Clause 5 of 5 · The disputeNo. 05
When it goes wrong with an SEO agency in the Territory
Start with the agency: talk, then put the problem in writing and give them a chance to fix it. If that fails, NT Consumer Affairs can try to resolve a consumer complaint through conciliation, and a small business in dispute with another business can ask the federal small business ombudsman for help. The ombudsman’s list of state Small Business Commissioners does not include the Northern Territory. Claims under $25,000 go to the NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
This is general information, not legal advice about your own dispute. NT Consumer Affairs, the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman and business.gov.au publish the official guidance, listed at the foot of this page. Fees and limits are as their pages stated them on 8 October 2026.
The orderFive steps, from a conversation to a tribunal
business.gov.au sets out the same order for any business dispute: three informal steps first, then a formal approach.
Understand the dispute
Check your facts, and identify your priorities and the result you would like. For SEO work, the facts are usually in the proposal, the agreement and the reports.
Talk to the agency
Prepare for the conversation and keep a record of what you talk about.
Write to them
business.gov.au’s third step is to “send a letter giving them a chance to fix the issue before you take further action.” NT Consumer Affairs publishes sample letters, including one for requesting a remedy for a service. If the contract has a notice-to-remedy clause, this is where it applies; business.gov.au says a notice to remedy “gives the contractor a chance to fix the work before the hirer seeks any remedies for a breach of contract.”
Ask a third party for help
business.gov.au names alternative dispute resolution (ADR), such as mediation, and contacting a lawyer. In the Territory, the two public doors are below.
Go to a tribunal or court
business.gov.au cautions that this is expensive and time consuming and that you won’t control the outcome, and that a court or tribunal may make you try ADR first.
The first doorNT Consumer Affairs, and when a business is a consumer
NT Consumer Affairs administers the Australian Consumer Law in the Territory and says it should be the first point of contact for help with a consumer dispute. Its Fair Trading officers may be able to help resolve a problem with a business through conciliation, and if you cannot resolve it with the business yourself, you can lodge a consumer conciliation request.
A business buying SEO services can count as a consumer. The ACCC says a product or service bought for business use is covered by the consumer guarantees when it meets at least one condition, the first being that “it costs less than $100,000 including GST”, though it lists some exceptions, such as a product bought for resupply. That threshold rose from $40,000 to $100,000 for goods and services supplied from 1 July 2021.
For services, the ACCC says the guarantees mean:
- the work is done with an acceptable level of care and skill, at least as good as a competent provider with average skills and experience would provide
- services, and anything they produce, are fit for any stated purpose
- services are supplied within a reasonable time, if no time frame was agreed
These cannot be excluded by contract. The ACCC’s guide adds that, generally, where a failure is minor and can be fixed, the supplier can choose how to fix it, while for a major failure the consumer chooses the remedy. However, where services are not normally acquired for personal, domestic or household purposes, liability for failing to comply with a consumer guarantee can be limited by contract to supplying the services again or paying the costs of having them supplied again.
The second doorThe small business ombudsman
The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) works with state-based Small Business Commissioners, and its list of them names New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland. The Northern Territory is not on it. The ombudsman itself takes requests for help from small businesses in dispute with other businesses.
Its page describes how it helps: a five-step guide and an online dispute support tool first, then guidance through the dispute, including access to low-cost legal advice and, where it fits, alternative dispute resolution. It keeps a list of ADR practitioners. It also notes it may refer a matter to an agency better placed to help.
Subsidised mediation, as at 8 October 2026
The ombudsman may subsidise an ADR process when a small business is in dispute with another business. A half-day or full-day process may be offered where it is already managing the case under its own Act, the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Act 2015, or under an industry code. Each party makes a co-payment of $250 to $500, depending on the length of the process, and the ombudsman covers the rest. It decides access case by case, looking at the value in dispute, earlier attempts to resolve it, and whether both parties are willing to take part.
The decision-makersNTCAT and the courts
| Amount claimed | Where it is heard |
|---|---|
| Under $25,000 | Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NTCAT), the Territory’s main forum for smaller legal disputes |
| $25,000 to $250,000 | Local Court, in its civil jurisdiction |
| More than $250,000 | Supreme Court |
For legal help, the same page names the Northern Territory Legal Aid Commission, which offers free initial legal advice, and the Darwin Community Legal Service, which offers free legal advice and support to the community, including small businesses.
Other routesThe ACCC, and Google
The ACCC handles a different kind of problem. business.gov.au explains that it deals with widespread issues but not individual complaints, which go to the state or territory agency. Google’s own page on hiring an SEO points complaints about deceptive SEOs to the United States Federal Trade Commission, and to econsumer.gov for companies outside the United States. And if the problem is a site breaking Google’s rules, Google’s spam policies say: “If you believe that a site is violating Google’s spam policies, let us know by filing a search quality user report.”
Most disputes are easier with good paperwork. The contract and the handover covers what to write down at the start, and Promises no one can make covers the claims that most often turn into complaints.