The short answer
Say the policy on the event page and keep it simple: full refund until a date, then none, or then a transfer to a friend. On One Ticket the cutoff is a setting, the page shows it, and a refund after it is still yours to give from Orders if you choose.
A refund reverses the payment to the buyer and refunds the booking fee. The ticket voids itself, so a screenshot of it does not get anyone in, and the seat goes back to the tier. If there is a waitlist, the first person on it is told.
If an event is cancelled, refund everyone at once from the event, and the message goes with it. Australian consumer law expects a refund when the event does not happen; a change of mind is yours to decide, and the cutoff is how you decide it in advance.
Ready-made template
Day Trip to the Waterfalls
Day trip, already set up as an event you can open now. Pick a date and a venue, change what you like, and publish. Nothing is saved until you do, and you can start without an account.
- Twenty-two seats, one coach
- Required pick-up point and emergency contact
- The waitlist to refill a refunded seat
Which fits your event?
Start from the one requirement that decides it.
| Your main requirement | Start with |
|---|---|
| A free event | Let them cancel; the seat goes back |
| Catering or a venue paid per head | A refund cutoff a few days out, on One Ticket |
| A workshop with a waitlist | One Ticket |
| A one-off for friends | A transfer back, and a text |
A policy nobody knows is not a policy. It should be on the event page before anyone books.
How it works in practice
Nothing here is legal advice. The consumer law page on refunds is the place to read.
| What happens | On a refund |
|---|---|
| The money | Back to the card it came from, booking fee included |
| The ticket | Voided; a scan shows it as refunded |
| The seat | Back to the tier |
| The waitlist | The first in line is told |
| The event cancelled | Everyone refunded at once, with a message |
One Ticket for a recurring room
Everything below follows from one decision: a series is one object, not a list of dates.
| Feature | What it does |
|---|---|
| Who came back | After every session: how many came, how many had been before, who is new and who has stopped coming, by name, with an address to write to |
| Subscriptions | One subscription covers every session in a series. Each night's ticket is minted ahead of time |
| Paid out | Every ticket is charged to your own Stripe account. A new account is paid out to your bank two days after each event, once guests have said how it went; after a first clean event it is paid out as it sells |
| Fees | No platform fee on the ticket price. The buyer pays a booking fee: a platform tier of 35c to $1.45 a ticket, then 1.5% of the price above $100, plus card processing. On a $25 ticket that is $1.45 all in, so the buyer pays $26.45. Free tickets cost nothing |
| Refund if it changes | Move the date, start time or place after people have booked and every one of them can refund in full, booking fee included, until it starts, whatever your refund policy says. You are warned before you save, and everyone booked is emailed the new details |
| Refund requests | On a case-by-case event the buyer asks from their ticket. You have 3 days to refund or decline; a request nobody answers goes to One Ticket support, and your payouts are held until it is settled |
| Guest ratings | After each event, ticket holders rate it: stars and a few words. From 5 ratings the average shows under your name on every event page, good or bad. Notes are for you alone, and never say who wrote them |
| Scam protection | Every page is read before it can send an email, and our emails carry none of an organiser's own links or phone numbers. A new organiser's money is held until after the event, and anyone can report an event from its page |
| Verified tick | Earned by selling here: 3 past events, 25 tickets, no chargebacks, no ignored refund requests, and an average of 4 stars once there are 10 ratings. A chargeback or an ignored request takes it away at once |
| Block a person | Block an address from a ticket type, for this event or every one after it. No public list, no conversation at the door |
| Your page | Your colours, your title font, your cover. Nobody else's event on it |
| Import | Paste an Eventbrite link and the title, description, date, venue and ticket types come across |
| Not included | A marketplace. There is no search page and no audience to sell into; the people are the ones you bring |
One Ticket
Sell tickets. Keep every dollar.