The ACCC welcomed today's announcement by the Treasurer of $30 million over 3.5 years in additional funding for investigations and enforcement relating to the supermarket and retail sector.
ACCC Chair Cass-Gottlieb said the additional resources would allow for a significant enhancement of the ACCC's enforcement and compliance activities in an essential sector relied upon by millions of Australian consumers.
"Active, evidence-based enforcement of the Competition and Consumer Act is core to the ACCC's work, and is essential for deterring conduct that harms consumers, competition and fair trading, and by extension productivity and the wider economy," Ms Cass-Gottlieb said.
"The ACCC's work has always reflected the current issues impacting the Australian economy, consumers and businesses - informed by evidence, information and intelligence from a range of sources. This includes reports to our Infocentre and social media, engagement with consumer stakeholders and other government departments and regulators, as well as pro-active surveillance."
"This funding will enable us to escalate a range of investigations in this sector, including in relation to potential misleading pricing claims or practices, claims about delivery timeframes and costs including for regional and remote Australians, and businesses misrepresenting consumers' rights under the Australian Consumer Law," Ms Cass-Gottlieb said.
The ACCC announces its compliance and enforcement priorities each year in February and March. This year its priorities included competition, consumer, fair trading and pricing concerns in the supermarket sector, with a focus on food and groceries. While already prioritising action in these sectors and taking action, this further funding will allow the ACCC to identify, progress and bring forward additional matters.
"We have heard first-hand from consumers how the cost of living is impacting their ability to choose and that they need to be more cautious with purchasing decisions. It is critical that consumers are provided with clear and accurate information about the price or value of the goods and services they rely on," Ms Cass-Gottlieb said.
"The ACCC is also receiving an increasing number of reports from consumers worried about prices and representations made about the quality or features of goods and services, as well as a growing number of reports about delayed or non-delivery of goods purchased online."
The ACCC is currently conducting a 12-month inquiry into Australia's supermarket sector following a formal direction from the Australian Government on 1 February 2024. The interim report for the inquiry was released last week.
So far this year the ACCC has secured more than $85 million in penalties in consumer and competition enforcement work, not including the $100 million penalty against Qantas which the ACCC and Qantas have submitted to the Federal Court is an appropriate penalty, to be considered by the Court at a hearing in October. We have has also instituted proceedings against a range of parties in the retail sector, including the Good Guys, Coles and Woolworths.
"In this, the 50-year anniversary of the Trade Practices Act, the ACCC remains committed to making markets work for consumers," Ms Cass-Gottlieb said.
Background
The funding will add approximately $8.5m each year for the next 3 and a half years from January 1 2025.
The ACCC is an independent statutory government authority and Australia's peak consumer protection and competition agency.
The ACCC uses a range of tools to promote compliance with the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and the Australian Consumer Law.
This includes commencing proceedings in the Federal Court for alleged breaches of the Act. The ACCC is not able to determine a breach of the Act - only a court can find that a contravention has occurred.
If the ACCC is successful in a Federal Court matter, the penalty imposed is determined by the Court. The ACCC makes submissions to the Court on the appropriate penalty it considers should be imposed.
The ACCC also seeks to ensure compliance through consumer and business education, industry engagement, communications, research and advocacy.
When deciding whether to pursue a matter, the ACCC will consider whether it falls into a current enforcement priority area, and will also consider if it is:
- conduct that is of significant public interest or concern,
- conduct that results in substantial consumer or small business detriment,
- national conduct by large traders, recognising the potential for greater consumer detriment and the likelihood that conduct of large traders can influence other market participants,
- conduct involving a significant new or emerging market issue or where our action is likely to have an educative or deterrent effect,
- where our action will help to clarify aspects of the law, especially newer provisions of the Act.
