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Travel Agents
Travel Compensation Fund

The Travel Compensation Fund (TCF) was established in early 1987 by a Trust Deed executed by the Ministers for Consumer Affairs in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia.  Consequently, in its first year of operation it was only able to deal with travel agents in those states.  Queensland, Tasmania, and the Australian Capital Territory introduced travel agent licensing in the following twelve months.  Northern Territory does not yet participate in the National Scheme for licensing and regulating travel agents, of which the TCF is an important part.

The TCF performs three basic functions:

• the payment of compensation to consumers who have suffered a pecuniary loss following a failure to account by a licensed travel agent;
• the monitoring of the financial health of licensed travel agents by requiring them to satisfy a standard financial criteria established by the Trustees, which must be met with their initial application and again at annual renewals when lodging their audited financial statements; and
• the maintenance of a detailed register of all licensed travel agents for access by governments, consumers and the industry.  This is the only national register of licensed travel agents.

The TCF is administered by a Board of Trustees acting on the behalf of the Ministers for Consumer Affairs in each participating state and territory.  The Ministers each appoint a representative of its government and from the travel industry, who together with two consumer representatives, make up the Board of Trustees.  Each appointment is for three years.

You may access the TCF website at http://www.tcf.org.au/v2/index.asp?Page=Home&redirect=yes

A search  of the national register of licensed travel agents may be conducted at http://www.tcf.org.au/v2/index.asp?Page=Travel_Agent_Search