How do I claim compensation from Qantas for lost or damaged baggage?

Baggage claims against Qantas sit on firmer legal ground than most passengers realise. For international journeys, the Montreal Convention 1999 makes the airline liable for destruction, loss, damage or delay of checked baggage up to a defined limit measured in Special Drawing Rights, a meaningful four-figure amount per passenger in Australian dollar terms. For domestic travel, the Civil Aviation (Carriers’ Liability) Act 1959 imposes carrier liability for baggage, and the Australian Consumer Law’s guarantees sit alongside both regimes.

Deadlines are the trap in baggage claims, so move quickly. Report the problem before leaving the airport and get a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) with a reference number. For damage to checked baggage under the Convention, written complaint is required within 7 days of receiving the bag; for delay, within 21 days of the bag being made available. Missing these windows can extinguish the claim regardless of its merits, which is precisely why airlines are comfortable processing claims slowly but strictly.

Build the claim like an inventory: list the contents with approximate purchase dates and values, attach receipts or bank records where you have them, photograph the damage, and keep receipts for essentials you bought while a delayed bag was missing, reasonable interim purchases are recoverable for delay. If Qantas lowballs the claim or relies on depreciation tables to offer a fraction of your loss, respond in writing citing the Convention limit and your itemised loss, and escalate: the airline’s internal complaints process first, then a consumer law complaint, with court as the backstop for claims worth pursuing.