The online purchases would come under the terms and conditions of sale or using their website for purchases. I haven’t used Woolworths online to see if one specifically has to agree to these terms and conditions or it is implied through purchasing on their website. Assuming that one has agreed to the T&Cs, wither at the time of purchaee or when setting uo an online account with Woolworths, the following terms and conditions relate to cancellations by Woolworths…
7. Minimum and maximum amounts in each Order
7.4. If we reasonably believe you are placing multiple orders, whether under the same or different registration details, for the purposes of circumventing the order limits, all such Orders may be cancelled by us without notice to you.
12. Fraud and risk assessment
12.1. We have processes in place to assist in detecting transactions that may be illegal or in breach of these terms. We may contact you by telephone or email to confirm your payment and information details. If we are unable to confirm these details, we may cancel your Order. If you are unsure whether the person contacting you is from Woolworths, please contact our Customer Service Centre on 1800 000 610 or email shoponline@woolworths.com.au.
14. Cancelling an Order
14.1. We may cancel any Order or part of an Order including any Orders that we have accepted) without any liability to you for that cancellation at any time if:
(a) the requested Products in that Order are not available; or
(b) there is an error in the price or the product description posted on the Site in relation to the relevant Product in that Order; or
© that Order has been placed in breach of these terms and conditions.
14.2. If we cancel an Order in accordance with:
(a) clause 14.1(a) or 14.1(b) (where product is unavailable or there is a pricing or product description error): we will provide you with reasonable notice of that cancellation, and will not charge you for the cancelled Order. If any payment has been taken for the cancelled Order, then the full payment amount, including any Delivery Fee, Bag Fee, Crate Service Fee or other fees and charges, will be refunded to your original payment method or through an alternative means.
(b) if your Order is cancelled under clause 14.1©, or where you are in breach of these terms and conditions, we will provide you with reasonable notice of that cancellation. If your Order is cancelled before the day of delivery or collection, depending on the payment method used, we will either not charge you, or if we have taken payment for the Order at the checkout then we will refund the full amount paid, including any Delivery Fee, Bag Fee, Crate Service Fee, and other fees and charges, to your original payment method or through an alternative means. If your Order is cancelled on the day of delivery or collection, provided we are not also in breach of these terms and conditions, then we may charge you a cancellation fee of the lesser of $20 or the value of the payments made and will refund you any excess amount to your original payment method or through an alternative means.
Payment methods
16.3. If we are unable to successfully process your payment for your Order that is accepted by us, then we may notify you of dishonour and cancel your Order.
22. Suspension of account
22.1. We reserve the right to refuse service, terminate accounts and/or remove or edit content if we, acting reasonably, deem that you have acted in breach of these terms and conditions or have used the Site in a fraudulent or improper manner. Woolworths also reserves the right to otherwise cancel Orders in accordance with clause 13.
I wonder if another issue which might cause issues is using a VPN and ordering. The IP address of the VPN may indicate that the purchase has been made from a foreign source, which may be usual for something like groceries…unless the groceries are a gift from someone living 9verseas or one is ordering groceries immediately prior to returning to Australia so they arrive soon after arrival.
Anyway, there are a number of reasons why Woolworths would cancel an order.
Have you tried contacting Woolworths directly to find out the exact reason behind the cancellation of the order…rather than trying to guess what may have caused the cancellation?
It is also worth finding out if it was the result of Woolworths action that the order was cancelled, as a result of your action or another party (e.g. credit card company on processing of the order). Once you know why, you will be able to than take necessary action to prevent a reoccurrence.