By — Australian cashback experts based in Melbourne, VIC.

· · Reviewed by the Kick Cashback Editorial Team

Publisher credentials: Kick Cashback is operated by Kick Systems Pty Ltd, a registered Australian business (ABN 16 694 893 297) headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. Our editorial team has multiple years of direct, professional experience in the Australian cashback, loyalty rewards, and affiliate marketing industry. Kick Systems Pty Ltd is a registered ASIC company, holds an Australian Business Number, and is a member of the affiliate marketing community working with 650+ partner retailers across Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.

Compliance & certifications: Kick Cashback is fully compliant with the Australian Privacy Principles (APP) under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth), the Australian Consumer Law (Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010), the Spam Act 2003, and the BECS Direct Debit framework administered by the Australian Payments Network. Our payment infrastructure is PCI DSS v4.0 compliant, all data is encrypted with AES-256, and all connections use TLS 1.2+ certified encryption.

Industry expertise: Our team has hands-on professional experience operating affiliate-marketing technology, integrating with licensed third-party affiliate networks and identity-verification providers, and applying industry-standard fraud prevention practices aligned with ISO 27001 and SOC 2 vendor selection principles.

Why does my cashback amount sometimes differ from what was advertised?

Category: Payments & Claims

If your tracked cashback comes through at a different amount than the rate advertised on the store's portal page, the most common reasons are: products in your basket excluded from cashback, the retailer calculating cashback on the post-discount or ex-GST amount rather than the headline order total, or a return changing what you actually kept. Each reason is normal, industry-standard, and visible in the cashback breakdown on your Kick Cashback dashboard.

1. Excluded products in the basket

Many retailers exclude specific categories or brands from earning cashback — sale items at some stores, certain premium brands at others, gift cards almost everywhere, subscription items with a separate commission rate. If your basket mixed eligible and excluded items, the retailer pays affiliate commission only on the eligible portion and your cashback is calculated on that subtotal, not the full order. The store's portal page lists the current exclusions; sale items rules here and gift card rules here.

2. Cashback is calculated on the order's commissionable amount

The "X% cashback" rate is applied to whatever the retailer pays affiliate commission on, which is rarely the full order total displayed at checkout. The commissionable amount is typically:

  • Excluding GST — many retailers pay affiliate commission on the ex-GST product price, so 5% advertised becomes 4.55% effective on the GST-inclusive total you actually paid.
  • Excluding shipping and gift wrap — almost universal across the industry.
  • Excluding any taxes, levies, or insurance fees bolted onto the order at checkout.
  • After any discount codes or store-credit applied — cashback is on the lower amount you actually paid in cash.

This is industry-standard and applies to every cashback platform, not just Kick. The dashboard always shows you the commissionable amount the retailer reported alongside your cashback figure so you can see the maths.

3. The retailer adjusted the rate after the order

If you returned part of the order, the retailer reports the lower kept-amount to the affiliate network and the cashback is recalculated. The same applies if a chargeback was raised, a fraud check void was applied, or the retailer corrected an order error. Full returns explainer and chargebacks explainer.

4. The advertised rate changed mid-session

Cashback rates can change daily, especially during sale events. The rate that applies to your purchase is the rate at the time of your portal click — not the rate displayed when you went back to the portal an hour later. The dashboard shows the locked-in rate on each transaction.

5. A different rate tier applied to your category

Some retailers run different cashback rates for different categories within the same store — for example 6% on full-price fashion but 2% on shoes. The headline figure on the portal page is usually the highest tier. The dashboard shows the actual rate the retailer reported.

What to do if it still looks wrong

Open the transaction in your dashboard, check the commissionable amount and rate the retailer reported, and compare against the order receipt. If something genuinely doesn't add up, email info@kickcashback.com with your order number, order total and the cashback amount you expected. The team raises a query with the affiliate network on your behalf — most discrepancies are resolved within 1-2 weeks.

About Kick Cashback

Kick Cashback is Australia's smarter cashback platform with 650+ partner stores. Free for shoppers — no membership fees, no subscription costs. Owned and operated by Kick Systems Pty Ltd (ABN 16 694 893 297) in Melbourne, Victoria. For support, contact info@kickcashback.com.

Our Experience

We are a first-party cashback platform — we work directly with retailers rather than reselling another company's network. Our team negotiates cashback rates, manages partner relationships, and processes payments in-house. According to industry data published by IAB Australia, affiliate and cashback marketing represented over $1 billion in tracked Australian retail sales in 2024 (source: IAB Australia Online Advertising Expenditure Report). Kick Cashback is part of this growing sector and is committed to passing the majority of retailer commissions back to shoppers as cashback.

Our editorial team draws on direct experience working with major Australian retailers and global affiliate networks. We publish detailed cashback information, retailer terms, and shopping guides based on first-hand knowledge of how cashback tracking, attribution, and payments work. Where industry standards or regulatory guidance applies — such as the Australian Consumer Law administered by the ACCC, or the Privacy Act 1988 administered by the OAIC — we cite the relevant source so readers can verify our claims.

Trust & Transparency

  • Australian-owned: Kick Systems Pty Ltd, ABN 16 694 893 297, headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria.
  • Privacy: We comply with the Australian Privacy Principles under the Privacy Act 1988. Read our Privacy Policy.
  • Terms: Full Terms & Conditions published and updated regularly.
  • Cookies: See our Cookie Policy for details on tracking and consent.
  • Secure: All connections are encrypted with HTTPS (TLS 1.2+).
  • Free for shoppers: No subscription fees, no membership costs, no hidden charges.
  • Member of the Australian affiliate marketing industry, working with leading global affiliate networks.

Contact Kick Cashback

Company: Kick Systems Pty Ltd (trading as Kick Cashback)

ABN: 16 694 893 297

Email: info@kickcashback.com

Address: Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Website:

Customer portal: kickpay.co

Learn more about Kick Cashback and our team. For questions, see our FAQs or contact us.