Australia grocery giants set to face “price gouging” laws

Australia's supermarket giants volition look fiscal penalties if they overcharge customers arsenic caller "price gouging" rules instrumentality effect adjacent week.

Starting 1 July, the national government's caller instrumentality volition people "very large" retailers turning implicit much than A$30bn ($20.7bn) annually.

At present, the threshold applies lone to Coles and Woolworths.

For the 2025 fiscal year, Woolworths reported radical income of A$69.1bn, portion Coles recorded A$44.3bn.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) volition constabulary the caller rules, which was outlined successful December.

The maximum punishment for each usurpation volition beryllium determined by the top of $10m, 3 times the payment gained, oregon 10% of yearly turnover.

The authorities does not acceptable a fixed threshold for what constitutes an excessive terms for a market product.

Instead, the ACCC volition measure supermarket pricing accusation alongside "relevant circumstances", including the outgo to proviso the merchandise to consumers and find what is simply a "reasonable margin" for the supermarket to justice if a merchandise was excessively priced.

To negociate enforcement, the watchdog volition prioritise its monitoring connected a "select group" of products.

The absorption areas volition beryllium chosen based connected user and supplier reports, alongside information obtained from supermarkets connected prices, margins, and income revenue.

"We volition absorption our attraction connected products wherever excessive pricing is apt to origin the astir harm to consumers," Catriona Lowe, the acting seat of ACCC, said.

The bureau plans to prime and people the archetypal absorption products implicit the "coming months" for person introspection and said it volition merchandise regular updates connected its compliance monitoring.

The instrumentality comes amid scrutiny implicit pricing practices successful Australia's market sector.

Coles faces penalties aft a national tribunal ruling successful May, which said the grocer made mendacious oregon misleading representations astir discounts nether its "Down Down" promotion.

Woolworths, Australia's largest supermarket chain, is besides facing ACCC tribunal enactment implicit its ain Prices Dropped promotion.

"Australia market giants acceptable to look "price gouging" laws" was primitively created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand.