Madonna Jarrett (Brisbane, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

This government is serious about protecting Australians so they can keep more of what they earn. Today I joined the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury to announce a crackdown on unfair trading tricks and traps. At a time when cost-of-living pressures are biting, Australians should be able to trust their markets to be transparent and not to be stacked against them.

That's why we're introducing legislation to ban unfair trading practices, crack down on drip pricing and put an end to subscription traps. I know that everyone in this room has probably had trouble cancelling a subscription that they've signed up to. Just when you thought you could click that button and it would all be done, you find yourself down a rabbit hole. That's called a shutdown subscription trap, and we're cracking down on it. Businesses often use confusion, dark patterns or consumer fatigue to keep people paying. They won't be able to keep doing that.

Have you ever tried to book a hotel, a flight or maybe even a ticket to see your favourite band, then you've gone to the check-out and found that fees have been added and the final price has gone up? That practice is called drip pricing, and we're cracking down on that too so Australians can see the real price upfront. Lastly, yesterday it was announced that Australians will no longer pay $1.6 billion in credit card charges from 1 October. When you buy that beer or you buy your groceries, you won't be slapped with these extra charges. These are more measures being taken by this government to keep more money in your pockets.

See this speech in context