An online mattress order commits your money before you know how it feels at home. A trial can give you a way to return it, but collection, hygiene rules and excluded charges affect how much money and work you recover. Later, if the mattress feels softer or develops a hollow, a defects warranty asks a different set of questions.
Compare the reason for a claim, the evidence required and the remedy offered. The number of nights or years is only one part of that check. These Australian examples use published terms for the Ecosa Mattress, Sleeping Duck Mach II, Koala Mattress and standard Sleep Republic Mattress. They do not establish which company handles claims best.
Separate the three routes
| Route | What you are asking for | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Comfort trial | A return because the mattress does not suit you during the trial | Deadline, minimum use, condition, collection and refund deductions |
| Voluntary defects warranty | The maker's promised remedy for a covered defect | Definition of the fault, base and care rules, evidence, remedy and freight |
| Australian Consumer Law guarantees | A remedy when the product fails an applicable consumer guarantee | The nature of the failure and the remedy available under the law |
Australian Consumer Law guarantees apply automatically. A manufacturer's warranty adds promises and cannot remove those rights. Consumer guarantee rights can outlast a stated warranty period; their duration depends on the product and circumstances, rather than a universal mattress lifespan.1
During a trial, a mattress can be undamaged and still unsuitable for you. After the trial, a change in comfort does not by itself establish a defect covered by the voluntary warranty. Keep the two enquiries separate when reading the manufacturer's terms.
Check the return from your address
Before paying, establish whether you can complete a return from your home, within the rules and at an acceptable cost. Give the seller your postcode and access details, including stairs or a lift, and ask about collection of an opened mattress.
| Australian example | Published trial | Return detail to resolve |
|---|---|---|
| Ecosa Mattress | 100 nights from delivery; Ecosa recommends allowing at least 14 nights | Charity pickup depends on access and service coverage. After other options are exhausted, remote or difficult locations may require you to deliver the mattress yourself. Refund follows collection or a donation receipt. The mattress must meet hygiene conditions.2 |
| Sleeping Duck Mach II | 100 nights, with free firmness adjustments | The FAQ promises a full purchase-price refund and free return or pickup. It recommends 21 nights on each firmness before a change. Confirm any minimum before a refund and the collection arrangements for your postcode.3 |
| Koala Mattress | 120 days from arrival; terms require keeping a mattress for at least seven days | Regional buyers may need to pay return shipping to a nominated depot. Purchase price is refundable; current terms exclude delivery and assembly charges.45 |
| Sleep Republic Mattress, standard | Current FAQs advertise 150 nights | The dedicated trial page mixes 150-night headings with a 100-day promise. Obtain the applicable period in writing. Confirm minimum use and whether your address has free charity pickup or requires a delivery you arrange and pay for.67 |
An adjustment recommendation is not necessarily a mandatory waiting period before a refund. Sleeping Duck's 21-night advice concerns time on each firmness. Sleep Republic recommends 14 days, but its FAQ also allows for an earlier return when a buyer is certain. Ask for the refund rule applicable to the order rather than turning that advice into a blanket condition.36
Collection can take time. Ecosa says charity pickup is generally on weekdays and can take ten business days or longer. Its return conditions also limit returns to one event involving up to two mattresses per household; an exchanged, opened mattress does not begin a fresh trial.2
Koala's trial page lists free pickup in six cities, including Canberra, while its terms list five and omit Canberra. Confirm coverage for the actual address. Its return conditions require a clean, undamaged item and packaging as requested.45
Sleep Republic's FAQ requires a sealed mattress-specific bag for collection and says promotional freebies must also be returned. A suitable bag may be an extra purchase. Get those instructions before the mattress arrives.6
Read the sagging definition exactly
A visible indentation in an unloaded mattress and a softer feel while lying on it are different observations. The examples below show why a complaint about lost support may need more evidence than a photograph of the surface.
| Australian example | Published voluntary warranty | Indentation and comfort boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Ecosa Mattress | 15 years; repair or replacement for covered defects | Visible indentation greater than 20 mm with an appropriate supportive base. Normal softening that does not affect pressure relief, and comfort preferences, are excluded.8 |
| Sleeping Duck Mach II | 10 years; replacement of the affected component | Body indentations greater than 30 mm may qualify. Indentations of 30 mm or less, firmness preference and normal wear are excluded.9 |
| Koala Mattress | 10 years for manufacturing or material defects | The linked mattress warranty excludes normal softening and small changes, including visible or non-visible dents under 25 mm. This does not promise automatic coverage at 25 mm or above.10 |
| Sleep Republic Mattress, standard | 12 years; repair or replacement for covered defects | Indentation greater than 30 mm, assessed with a straight edge, subject to base and care conditions. Natural settling does not qualify.11 |
Indentation clauses sit alongside coverage for other specified defects. These figures define parts of voluntary coverage. They do not measure how long a mattress will retain its support, rank its durability or establish a legal threshold for an Australian Consumer Law claim. A lower number alone is too little evidence to justify paying more.
Ask the seller how it assesses support loss without a persistent visible indentation. Request the required measurement method and evidence before attempting a claim. Follow the manufacturer's assessment instructions rather than assuming all brands measure the same way.
Check your existing base and care routine
Photograph the base, measure the gaps between its slats and record whether the slats flex. Include the centre rail and any legs touching the floor. Send that information to the seller and ask it to confirm suitability for the exact mattress.
Sleeping Duck
Sleeping Duck's warranty requires firm, flat support, including supported slats and grounded middle support. It specifies slat gaps no greater than 12 cm, recommends 8 cm or less, and sets a maximum of 140 kg per sleeper. Its exclusions include inadequate sprung or adjustable bases.9
Sleep Republic
Sleep Republic allows gaps up to 10 cm, or up to 15 cm where strong material covers them. Curved or flexible Euro slats are unsuitable under its conditions. Double, Queen and King bases need a grounded centre rail. Its care instructions include rotating every two weeks in the first month, then monthly, and using a waterproof, breathable protector.11
Ecosa & Koala
Ecosa's base guidance calls for a firm, flat surface. A numerical slat-gap limit was not established in the guidance reviewed. Koala's warranty excludes damage caused by an unsuitable base, but the reviewed warranty does not establish a numerical gap rule. Ask each supplier to assess your base rather than borrowing another brand's limit.1210
A base upgrade or required protector belongs in the purchase budget. If your current frame cannot meet the relevant conditions, price the complete setup before comparing mattresses. Written base approval is useful evidence to retain; it does not guarantee that a later claim will succeed.
Find out what an accepted claim delivers
Read the remedy before treating the warranty as financial protection. A promise to replace an affected part can be useful, but may leave you fitting it yourself. Repair or replacement also differs from recovering the original purchase price.
Sleeping Duck
Sleeping Duck assesses claims digitally, without a home visit or mattress return for assessment. It asks for evidence and supplies the affected component for the customer to replace. It does not promise a whole new mattress or restart the warranty term.9
Ecosa
Ecosa asks for purchase evidence, a batch-label photograph and images or video appropriate to the issue; further physical assessment may be required. Its voluntary remedy is repair or replacement. The terms address transport expenses for a first claim, so establish responsibility for any later claim rather than assuming all freight is covered.8
Sleep Republic
Sleep Republic's voluntary warranty covers transport for an approved claim during the first 12 months. After that, its terms place transport costs on the buyer.11 Those contractual costs need to be read separately from any applicable statutory remedy.
Keep consumer guarantees beside the warranty
The ACCC distinguishes major failures from smaller problems that can be fixed.
A choice of remedy
For a major failure, the consumer can choose a refund or replacement.
An opportunity to repair
For a minor problem that can be fixed, the business generally has the opportunity to provide a free repair within a reasonable time.13
For faulty goods that are large or difficult to remove, the business is responsible for shipping costs or collection within a reasonable time. If a problem is confirmed after the consumer has paid reasonable return costs, those costs must be reimbursed. This is different from paying to return an otherwise sound mattress because you changed your mind during a trial.13
Take a consumer guarantee issue to the seller. It cannot routinely require you to deal only with the manufacturer. Keep the purchase record, correspondence and evidence of the problem. If the dispute remains unresolved, seek help from your state or territory consumer agency; the ACCC does not resolve individual warranty disputes.131
Get the answers before ordering
Send one enquiry covering your intended model, size, postcode and base. Ask the seller to confirm:
Save the applicable trial and warranty documents with the receipt, product label and written answers. Add any required base, protector, non-refundable delivery service and quoted return expense to the budget. A longer trial may suit you if you need more time to decide, but it cannot compensate for a return route you cannot manage.
If the answer changes whether you would buy, resolve it before paying. Confirm Sleep Republic's trial wording and Koala's address-specific pickup coverage in the same enquiry, rather than assuming the most favourable text applies.
Terms reviewed 8 October 2026. Meleus & Mosman assessed published Australian conditions, not mattresses through hands-on testing or companies through completed claims. The examples are not a service ranking. Terms can change; confirm those applicable to your order.
Sources & terms
- ACCC, Warranties.↩
- Ecosa, 100-night trial.↩
- Sleeping Duck Australia, FAQ: trial, firmness adjustments and returns.↩
- Koala Australia, 120-day trial.↩
- Koala Australia, Terms of service.↩
- Sleep Republic, FAQs.↩
- Sleep Republic, Mattress free trial.↩
- Ecosa, Mattress warranty.↩
- Sleeping Duck Australia, Warranty.↩
- Koala Australia, 10 Year Koala Warranty for Mattresses, PDF dated 12 May 2025.↩
- Sleep Republic, Warranty and claim form.↩
- Ecosa Support, How to choose a base for the Ecosa mattress.↩
- ACCC, Repair, replace, refund, cancel.↩