Footwear
How we assess footwear claims
An illustrated guide to what we look at, what's covered, and what isn't.
Kitchen footwear works harder than almost any other product we sell - heat, oil, water, blades, concrete floors, twelve-hour shifts. Most of what goes wrong is one of about nine things, and the difference between "manufacturing fault" and "this is what a year of service looks like" is usually visible in a photograph.
This page shows you both, so you can see roughly where your pair sits before you lodge a claim. It isn't a decision -every claim is assessed on its own facts, and if you're unsure, send it to us anyway. Nothing on this page limits your rights under the Australian Consumer Law.
How to use this page: find the section that matches what you're seeing, compare against the photos, and check the "what we'd need from you" list before contacting us. Sending the right three photos the first time is the difference between a two-day answer and a three-week one.
1 Outsole and heel wear
Wearing componentThe outsole is a wearing component, like a tyre. It is designed to wear down, and how fast depends entirely on your gait, your floor surface, your shift length and how you walk.
Normally not covered
Even, gradual tread loss, most heavily at the outside heel and the ball of the foot. A worn-through heel after 12–18 months of full-time kitchen work is the sole doing its job, not failing at it.
May be covered
Tread loss that is dramatically uneven between the left and right shoe with no matching difference in your gait, chunks of outsole detaching rather than abrading away, or tread disappearing within the first few months of normal use.
What we'd need from you
Both shoes photographed sole-up side by side, a close-up of the worn area, how many hours a week you wear them and on what surface.
2 Sole separation and adhesive failure
Cause decides itThis is the most common footwear claim we see, and the one where cause matters most. The same symptom - the sole coming away from the upper - can be a manufacturing fault or the result of what the shoe has been through.
Usually covered
A clean separation along the bond line with dry, undamaged materials either side, especially early in the shoe's life. That pattern points to the adhesive or the bonding process, not to how the shoe was treated.
Usually not covered
Separation accompanied by swollen or discoloured midsole foam, water staining, a stiff or cracked upper, or heat damage. Those signs tell us the bond was broken down by something external.
Important
We do not decline sole separation just because it happened late. There is no fixed expiry on consumer guarantees, and a sole that separates at 14 months on a well-cared-for shoe is very much worth lodging.
What we'd need from you
The separation photographed side-on with the gap visible, the inside of the shoe, how the shoes are dried after a wet shift, and where they're stored overnight.
3 Water and moisture
Depends on exposureWater exposure by itself never decides a claim. Kitchen footwear is expected to get wet mopping, spills, wash-down. That's the job.
What we assess is whether the exposure went beyond what the product was built for. We look at whether the shoe was sold as waterproof or water-resistant, how much water and for how long, whether it was dried properly, and whether the damage pattern is consistent with a defect or with saturation.
Likely covered
Water getting through a shoe we marketed as waterproof; damage from ordinary splash and mopping exposure on any kitchen shoe.
Likely not covered
Damage after repeated full immersion, being left soaking overnight, or being stored damp in a locker without drying - particularly on a shoe never described as waterproof.
Care that prevents most of this
Let footwear dry naturally and completely before wearing again, at room temperature, away from direct heat. Two pairs rotated is the single best thing you can do for footwear life.
4 Heat damage
Not coveredDrying footwear with direct heat is the most common cause of damage we see that customers don't realise they caused. It cooks the adhesive and stiffens the leather, and the damage often shows up weeks later as sole separation or cracking — which is why we look at drying method on adhesive claims.
Not covered
Burns, scorching, melted outsole edges, hardened leather and shrunken uppers caused by ovens, cooktops, hot trays, open flame, hot oil, or drying near a heater, dryer, heat gun or radiator.
5 Chemical damage
Not coveredBleach damage is distinctive — pale spotting or a bleached halo, followed by cracking. Once it's there it can't be reversed.
Not covered
Damage from bleach, degreasers, sanitisers, solvents, strong detergents, oven cleaner and other corrosive substances. These strip the finish, dry the leather and break down bonding, and no footwear finish is designed to resist them.
Prevention
Rinse splashes off with clean water straight away, and don't stand in a mixed sanitiser solution.
6 Cuts, punctures and impact
Not coveredUnless the product was specifically sold as cut-resistant or puncture-resistant, damage from a dropped knife is accidental damage, not a fault.
Not covered
Cuts, slices and punctures from knives, blades, broken glass, mandolins, metal edges or other objects. Nor crushing, bending or impact damage from dropped equipment.
The exception
If you bought a model with a rated safety feature and it didn't perform to that rating, that's a different matter and we absolutely want to hear about it.
7 Improper cleaning
Not coveredMachine washing leather saturates it, strips the oils and destroys the bonding all at once. The resulting adhesive failure looks superficially like a manufacturing fault, which is exactly why we ask how footwear has been cleaned.
Not covered
Damage from machine washing, tumble drying, pressure washing or soaking, on any footwear we sell. None of it is machine washable.
Correct care
Wipe with a damp cloth, use a leather conditioner on leather uppers every few weeks, air dry away from heat.
8 Slip resistance
Safety — tell us immediatelySlip resistance depends on the tread pattern being intact, the sole being clean, and the floor being what the rating assumed. It reduces as tread wears — that's physical, not a defect.
May be covered
A shoe that performs poorly when new, or that doesn't meet a slip rating we specifically advertised for that model.
Not covered
Reduced grip on a worn or oil-glazed sole. Once the tread pattern is smooth, the shoe is at the end of its safe service life and should be replaced.
Please tell us immediately
If you slip in footwear we sold you, contact us straight away. Safety complaints are escalated straight to management, assessed as a priority, and never handled as a routine returns enquiry.
9 Leather condition, creasing and cosmetics
Care makes the differenceLeather that's never conditioned dries out and cracks, and it's usually possible to tell the difference between a shoe that was neglected and one where the leather itself was at fault.
Not covered
Flex creasing across the vamp — this is leather doing what leather does. Minor scuffing, colour transfer, and natural variation in grain, texture and shade between pairs.
May be covered
Cracking or finish failure early in the shoe's life on footwear that's been cared for, colour that rubs off onto socks or floors, or finish that lifts in sheets rather than wearing thin.
Lodging a claim
Before you lodge a claim
Send these with your first message and you'll usually get an answer inside a week.
- Your order number
- The whole shoe, both left and right, from the side
- Soles up, side by side
- A close-up of the problem
- Roughly when you first noticed it
- Hours worn per week and what surface you work on
- How you dry and store them
Or call 1300 308 655, Mon–Fri 9am–4pm. Outside those hours our AI assistant can take your details and your photos any time, and we'll come back to you on the next working day. It won't assess your shoes — that's a person's job.
If we decline
You'll get the reason in writing, in plain language, and you can ask for it to be reviewed by a senior team member. If you still disagree, Consumer Affairs Victoria offers free advice on 1300 55 81 81 or at consumer.vic.gov.au.
This guide is illustrative and does not limit your rights under the Australian Consumer Law. See our full Returns, exchanges, refunds and consumer guarantees policy, particularly clauses 8, 10 and 13.