Fair to you, fair to the pro who blocked out the slot.
Autara's cancellation policy is tiered by how close to the appointment you cancel. The further out, the more flexible. Last minute, the pro keeps the deposit to cover the work they turned down for you.
Effective 2026 · Applies to all customer bookings on autara.au
What you get back, and when.
More than 24 hours before
Cancel any time, for any reason. Your deposit is refunded in full to the original payment method.
Between 24 and 4 hours before
Pros plan their day around your slot. Half the deposit is retained as a no-show buffer. The other half is refunded automatically.
Less than 4 hours before
At this point the pro is already on their way or has turned down other work. Your deposit stays with them as a late-cancel fee.
After the pro has arrived
If the pro arrived and you cancelled before they started, the deposit covers their travel. If work began, the full price applies, minus any work clearly not completed.
Need a different time? No charge.
Moving a booking is free, and your deposit moves with it. Sign in, open the booking, and ask for a new time; your pro has to accept before anything moves, and until they do your original time stands.
Ask for a new time from your booking page
Sign in, open the booking and choose “Request a new time”. Pick from the pro's free slots and they accept or decline. Your booking stays where it is until they accept, and your deposit moves with it. No extra charge. Once the booking is confirmed you can message them from the same page too.
Nothing free that suits, or no answer? Email us
Send your booking ID to support@autara.au and we'll ask the pro directly. If nobody can make a new time work, we treat it as a cancellation and the tiered refunds above apply.
Pro-initiated reschedules are always free
If the pro asks to move your booking (weather, illness, equipment failure), the new time appears on your booking page with Approve and Decline. Your booking does not move until you approve. Decline and it stays where it is, or cancel for a full deposit refund regardless of how close you are to the original time.
If the pro doesn't show.
Pros mark themselves "in transit" and "arrived" from the app. If they don't arrive within 30 minutes of the booking time and haven't contacted you, the booking is automatically flagged as a pro no-show.
- Your deposit is automatically refunded in full to your original payment method.
- The remaining balance is never captured. You don't pay for service that didn't happen.
- A trust & safety reviewer follows up with the pro. Repeat no-shows lose listing privileges on Autara.
- We'll surface available alternative pros nearby so you can re-book the same day where possible.
If you don't show.
If the pro arrives at the agreed location, waits 15 minutes, and can't reach you, the booking is marked as a customer no-show. The deposit is retained by the pro as a fair contribution for their travel and reserved time. The remaining balance is not captured. Reach out to support@autara.au within 24 hours if there were extenuating circumstances, emergencies, illness, road closures. We review every appeal individually.