Free Printable Gift Voucher Template, and Australia's Gift Card Rules

What the printable gift voucher includes

• A box for your logo or business name.
• The value, and a voucher number so you can match it to your records.
• Who it is for, who it is from, and what it is valid for, such as "Any service" or "Dinner for two".
• The issue date and the expiry date, with the expiry in bold, since the law requires it to be prominent.
• Two lines for a personal message, and short terms: book and quote the number to redeem, not redeemable for cash, valid for at least 3 years from purchase.

The design is soft greys with one accent colour, so it prints cleanly on an ordinary office printer. On thick paper or card it feels more like a gift than a receipt.

Gift card expiry law in Australia, and the ban on fees

Gift cards and vouchers sold on or after 1 November 2019 come under national rules in the Australian Consumer Law, which set a minimum expiry period and ban most fees. According to the ACCC:

• The voucher must be usable for at least 3 years from the day it was bought.
• The expiry date must be shown prominently. You can write a date, or a period such as "Valid for 3 years from the date of issue" together with the issue date. A voucher with no expiry should say so, for example "No expiry date".
• No fees can be charged after it is bought, including activation, account-keeping, balance enquiry and inactivity fees. The ACCC lists a few exceptions, such as a fee to reissue a lost, stolen or damaged voucher.

Some vouchers are exempt from the 3-year minimum, including ones donated for promotional purposes, given away in a temporary promotion, sold at a genuine discount, or issued through a loyalty program or to staff. A voucher a customer pays full price for is not one of them.

What happens to vouchers if the business is sold or insolvent

The ACCC says new owners must honour existing gift cards if the business was sold as a going concern, or if its shares were sold. If a business becomes insolvent, voucher holders become unsecured creditors.

Keeping track of the vouchers you sell

A paper voucher is only useful if the desk can check it. Keep a list of every voucher number with its value, who bought it, the issue and expiry dates and any amount already used. A spreadsheet will do to start with. Once you sell more than a handful, software keeps the same list without it going out of date.

In Gaplessly, gift cards are issued at the desk. You set a value, get a code to hand over or write on your printed voucher, and choose whether it expires. At close-out you redeem all or part of it, and the remaining balance is tracked. You share the code yourself, since gift cards can't be sold online yet.

Tips for selling more gift vouchers

• Set values that pay for a whole visit, such as a cut and colour or dinner for two.
• Put them on display before the busy gift-buying times: November and December, Mother's Day and Valentine's Day.
• Fill in an expiry on every voucher. If there is none, write "No expiry date" so nobody needs to ask.

Where these rules come from

The ACCC's guidance on gift cards and discount vouchers, read on 30 September 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.