Australians can now have their say on supermarket price gouging, Dr Andrew Leigh MP, assistant minister for productivity, competition, charities and treasury, announced.

The Federal Government yesterday released exposure draft legislation to prohibit excessive pricing by supermarkets.

“It’s part of the Albanese Government’s commitment to crack down on supermarket price gouging and ensure Australians get a better deal at the checkout,” Dr Leigh said. 

“This reform aims to address a core finding by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in its Supermarkets inquiry that there are significant barriers to entry in the supermarkets sector and that Coles and Woolworths have limited incentive to compete on price. The ACCC further found Australia’s major supermarkets to be among the most profitable supermarket businesses globally.

“The new law will help safeguard consumers against the risk that major supermarkets charge excessive prices, enabled by their entrenched positions in the market. Supermarkets that breach these new laws can face up to multi-million-dollar penalties.

“The ACCC will be responsible for enforcing the prohibition. The new laws will provide the ACCC with another significant tool to protect consumers in their weekly shop. Laws to protect consumers from excessive prices from companies with market power already exist in the European Union, United Kingdom and other jurisdictions.”

Submissions can be made online on the Treasury consultation hub from 20 October until 3 November.

To foster a competitive and sustainable supermarket sector, Dr Leigh said, the government has:

• made the Food and Grocery Code mandatory from 1 April 2025
• increased the ACCC’s funding by over $30 million to address harmful or misleading conduct in the supermarket and retail sectors 
• consulted on options to strengthen the Unit Pricing Code, including to tackle shrinkflation
• committed to implement the ACCC’s recommendations to improve transparency about prices, price trends, promotions and loyalty programs in the sector
• funded CHOICE to give shoppers more information on supermarket prices
• invested $50 million to provide access to low-cost essential products and governance support for remote stores to improve food security in remote First Nations Communities.
• made sure the ACCC is notified of supermarket sector acquisitions by Coles and Woolworths and can scrutinise land acquisitions under reforms to merger laws
• made it easier for supermarkets to enter the market and expand with incentives for the states to cut commercial planning and zoning red tape under the revitalised National Competition Policy, backed by our $900 million National Productivity Fund.