Go Card Refund: Which Translink Form You Actually Need

A tourist asked r/brisbane in February how to get a go card refund on whatever was left after a two-day visit. The answers disagreed. One commenter said to hand the card back at a Translink station and the money goes back to your bank card. Another thought newsagents only refund you if you topped up with cash. Both were half right, and none of the replies we could see mentioned the form.

That's the problem with "go card refund": Translink has four different processes, and the right one depends on what you're trying to get back.

The quick answer

• Charged the wrong fare on a trip? That's a balance adjustment, not a refund. Request it in your go card account or on 13 12 30 within 120 days.
• Want your money out? Use the go card refund form (PDF, by post), or get cash or EFTPOS at the counter if the balance is under $50 plus the deposit (which one depends on how you last topped up).
• Lost, faulty or replaced card? Ask for a balance transfer to a new card. Both cards need to be registered.
• Fare machine short-changed you? There's a separate Fare Machine Refund form.
• Paid with your phone or bank card? None of the above. Use the Translink Ticketing Assistant .

1. Wrong fare on a trip: request a balance adjustment

This is usually what people mean by a refund. If you were charged the $2.50 default fare, or a fare that looks wrong, Translink calls the fix a balance adjustment. The money goes back onto your go card, not your bank account.

Translink's About go card page says you can request one "within 120 days from the date the error occurred" if you were overcharged or got a default fare "because you weren't able to tap on/off correctly". The steps online:

1. Log in to your go card account . If the card isn't registered, register it first.
2. Open the History tab.
3. Click Report next to the trip with the wrong charge. This opens the Fare adjustments tab.
4. Check the date and time, and add a comment in the box at the bottom.
5. Click Submit fare enquiry.

Translink says it usually processes these within 48 hours. The credit lands the next time you tap on, and you need to tap on within 60 days for it to be applied.

The 120 days is a hard edge online. In August an r/brisbane commuter found a $2.50 charge from March that they put down to a faulty reader, and the online form rejected it as more than 120 days old. The only reply: call Translink.

What to write: where, when and what stopped the tap. For example: "Tapped on at Roma Street at 5:15 pm. Both validators at the Toowong platform exit showed a red cross, so I couldn't tap off."

Be realistic about what qualifies. The current go card user guide (May 2026) says "default fares applied due to customer error are non-refundable". The cases it lists are all validators being out of order, an evacuation or incident, abandoning a trip because a service was late or cancelled, a fare the system miscalculated, and a card that failed mid-trip. For late or cancelled services, the delay has to show up in Queensland Rail's records or the operator's log. Forgetting to tap off counts as customer error.

The default fare is the same $2.50 for adults, children, seniors and concessions on bus, tram, ferry and train, per Translink's default fares page .

2. Getting your money out: the go card refund form

If you're done with the card (moving away, a visitor heading home, or you've switched to tapping your phone), you want the balance and deposit back. The deposit is $10 for an adult card and $5 for child, concession and senior cards, according to Translink's buy and top up page .

Translink's buy and refund tickets page lists three ways:

• Into an Australian bank account: fill in the go card refund form (PDF) and post it. Allow up to 28 days.
• Cash at a go card retailer: only if the balance is under $50 (plus deposit), your last top-up was cash at a retailer, and the card hasn't been expired for more than 255 days. Not at Queensland Rail ticket offices in SEQ, and a retailer may not have enough cash on hand.
• EFTPOS at a Queensland Rail ticket office in SEQ: same $50 and 255-day rules, but your last top-up has to have been with an Australian credit or debit card.

Filling in the form

The form (version TLS024, March 2026) asks for:

• your name, email, postal address and phone
• the go card number (the last 16 digits on the back)
• for a registered card, the answer to your security question. You can check it in your go card account or on 13 12 30
• an Australian BSB and account number. Credit and debit card numbers aren't accepted
• your signature, ticking that the refund is the balance plus deposit, less any outstanding fares, fees and charges

If the card is unregistered, post the card with the form. If it's registered, you only need to send the form. The address is Translink Cardholder Support, Reply Paid 83865, Brisbane QLD 4001, with no stamp needed. The card is cancelled once it's refunded.

Worked example: an adult card with $7.40 left plus the $10 deposit is worth $17.40. Last topped up with cash at a newsagent? A selected go card retailer can pay you out on the spot, cash permitting. Topped up online? It's the form and up to 28 days.

Visitors and old cards

• Refunds can't go to international bank accounts or overseas-issued cards. Visitors who top up with cash at a retailer can cash out a balance under $50 there later, or keep the card, give an unregistered card away, or drop it in the charity box at the Airtrain station ticket offices (unregistered cards only).
• A card unused for five years goes dormant. You can't travel on it, but you can still get the credit and deposit back with the form.
• More than 255 days past expiry and the card can't be reactivated, but the refund form still works.

3. New card: ask for a balance transfer

Lost the card, it stopped working, or you bought a new one? Don't post anything. If both cards are registered (and the old one hasn't been expired for more than 255 days), you can move the balance and deposit across in your go card account or on 13 12 30. Translink says transfers are usually completed within 10 business days, and the balance appears the next time you tap on (within 60 days).

4. Fare machine didn't give the right change

That's the separate Fare Machine Refund form . Translink asks you to post it with the original receipt and the Refund Claim receipt the machine printed.

Find the trips worth reporting first

With only 120 days, it pays to scan your whole history at once. Download your go card trip history (our step-by-step guide covers go card, Opal and myki), then drop the file into FareClaim .

A flag is a trip to check against what happened that day, not money Translink owes you. If the reader failed or a service was cancelled, report it. If you forgot, it won't qualify.

FareClaim is free and volunteer-run. Your file is read in your browser and never uploaded, there are no ads and no cut, and we're not affiliated with Translink. FareClaim doesn't lodge anything for you: it lists the trips and formats the details so you can paste them into Translink's form yourself. It reads go card, Opal and myki exports. Contactless isn't supported yet.

Check your go card history free on FareClaim

Related guides

• Translink $2.50 charge instead of 50c? Why it happens and how to fix it (for phone and bank card tappers)
• Why your 50-cent public transport trip might be costing you more
• Opal default fare: how much you pay when a tap goes wrong

FAQ

How do I get my go card deposit back?

It comes back with your balance in any refund (form, cash or EFTPOS), less anything you owe: $10 adult, $5 child, concession or senior.

How long does a go card refund take?

Up to 28 days via the form. A balance adjustment usually takes 48 hours, a balance transfer usually within 10 business days.

Can I get a refund for a $2.50 default fare on my go card?

You can request a balance adjustment within 120 days if a validator, the system or a service let you down. Translink's go card user guide says default fares caused by customer error are non-refundable.

Can I get a go card refund at the airport?

Possibly, but don't count on it. Translink says Airtrain ticket offices may not have enough cash, and the usual cash rules apply (under $50 plus deposit, last top-up in cash at a retailer). Refunds can't go to overseas accounts or cards. Otherwise, donate an unregistered card's balance in the charity box at the Airtrain station ticket offices, or keep the card for next time.

Sources: Translink, [About go card](https://translink.com.au/tickets-and-fares/go-card/about-go-card), [Buy and refund tickets](https://translink.com.au/tickets-and-fares/buy-and-refund-tickets), [Buy and top up go card](https://translink.com.au/tickets-and-fares/go-card/buy-and-top-up), [Default fares](https://translink.com.au/tickets-and-fares/fares-and-zones/fixed-fare), [go card refund form (TLS024, Mar 2026)](https://translink.widen.net/s/cgjgkwx5rv/go_refund_form) and [go card user guide (May 2026)](https://translink.widen.net/s/chlw8bkq5j/go-card-user-guide), all checked 20 October 2026. Commuter posts: [r/brisbane, "Go Card Questions"](https://www.reddit.com/r/brisbane/comments/1refs5p/go_card_questions/) (February 2026) and [r/brisbane, "Gocard fair adjustment from more than 120 days ago"](https://www.reddit.com/r/brisbane/comments/1vgull0/gocard_fair_adjustment_from_more_than_120_days_ago/) (August 2026).