I still don't get why my friends and family think gifting a less liquid form of money is better than just giving cash.

Gift cards are the best proof against the existence of the homo economicus, that's for sure.

Gift cards are great for companies you don't trust with (up-to-date) payment details. Amazon, Google, Apple, whatever evil megacorp you can think of, they all have made the news with stories like these, and they have proven time and again that they will stand by and defend their arbitrary decisions in court if they have to, because involving basic human intellect in the chain is too much of a fraud risk.

Even if you like their services, who knows what they'll do when they have access to your credit card information directly. I can completely understand why someone would pay for their services with gift cards bought from a well-known, respectable store instead.

It seems OP bought the gift card themselves as a means to top up their account balance (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46252989). They basically used the gift card as an alternative payment option.

Civil tribunals in Australia (an equivalent of small claim courts in other countries) do not involve lawyers in vast majority of cases and encourage self-representation instead.

In fact, the NSW Civil Administrative Tribunal explicitly requires the Tribunal’s explicit permission for a person to be represented by somebody else, including a lawyer.

But tribunal's decision is binding on the commercial entity, should it be found at fault and incurs penalties for avoidance or non-compliance with the decision.

https://tascat.tas.gov.au/

There are escalative methods to employ in such situations.

In many legal jurisdictions, a 'demand letter' holds weight. These can be served by courier, with proof of delivery as valid. One aspect of such a letter is a hard, specific time by which you will start legal action, along with associated additional costs.

You have two paths after the letter. The first is small claims court, or normal court. In many places, small claims court does not allow lawyers, and the judge will even have to explain any confusing terms.

Which means the playing is leveled, including reduced or no disclosure requirements, and legal cost assignments. Where I am, it's $100 to file.

The goal is to force a fix, at threat of legal consequences.

I am sending an email.

"Beat the Grass to Startle the Snake" (打草惊蛇)

You would be better off in the US. Trust me, nothing creates bigger fuzz than complaining to financial authorities.

It appears that the only way to reach Apple Customer Relations is by way of writing a formal letter to:

Apple Pty Ltd, PO Box A2629, Sydney South NSW 1235

I didn't see a timeline but there were indications that the author has been trying to resolve this for much longer than one day.

Regulatory agencies can forward complaints to other authorities and act based on them even if they can't resolve the particular issue for the complainant.