BluesfestGlobal financial service PayPal has announced a special one-off exception to their policy in the wake of Bluesfest’s cancellation, providing positive news for fans seeking a refund.
The Byron Bay music festival announced its cancellation on March 13th, with news following soon that the event had entered liquidation, leaving many millions of dollars still owed to ticket holders.
At the time, insolvency firm Worrells were announced as liquidators of the festival, though they remained somewhat uncertain about the likelihood of fans receiving refunds.
“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,” stated liquidator Jason Bettles.
Now, it has been announced that PayPal has decided to make an exception to ensure more ticket holders are eligible for refunds.
“When you purchase tickets using PayPal, you may be eligible for a refund under PayPal’s Buyer Protection policy if an event is cancelled, or if tickets are fake or do not arrive,” a spokesperson said in a statement provided to The Music.
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“In light of Bluesfest’s sudden cancellation, and to support our customers, PayPal is making a one-time exception to its standard Buyer Protection eligibility window. PayPal will consider all eligible claims for Bluesfest 2026 (Byron Bay) tickets purchased using PayPal, including those made more than 180 days prior to the dispute.
“Customers who purchased Bluesfest tickets using PayPal Pay in 4 are encouraged to contact PayPal via the ‘Contact Us’ section on our website for assistance with their claim,” the statement concluded.
As The Australian notes, PayPal was named as one of Bluesfest’s creditors, with documents filed to ASIC listing PayPal as being owed $1.73m.
This new announcement only relates to ticket holders whose purchase was made via PayPal, meaning that those who purchased tickets using credit cards will have to liaise with their payment institutions to discuss their options regarding refunds.
In a recent feature published by The Music, Kavisha Kuruk – a Partner at Australian music business and accounting firm White Sky – explained that ticket holders do have a handful of viable options when it comes to obtaining a refunds.
For those who purchased via credit cards, they are advised to contact their bank “immediately and request a chargeback on the grounds that services were not provided.”
“Most banks allow 120 days – although some are calculated from the transaction date and others the expected service date.,” Kuruk noted.
Additionally, ticket holders are advised to explore options such as checking ticket insurance and travel insurance policies, and to also lodging a claim via worrells.net.au. “As an unsecured creditor, you rank last in the payment queue but register your claim anyway,” Kuruk stated.
The 2026 edition of Bluesfest was scheduled to take place across the Easter long weekend from April 2nd through April 5th, with headline acts Split Enz, Parkway Drive, Sublime, and more previously confirmed to appear.
