who can't use the service because of permanent sickness or physical incapacity (lasting the greater of the remaining term or 5 years) can terminate with written notice and a medical certificate. The unused portion of fees must be refunded within 21 days, less the allowed deductions.
• Other terminations. A client can terminate by written notice at other times, and the maximum termination fee is the one stated in the agreement. It must be disclosed before signing.
• Prepayment. For terms longer than one year, a supplier can't accept prepayment for more than 1 year of the term.
• Ongoing agreements. The supplier must give written notice at least 2 months before the initial term ends.
• Written agreement. It must be in writing, legible, signed by both parties, with a copy given immediately, and must include the fees, total payable, cooling-off details and termination rights.

Western Australia

WA's Consumer Protection guidance (updated September 2026) says:

• Cooling-off: 7 days for all new fitness agreements, without needing a reason.
• Cancellation at any time in writing, with notice of up to 30 days and termination fees possible after cooling-off.
• Termination fees can only be charged if stated in the agreement.
• Prepaid memberships are limited to 12 months' payment in advance.
• Suspension isn't a legal right, but can be negotiated and agreed in writing.

ACT

The ACT approved a new Fitness Industry Code of Practice 2025 by disallowable instrument DI2026-2, signed 21 December 2025 and in force from 9 January 2026, replacing the 2009 code. Key points:

• Cooling-off: 7 days for memberships of 3 months or more, from purchase. Notice must be in writing, delivered or sent by certified mail. Refunds are due within 7 days, less the cost of services used and a reasonable administration charge.
• Permanent incapacity. Members can terminate with written notice and a medical certificate. Refunds are due within 21 days.
• Deferment. For temporary incapacity of more than 10 consecutive days, members can seek deferment, capped at 3 months in any 12 months unless the gym agrees to more.
• Prepayment and term limits. Prepaid memberships can't exceed 12 months, and renewals can't take total prepaid membership past 15 months. Fixed terms for periodic billing are limited to 12 months, and where the centre's lease has less than 12 months to run, memberships can't extend past the end of the lease.
• Pre-opening sales. Prepaid fees taken before opening must be held in a solicitor's trust account, and sales can't start more than 3 months before services begin.
• Notice. For periodic billing, the member remains liable until 14 days after written notice.

South Australia

South Australia has the Fair Trading (Health and Fitness Industry Code) Regulations 2022, which apply from 1 September 2022. Consumer and Business Services SA summarises the main changes: agreements can continue periodically after an initial fixed term of up to 12 months; members can cancel at the end of the initial fixed term without penalty; gyms must send a reminder one month before the initial fixed term ends; and gyms must keep offering fixed-term agreements that end automatically. Read the current regulations on the SA legislation website before relying on the detail.

New South Wales

The NSW Government's current consumer guidance on fitness memberships tells members to check their contract for the cooling-off period and cancellation terms, to cancel in writing so the date can be proved, and notes that administration fees may be non-refundable even in a cooling-off period. NSW no longer has a fitness-specific law: the Fitness Services (Pre-paid Fees) Act 2000 was repealed in 2015 in favour of the Australian Consumer Law. NSW gyms should rely on clear terms, the ACL and a fair approach to illness and injury.

Victoria

Victoria doesn't have a mandatory fitness code. The Victorian Government said in 2020 that Consumer Affairs Victoria worked with fitness centres to remove or change potentially unfair terms, including automatic membership renewals, and that members should get a copy of the contract and be able to read it before joining.

The 2027 subscription rules

From 1 July 2027, the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Act 2026 adds national duties for subscriptions, which will include most gym memberships:

• Clear disclosure at sign-up of key terms.
• Periodic notices during the subscription, for contract types and at times to be set by regulation (none had been made when we last checked).
• An easy, straightforward way to cancel, online if members can join online.
• A ban on unfair trading practices, including manipulative design.

The rules apply to contracts entered into from 1 July 2027, and to earlier contracts once they're renewed, extended or varied. They sit on top of the state codes. A gym that meets its state code but makes members cancel in person, by letter, only on certain days, could still fall foul of the national rules. Read Australia's subscription trap laws.

What good looks like

The gyms that will do best under these rules are already doing this:

1. Online sign-up, online cancel. If they joined in two minutes, they can leave in two minutes.
2. Freeze before cancel. Offer a pause for travel, injury or a busy season. Many members who'd cancel will pause instead.
3. Fair medical policy. Treat illness and injury generously, with a certificate, whatever your state code says.
4. Plain-English terms. Price, term, renewal, notice and fees on one page.
5. Reasonable fees. Admin and exit fees close to your real costs.
6. Reminders before renewal of fixed terms and before any price rise.
7. Exit surveys. Find out why people leave. It's the most useful data you'll collect. Try our exit survey template.

I wrote more on what makes fitness memberships work in subscriptions for gyms.

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Robert Coorey, MBA

Robert is the author of The Subscription Playbook and Feed a Starving Crowd and a Director at BPAG Accountants in Sydney. More about Robert.