Consumer Warning - Dinosaur Festival Darwin

Dinosaur Festival Darwin on the verge of extinction

Northern Territory Consumer Affairs is warning consumers to beware of the Dinosaur Festival Darwin. According to the website dedicated to the event and Facebook advertisements, the Dinosaur Festival Darwin was supposed to take place at the Jingili Water Gardens from 29 to 31 July 2022.

The venue operators have confirmed that the event will neither go ahead at the Jingili Water Gardens nor the Darwin Show Grounds at that date. Applications to hold the event on another date have not been received.

NT Consumer Affairs has no further information that might indicate that the event could take place elsewhere. Enquiries made to the company organizing the event, Festival Ignite Pty Ltd (ABN 20 642 145 186), and its director Mr David Huni, have remained unanswered.

Yet, the company is still selling tickets through one of its websites, while another associated website has recently been suspended. Advertisements on their Facebook page have not been removed.

The Terms and Conditions exclude the possibility for refunds even in circumstances where consumers are entitled to get their money back. Such Terms and Conditions have the potential to mislead consumers about their rights to refunds.

In Newcastle in New South Wales the event was scheduled from 13 to 15 May. The company cancelled at the very last minute on 13 May due to the heavy rainfalls. The company now relies on their Terms and Conditions to deny any refunds. However, even after the cancellation of the event, the company was still selling tickets online for the cancelled event.

NT Consumer Affairs Commissioner Ms Sandra Otto advises, "In light of this new information, particularly the absence of any confirmed bookings for a venue at which to hold the event, I would encourage those who have already purchased tickets to the event to contact Festival Ignite Pty Ltd and ask for a refund anyway. If you don’t have any joy, you may wish to lodge a charge-back with your bank to have the payment transaction reversed."

"Given that the event has previously taken place in other parts of Australia, we had no reason to entertain the scam allegations that arose in the past. However, in light of this new information, it is time to warn consumers and hopefully save Territorians some money."

Key facts

• There are no confirmed venue bookings for the Dinosaur Festival Darwin to take place in Darwin from 29 to 31 July 2022
• Nevertheless tickets are still being sold online
• The Terms and Conditions on the event website contain clauses that could mislead consumers about their rights to request refunds