The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will begin monitoring supermarket pricing from 1 July, when new excessive pricing provisions under the Food and Grocery Code come into effect.
The prohibition applies to supermarket retailers with annual revenue exceeding $30 billion and currently covers only Coles and Woolworths.
The ACCC has released new guidelines outlining how it will monitor compliance and assess whether either retailer has breached the prohibition.
Rather than applying a fixed pricing threshold, the regulator will assess pricing on a case by case basis. It will consider a range of factors, including the cost of supplying a product, what constitutes a reasonable retail margin and any other relevant circumstances, before determining whether a grocery product has been priced excessively.
“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,” ACCC acting chair Catriona Lowe said.
“Our initial focus for the prohibition will be on monitoring Coles and Woolworth’s pricing information to ensure they comply with their obligations.”
The ACCC said it will initially concentrate on a selected group of grocery products. These products will be identified using information from consumers, suppliers and supermarkets, including pricing, margins and sales data.
“We will focus our attention on products where excessive pricing is likely to cause the most harm to consumers,” Lowe said.
“We encourage consumers and suppliers to make a report to the ACCC if they have concerns that a supermarket may have excessively priced a grocery product. These reports will help us identify products that may warrant further investigation.”
The regulator intends to publish the first group of products under review in the coming months and will provide regular updates on its compliance activities to improve transparency around supermarket pricing.
“We recognise that there is significant public interest in the ACCC’s ongoing work to ensure supermarkets act in accordance with the law,” Lowe added.
The excessive pricing prohibition forms part of amendments to the Food and Grocery Code announced by the Australian Government in December 2025. It introduces a new objective for the Code to promote competitive outcomes in grocery markets and protect consumers by prohibiting excessive pricing by very large retailers.
The ACCC said the new prohibition complements its existing competition and consumer law powers, with enforcement options including court action, infringement notices and enforceable undertakings where breaches are identified.
In assessing compliance, the regulator will consider whether the retailer falls within the scope of the prohibition, the type of grocery product supplied, the price charged, the retailer’s costs and whether pricing is considered significantly excessive compared with those costs and a reasonable margin.
The ACCC also noted that it will continue to prioritise matters with the greatest potential to harm consumers, competition or small businesses.
