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How To Get A Refund For Your Bluesfest Ticket

Mary Varvaris

You will likely require some patience, but there is a way to get your money back if you were planning on attending Bluesfest 2026.

Rickie Lee Jones @ Bluesfest 2024
Rickie Lee Jones @ Bluesfest 2024(Credit: Somefx)
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Bluesfest will no longer go ahead this year, throwing punters’ Easter Weekend plans into disarray. And the question on ticketholders’ lips is: can we get our money back?

This year’s festival, headlined by Split Enz, Parkway Drive, and Sublime and featuring many other acts across the genres of blues, roots, rock, pop, soul, and R&B, was cancelled on Friday (13 March), three weeks out from the event taking place.

“This decision follows extensive consideration of the current operating environment for major live music events,” a statement from the festival organisers read. “Rising production, logistics, insurance and touring costs, combined with softer ticket demand and international uncertainties, have made it impossible to proceed with the festival in 2026.”

The statement noted that a liquidator is now involved in managing the festival’s financial matters, including vendor and partner obligations. The liquidator will also be directly contacting all ticketholders regarding the “process for submitting claims and any potential refund arrangements.”

Yesterday, The Courier Mail reported that Bluesfest owes more than $23m to ticket holders alone.

Four-day entry tickets had been sold for $686.40 plus booking fee, with the publication noting that a 510-page report, which will be lodged with ASIC, outlines the figures owed by the festival, with some audience members paying up to $15,000.

Liquidator Jason Bettles wrote in a message to ticketholders – including those with parking and camping passes – that they have the option to lodge a claim with the company as an unsecured creditor, though their success rate may vary.

“At this stage, it seems unlikely that you will be refunded from the liquidation any money, but we will notify you if the position changes,” Bettles stated.

So, how do you get your money back? Ticket holders can ask their bank or credit union to initiate a chargeback on their credit or debit card, which reverses a transaction and secures a refund for an event that is no longer going ahead.

While Visa and Mastercard expect cardholders to contact the retailer – in this case, Bluesfest – before seeking a refund, ticketholders should be eligible for a chargeback in one of the most common cases: the item has unfortunately not been supplied by the retailer due to insolvency.

If your bank or credit union deems your chargeback request to be valid, they’ll notify the retailer’s bank, which may accept the request and refund your money, or possibly reject the chargeback if they find it to be invalid.

However, if your bank or credit union disagrees with the retailer’s bank’s reasoning, they can ask your credit card scheme, such as Visa or Mastercard, to make the final decision.

You will likely require some patience – a chargeback can take up to 120 days to appear in your bank account – but, if you’re content to make phone calls and send emails and back your case for a chargeback, we think you’re in with a good shot. Head to the Choice website to find out more about chargebacks.