The store receipt is not the only proof of purchase: From ACCC website on receipts
"Receipts and other types of proof of purchase
A receipt or other proof of purchase must include the:
. supplier’s name and ABN or ACN
. date of supply
. product or service, and price.
A receipt can come in the form of a:
. a GST tax invoice or
. cash register or hand written receipt.
Other types of proof of purchase include:
. credit or debit card statement
. a lay-by agreement
. a receipt or reference number given for phone or internet payments
. a warranty card showing the supplier’s or manufacturer’s details and the date and amount of the purchase
. a serial or production number linked with the purchase on the supplier’s or manufacturer’s database
. a copy or photograph of the receipt.
Businesses can ask you for proof of purchase
To use your rights to a repair, replacement or refund you will need to keep the receipt or other type of proof of purchase. Sometimes you may need to provide more than one of these things to support your claim – for example, when a credit card statement does not clearly itemise the product.
It is also a good idea to keep records about any descriptions and promises of how the product or service should appear and work.
Keep receipts in a safe, dry place and take a copy of them if you are worried about fading."
I have filed away receipts in and out of plastic sleeves, in cool dark places only to find blank pieces of paper. I file in chronological order, and surprisingly older receipts next to the blank one were still as new. I think it totally depends on the paper and the thermal printer used. Some last, others don’t.
I have more recently been scanning the higher value receipts also listed in date order, the retailer’s name, and the product. If you date in year, month, day order it will automatically sort into the right order. (For example:- 2018 02 11 - JB HiFi - Orion TV. [the hyphens are optional])
An alternative for receipts and gift vouchers etc is to take a pic of it with your phone. The pic can then be used instead of the paper version. One problem is that not all scanners will ‘see’ the barcodes in the pic, so sometimes they have to entered by hand.
