What compensation can I claim from Virgin Australia for baggage problems?

Virgin Australia’s liability for your baggage is not a goodwill gesture, it is imposed by law. International journeys fall under the Montreal Convention 1999, which makes the carrier liable for loss, damage and delay of checked baggage up to a per-passenger limit set in Special Drawing Rights. Domestic journeys engage the Civil Aviation (Carriers’ Liability) Act 1959 and the carrier’s conditions, with the Australian Consumer Law guarantees applying across both. The practical meaning: documented losses within the limits should be paid, and "we only pay per kilo" style responses understate international entitlements.

Protect the claim at the airport: report before leaving the baggage hall and obtain a Property Irregularity Report with a reference. The Convention’s written-notice deadlines are unforgiving, 7 days from receipt of the bag for damage claims, 21 days from when the bag was made available for delay claims, and a missed deadline can kill an otherwise valid claim. Email your written claim with the PIR reference within those windows even if the airline says an investigation is still running.

Then build the file: itemised contents with values and purchase evidence, photos of damage, and receipts for reasonable essentials purchased while a delayed bag was missing, toiletries and necessary clothing are standard recoverable items. If the assessment comes back heavily depreciated or capped by an internal policy below your documented loss, respond in writing citing the applicable liability regime and your itemised evidence, escalate through Virgin’s complaints process, and treat the ACCC and your travel insurer as parallel tracks. Persistence in writing routinely doubles initial baggage offers.