WEDNESDAY, 8 JULY, 2026
Wyndham residents distraught over the collapse of company AVG Travels. (Damjan Janevski) 562955_01
Fight for refunds By Glenn Fisher A group of distraught Wyndham families will continue their fight for $60,000 in compensation after the recent collapse of AVG Travels left them without a planned pre-paid overseas holiday. AVG Travels, which was based in Melbourne and sold international tour packages to Asia, Europe and Africa, was placed into liquidation in May. Australia Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) documents show the company owes $4.3 million to almost 800 creditors, including customers, employees and suppliers, but liquidators McGrathNicol told those affected that AVG Travels was unable to provide refunds. Tarneit MP Dylan Wight joined the affected group at a meeting in Hoppers Crossing last week and told the gathering that he vowed to raise the matter with state
Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Edbrooke , and to raise it in the Victorian Parliament. Mr Wight said the recent collapse of AVG Travels had put immense pressure on members of the local community. Due to the company’s national liquidation status, Mr Wight said he informed the community members at last week’s meeting that the issue rested with the federal government, because it currently sits with ASIC. “I am frustrated at how members of the Tarneit and Hoppers Crossing community have been affected by the recent collapse of AVG Travels,” Mr Wight said. The collapse prompted the meeting that was organised by Tarneit residents Arun and Shilpa Jhunjhunwala, whose extended group of 45 people across 15 families lost $60,000 and their holiday to China next March. “The sudden loss of our holiday funds
due to the company’s collapse has dealt a severe fi nancial and emotional blow to our family,” Rabhjeet Singh said. “Beyond the immediate shock of losing our hard-earned savings, it has stripped away a deeply anticipated experience we planned together. We are now forced to navigate the stressful process of trying to recover our money while tightly adjusting our household budget to absorb the damage.” Pradyumn Atre said their small family had not only lost $3300 but also the “opportunity to make memories that were going to be special after the completion of high school for our only son”. “Th is has certainly shaken the confidence in the travel ecosystem among a large group of travellers and our community at large,” Mr Atre said. Mr and Mrs Jhunjhunwala said their fi rst instinct was to let it go because they were
fortunate to have credit card protection. “But scrolling through the messages of families who had lost their lifetime savings, grandparents who had saved for years, young families with no safety net at all – we could not stay silent,” they said. “Th is was never just about our loss. It became about fighting for a system that protects every Australian traveller, so no family ever has to go through this again.” The couple also started a petition, which has more than 1000 signatures and calls for stronger safeguards for those who book holidays through travel agencies. The petition EN10136 is open for signatures until 22 July. In the interim, consumers are also being advised by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to explore chargebacks through their banks or fi le complaints via state or territory consumer protection agencies.
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