ACCC gets new powers to call out Coles and Woolworths on grocery rip-offs

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will begin monitoring supermarket pricing from 1 July 2026, when a new excessive pricing prohibition targeting Coles and Woolworths comes into force.

The prohibition, an amendment to the Food and Grocery Code announced by the federal government on 14 December 2025, applies to retailers with annual revenue exceeding $30 billion - a threshold that currently captures only the two major chains.

Under the new framework, there is no fixed price ceiling for grocery products. Instead, the ACCC will assess whether pricing is "significantly excessive" relative to the cost of supply plus a reasonable margin, taking into account all relevant circumstances.

ACCC Acting Chair Catriona Lowe said the prohibition gives the regulator another lever to protect consumers.

"We know that grocery prices continue to be a key concern for households. The excessive pricing prohibition provides us with another tool within our broader toolkit to protect consumers and promote competition in the supermarket sector," Lowe said.

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Initial focus products

The ACCC will prioritise monitoring on a select group of products, to be chosen based on consumer and supplier reports, as well as pricing, margin, and sales revenue data obtained directly from the supermarkets.

The regulator will publish its initial focus product list in the coming months.

"We will focus our attention on products where excessive pricing is likely to cause the most harm to consumers," Lowe said.

The ACCC is encouraging consumers and suppliers to lodge reports if they believe a product has been excessively priced, saying such reports will help identify candidates for further investigation.

Compliance and enforcement

Where the ACCC finds non-compliance, it has a range of enforcement options available, including court-based outcomes, infringement notices, and court-enforceable undertakings. Significant penalties may apply for breaches of the Food and Grocery Code.

Lowe said the regulator will provide regular public updates on its monitoring activity.

"We recognise that there is significant public interest in the ACCC's ongoing work to ensure supermarkets act in accordance with the law," she said.

The excessive pricing prohibition sits alongside the ACCC's existing competition and consumer law powers, which the regulator said will continue to be used in parallel.

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