The Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Bill 2026 has passed and will take effect from 1 July 2027. The latest reforms to the Australian Consumer Law introduce a general prohibition on unfair trading practices, new requirements to prevent subscription traps, and targeted disclosure requirements for drip pricing.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) continues to actively enforce existing ACL provisions, including prohibitions on misleading or deceptive conduct and false or misleading representations. Many practices targeted by these reforms may already attract regulatory scrutiny. See our recommendations below for what businesses should doing now.
Key changes
A general prohibition on unfair trading practices
From 1 July 2027, unfair trading practices will be banned in Australia. A business engages in unfair trading practices if it engages in conduct that:
- manipulates the consumer, or
- unreasonably distorts the environment in which the consumer makes (or is likely to make) a decision; and
- causes, or is likely to cause, detriment (financial or otherwise) to the consumer.
The Bill gives examples of conduct that may be considered unfair, including impeding a consumer’s ability to exercise legal rights or remedies, failing to disclose material information (or disclosing it in a complex, unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous, untimely or overwhelming way), and creating digital environments that place consumers under unreasonable pressure.
Subscription traps
The Bill introduces a comprehensive regime regulating eligible subscription contracts across their full lifecycle, including free trials and auto-renewals and imposes obligations from sign-up through to cancellation.
New requirements include:
- disclosing key contract information before a consumer signs up for a product or service, including payment terms, contract period, renewal terms, and how to cancel (in line with the disclosure requirements);
- complying with ongoing notification requirements for subscription renewals and the end of introductory or discounted periods; and
- providing accessible cancellation features that requires only reasonably necessary steps to end the contract.
Where a business offers customers a way to sign up online, it must also offer an online cancellation option to all customers, even customers who originally subscribed through other channels.
Drip pricing
Businesses must clearly and prominently display any additional per-transaction charges (or how they are calculated) near the base price, whether the additional charge applies and whether it is included in the base price that is being advertised.
The obligation applies each time a price is presented during the purchase process. Certain charges (such as payment surcharges and taxes) are excluded, and the obligation does not apply where offers are made exclusively to corporate entities.
Penalties
Businesses that breach the provisions risk facing significant penalties, including the greater of:
- $100 million;
- three times the value of any benefit gained; or
- 30% of the businesses adjusted turnover during the breach period.
What businesses should start doing now
- Review subscription contract wording and notices: Determine which contracts are considered subscription agreements under the Bill and ensure eligible agreements and renewal/reminder notices meet the content and timing requirements.
- Review existing practices: Review customer journeys, subscription onboarding, digital design, and pricing displays for anything that could be characterised as manipulative design or drip pricing.
- Update cancellation paths: Ensure that customers that can sign up online, can cancel in an accessible manner. If you have an online cancellation pathway, ensure customers who subscribe through other channels can also cancel online.
- Consumer training: Deliver regular consumer law training to customer-facing, digital and marketing teams to embed compliance across the business.
- Watch this space for small businesses: The general unfair trading practices prohibition doesn’t currently apply to small business who may be receiving goods or services, however Treasury is currently consulting on whether small business dealings should be included.
Next steps
If you would like to understand what these developments mean for your business, or need guidance preparing for the upcoming changes, please get in touch with our Digital & IP team, Alex Hutchens, Melissa Miller and Belinda Breakspear.