How to reduce no-shows: deposits, reminders and fair cancellation fees

Updated October 22, 2026 · 5 min read

Start with reminders, then a clear cancellation policy, and take a deposit or hold a card only where an empty slot really costs you. In Australia, a no-show or cancellation fee has to be shown to the client before they book, and it has to be reasonable and linked to what you actually lose; a fee that punishes rather than covers your cost can be an unfair contract term. Health providers can’t claim Medicare for a missed appointment, but can charge a fee the patient agreed to in advance.

What a no-show costs

No-shows happen even where appointments matter most: Tasmania’s major public hospitals recorded 6–8% of outpatient appointments as “did not attend” each weekday in early October 2026, according to the state’s health system dashboard.

For a small business the cost is easy to underestimate because it arrives one empty slot at a time:

Example figures over 52 weeks, before any slot is rebooked. Put in your own numbers.

What a fee has to be

• Shown before they book. Put the fee in your terms and bring it to the client’s attention before the booking is made, says the WA Small Business Development Corporation’s guidance on cancellation policies. The ACCC requires businesses to tell consumers at the start of the purchase what types of fees apply and when, under its price display rules.
• Reasonable, and linked to your loss. The fee “needs to be reasonable and reflect the actual costs you suffered”, and you can’t recoup the full cost of a service the client cancelled, the same guidance says. A fee may be unreasonable if you can easily fill the slot again.
• Not an unfair term. A term in a standard contract is unfair if it creates a significant imbalance, isn’t reasonably necessary to protect your business, and would cause harm; terms that penalise only one side are an example, says the ACCC. Since November 2023, using unfair terms attracts penalties, and the ACCC has named harmful cancellation terms, including early termination fees, among its 2026–27 priorities.
• Charged openly. You can’t charge a client’s card without telling them or giving them a chance to dispute the charge, the WA guidance says.
• Never a “no refunds” policy. A store policy can’t override a consumer’s guarantee rights, says business.gov.au.

New consumer laws passed in July 2026 ban unfair trading practices and subscription traps from 1 July 2027, according to Treasury ministers.

Deposits

Consumer Affairs Victoria’s guidance for tourism businesses says a fair deposit is generally no more than 10% of the total cost of the service booked unless your potential loss justifies more, and that larger amounts may be treated as prepayments, refundable less your actual or reasonable costs. It is written for tourism, but the reasoning applies to any booking: a deposit should cover the loss of the slot, not the whole service.

From 1 October 2026, card surcharges are banned on eftpos, Mastercard, Visa and American Express payments, and relabelling a surcharge as another fee may be misleading, says the ACCC. Its own example is a hair salon. Build card costs into your prices instead.

If you are a health provider

• Medicare doesn’t pay for missed appointments. Benefits can’t be paid for services that weren’t provided, says Services Australia.
• A non-attendance fee is possible if agreed in advance. A bulk-billing practice may charge a missed-appointment or late-cancellation fee privately, where the patient knew the cost in advance, according to the Department of Health’s April 2026 guidance.
• DVA patients pay the fee themselves. DVA doesn’t pay for missed appointments; if charging for them is standard practice, the patient pays, according to its January 2026 notes for allied health providers.
• Get financial consent first. Registered practitioners such as physiotherapists, chiropractors and podiatrists should discuss fees, preferably before the service, under Ahpra’s shared code of conduct.

Reminders that stay within the rules

Appointment and payment reminders are generally not spam, says ACMA. Add an offer or promotion, though, and the message becomes commercial, which needs the client’s consent and a working unsubscribe, according to ACMA’s common mistakes guidance. Keep reminders factual.

If your texts show your business name instead of a phone number, the sender ID had to be registered through your telco before 1 July 2026, or it shows as “Unverified” next to scam messages, says ACMA.

For health providers, it is generally reasonable to treat a patient’s consent to appointment reminders as implied, and the OAIC’s own example includes a reminder that a fee may apply if they don’t cancel and don’t attend, according to its guidance on communicating with patients.

Setting it up in your booking system

Most booking systems can do the three things that matter: send reminders, show your policy and take a deposit or hold a card. For example:

• Square Appointments lets you require prepayment or keep a card on file, set a cancellation cut-off from one hour to two weeks, and charge a flat or percentage no-show fee. It shows the policy in the booking flow and confirmation emails, and sends reminders from an hour to three days before.
• Google Calendar’s paid appointments take payment through a connected Stripe account and show your cancellation policy on the booking form and in reminder emails. Google doesn’t handle refunds; you do.

A cancellation policy that holds up

1. Notice period. Say how much notice you need, for example 24 hours.
2. The fee and what it covers. Say what you charge for a late cancellation or no-show and that it covers the lost slot.
3. Waive it when you can. If you fill the slot, consider waiving or reducing the fee; that keeps it tied to your actual loss.
4. Exceptions. Say how you treat illness and emergencies.
5. How to cancel. Make it easy: reply to the reminder or use the link.
6. Where it appears. On the booking page, in the confirmation and in every reminder, before any card is charged.

Sources

• Tasmanian Department of Health: Health system dashboard, outpatients (October 2026)
• WA Small Business Development Corporation: What to include in your cancellation policy
• ACCC: Contracts (July 2026), Price displays (October 2026) and Card surcharges (October 2026)
• ACCC: Compliance and enforcement priorities 2026–27 (June 2026)
• business.gov.au: Australian Consumer Law and your business
• Treasury ministers: Unfair trading tricks and traps to be banned (July 2026)
• Consumer Affairs Victoria: When customers cancel, guidance for tourism businesses
• Services Australia: MBS and DVA billing
• Department of Health: Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program FAQs (April 2026)
• DVA: Notes for allied health providers (January 2026)
• Ahpra: Shared code of conduct
• ACMA: Dealing with spam, Common issues and mistakes and Sending text messages with your business name (June 2026)
• OAIC: Communications with patients
• Square: Cancellation and prepayment policies and Appointment reminders
• Google Calendar: Require payments for appointments

Rules and features were checked in October 2026 and can change. General information, not legal advice; have your terms reviewed.