Replying to Google reviews as an Australian small business

Short answer: reply when you have something genuine to add, keep it short, mention a real detail from the review, and move any dispute to a phone call rather than a public back-and-forth. In Australia, what you write in a reply is also a public statement about your business, so it needs to be accurate under Australian Consumer Law, not just polite.

A one-line "thanks!" on every review looks automated and tells the next customer nothing. A specific reply — mentioning the technician's name, the suburb the job was in, or what actually changed — tells a prospective customer in Adelaide or Perth that a real person reads and acts on feedback.

Structuring a reply that's actually useful

1. Reference something specific the reviewer said — the job, the staff member, the wait.
2. Add one fact that moves things forward: what you fixed, what changed, or what to do next time.
3. Invite them back, if it's genuine — "ask for Marco next visit" is more useful than "thanks again!".

Two sentences is often enough. Never restate private information the customer hasn't already made public — no order numbers, mobile numbers or full addresses.

Worked examples (illustrative only)

These are illustrative examples, not real businesses or real reviews.

Positive (illustrative): "Fast callout, fixed our hot water system same day in Frankston."

Glad we could get out to Frankston quickly — hot water outages are never fun in winter. We'll pass this on to the team.

Mixed (illustrative): "Good coffee but a 25 minute wait on a Saturday."

Thanks for the feedback on the coffee, and sorry about the wait — Saturdays have been busier than expected, so we've added another barista shift. Hope to see you again soon.

Negative (illustrative): "Booking was cancelled with no notice."

That's not the standard we want — a cancelled booking with no warning isn't acceptable. Please call our office with your booking reference so we can find out what went wrong.

What to avoid

• Arguing publicly about who's right.
• Disclosing anything private about the customer.
• Offering a discount or freebie in exchange for changing a review — this breaches Google's policies and can also raise Australian Consumer Law issues around misleading conduct.
• Copy-pasted replies that never mention specifics.

How fast should you reply?

Google doesn't set a required response time. A realistic target for a small Australian business is to check reviews every working day and answer negative ones first, while the detail is still fresh enough to act on.

Worked example: a Newcastle physiotherapy clinic handling a mixed review

This is an illustrative example, not a real client. Picture a small physiotherapy clinic in Newcastle, New South Wales, that receives a three-star review reading: "Good treatment but reception was slow to answer the phone this week."

1. Read it fully before responding. The clinic manager notes two separate points: satisfaction with the actual treatment, and a genuine complaint about phone response times.
2. Check the facts internally first. Before replying publicly, the manager confirms with reception staff whether call volumes had been unusually high that week, so the reply doesn't guess or overstate what happened.
3. Draft a short, specific reply. Something like: "Thanks for the feedback on your treatment, and sorry the phones were slow to answer this week — we've added an extra staff member to reception starting Monday. Hope your recovery continues to go well."
4. Avoid overclaiming. The reply does not promise the wait times are now the fastest in Newcastle, does not compare the clinic to competitors, and does not offer money off future sessions in exchange for the reviewer updating their star rating.
5. Log the fix, not just the reply. The clinic keeps a short internal note that reception staffing was adjusted, so if a similar comment appears again there's a record of what changed and when.

No review counts, ranking positions or revenue figures are attached to this example — it's included purely to show the structure of a considered reply, not a guaranteed outcome.

Checklist

• Negative reviews answered first
• Every reply names something specific
• No private customer details repeated
• Disputes taken to phone or email
• No incentives offered for reviews

Where Local SEO AI helps

Review management brings every review into one inbox, flags the ones that need a same-day reply, and drafts responses in your own tone for you to edit and approve. Live posting to Google is awaiting Google's connection approval. If a review looks fake or breaches Google's policies, read our guide on asking for reviews without gating; the ACCC also publishes general guidance for businesses on managing online reviews.

Frequently asked questions

Can I ask Google to remove a review I think is fake?

Yes. If a review breaches Google's policies — for example it's spam, posted by a competitor, or unrelated to a genuine customer experience — you can flag it for removal through your Google Business Profile manager. Google reviews the report against its own policies and decides whether to act; there's no guaranteed timeframe or outcome.

Is it against the law in Australia to only reply nicely to positive reviews and ignore negative ones?

Ignoring reviews isn't illegal on its own, but Australian Consumer Law does prohibit misleading conduct, so selectively hiding, deleting or suppressing genuine negative feedback in a way that misrepresents your business can raise compliance concerns. Responding honestly to both positive and negative reviews is the safer approach.

Do I need to reply differently to reviews left around Christmas and public holidays?

Not in substance, but timing matters — many Australian businesses run reduced hours over the Christmas and New Year period, so reviews left then may sit unanswered longer than usual. Setting expectations with a note about reduced holiday response times, and catching up on replies once trading resumes, keeps things transparent.

Can I offer a refund in my public reply to a negative review?

You can mention that you'd like to make things right, but avoid negotiating specific compensation, discounts or refund amounts in a public reply, since it can invite similar requests from other reviewers and isn't a suitable place to discuss individual account or payment details. Take those specifics to a phone call or email instead.