Julie-Ann Campbell (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Aussie idea of a 'fair go' may be one of those phrases that you hear all the time, but it really does capture something important about who we are as Australians. At its core, it's about making sure that everyone is treated fairly and gets a decent shot. It applies on an individual level and also on a societal level. You can see it in how we value fair access to health care and to education. And right now, when so many Aussies are doing it tough, we also need a fair go at the check-out. I don't just mean on price; I'm talking about the need for consumers to be treated fairly and the need for business to play by the same transparent rules. At a time when commerce is rapidly changing and at a time of global economic uncertainty, this is more important than ever.

A generation ago, shopping looked very different from what it looks like today. For a start, you had to physically go to the shops and drive into the carpark. You had to get your trolley, walk it down the aisles, pick out what you wanted, go to the check-out and pay in cash. Transactions were pretty simple. You checked out those goods, you paid the price once and you walked away with an item. These days, though, it is, of course, possible to never set foot in a store or a shop. Shopping online offers us convenience and accessibility; we can shop from anywhere at any time. The landscape and the technology have changed. That's just one difference with how we shop, though. Another is in the price. Often, the true cost of your purchase is only revealed at that last click, and the payment might never actually stop.

Drip pricing is the name given to additional fees, things like booking charges and service costs, which are added as the transaction progresses. Consumers lured by what might at first seem like a good deal can find that the product is significantly more expensive than originally advertised by the time the actual purchase is made. Drip pricing also makes it harder to compare prices. While once you'd go from shop to shop to find the best deal, it's now much harder to make an informed comparison on price when not all the costs are advertised upfront. You don't know all the costs when you choose to buy.

I spoke to a local, a young bloke named Tim in my local area. He just finished high school last year, and we met at the Lounge in the suburb of Runcorn on Brisbane's south side. Tim told me a story about a long-awaited holiday. It was a holiday he was going on with his friends, and it was his first real time buying something for a trip that he wouldn't be going on with his parents. The ticket seemed cheap, but, as he went to pay, those extra charges added up.

Another major change is the popularity of subscriptions. This is something that impacted Tim as well. Consumers are increasingly signing up to ongoing services, such as streaming platforms, apps and software, which automatically renew. For Tim's generation, these things should not be the norm. Tim needs to know, particularly at one of the most financially vulnerable points in his life, that, as a consumer, he is protected and he isn't taken advantage of. All you need to do is scroll through your phone—whether you've got Spotify, Netflix, Disney Plus, Stan or so many others—to know that this is a challenging problem, and it's getting bigger and bigger every day. It's easier for the number of subscriptions you have to accumulate over time, and, over time, you might not even notice the payments leaving your bank account. And when you do want to cancel, in many cases, it's a complicated process. It shouldn't be a complicated process.

Despite the entire subscription process being online, you might have to make a phone call to realise your cancellation. There can be multiple steps that can be deliberately confusing. What the assistant minister described as a labyrinth of cancellation paths is real, and it's affecting everyday Australians every day. That's why the Albanese Labor government has introduced the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Bill 2026. It brings consumer law in line with how Australians now buy, compare and subscribe. As technology changes and as norms for payments change, we must change with them. We have to keep up to date lest everyday Australians cop the brunt of not having regulatory frameworks that address the real way in which Australians pay for things and in which they shop.

This bill squarely targets unfair trading practices and is part of the government's commitment to improve protections for consumers. It has three key areas of focus. Firstly, the bill introduces a ban on unfair trading practices by establishing a broad principles based rule that targets conduct which manipulates consumers. This includes mechanisms that distort the environment in which consumers make decisions leading to harm. This measure will capture a wide range of behaviours designed to influence choices in ways that are misleading and in ways that are exploitative to everyday consumers. It's intended to set a clear and consistent standard of fair conduct across all sectors, enhancing fair competition and indeed boosting consumer confidence in the system itself.

The bill sets out practical guidance by including a non-exhaustive list of illustrative examples of conduct that could breach these new laws. This includes preventing or hindering customers from exercising their legal rights or accessing remedies, failing to provide important information and presenting key details in ways that are confusing, unclear, overly complex, ambiguous, poorly timed or just plain overwhelming. It also covers situations where the overall environment, such as the design of digital interfaces, places undue pressure on consumers or makes it difficult for them to make or act on decisions. You know what this looks like. It's the countdown timer that increases the urgency to click the buy button. We watch it on our computers. Tick, tick, tick—better press buy right now. Or there's the pop-up that tells you that there's only one item left to purchase, and you'd better hurry up because your time is running out to click that button and pay. These aren't helpful. These are deliberately designed to swindle consumers. The bill's intention is not to limit genuine promotion or standard advertising. Instead, the focus is on addressing mechanisms that cross that line from persuasion into manipulation, harming consumers and negatively affecting fair competition. When you cross that line, you need to know that the law in this country is coming for you.

The second focus of the bill is on banning drip-pricing practices. Businesses will have to present the total cost upfront, including any unavoidable fees or charges. Now, Tim, in my local community, learnt that the hard way, and others shouldn't have to. By ensuring that any additional costs are clearly and transparently disclosed upfront, consumers will have a better understanding of the real price, allowing them to make more informed decisions from the outset, because, after all, transparent pricing is essential for markets to function effectively. When costs are hidden or revealed incrementally, genuine competition is weakened. We know how important competition is for markets and for our economy, because competition is a core driver of quality; competition is a core driver of getting prices down. These reforms help restore a level playing field, ensuring that businesses that are open and transparent are not placed at a disadvantage compared to those that conceal true price until that very final step.

Finally, the bill will add transparency to subscription purchases by requiring businesses to clearly provide essential information before customers sign up—not after; not in the tiny print; not locked away behind seven screens; before they make the purchase. Customers will also receive reminders and notifications at key points during that subscription. This means that you'll be notified when your free trial is ending, or when your renewal is coming up, giving you the time to decide if you want to continue or if you want to opt out. And, in the case of opting out, businesses will have to ensure that it's easier to cancel a subscription. That means it will be easier to find cancellation information on the website or the app, it will be simpler to complete and it will only require steps that are reasonably necessary for the consumer. These obligations will apply both to consumer subscriptions and to standard form subscription contracts used by small businesses.

At its core, the reform recognises one very basic principle: if a contract can be entered into quickly, it should be just as easy to exit it. That is what makes sense. That is what is fair. And that is the obligation that businesses should have to their customers and to consumers more broadly.

The amendments will come into effect from 1 July 2027, giving businesses sufficient time to understand their new responsibilities and to update their practices. To support this transition, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will provide detailed guidance on how the new laws will operate in practice. In addition, the first two years of the subscription provisions will be reviewed to ensure the reforms are protecting consumers in the intended way.

I mentioned small businesses just now. While this bill is focused on strengthening consumer safeguards, unfair trading practices are not limited to individuals. Small businesses and franchises often face similar challenges when dealing with their larger counterparts, and they deserve fairness as well. The government has started consultation on extending these unfair trading practice protections to small businesses, including those operating with franchising arrangements. The government will also work closely with the Assistant Treasurer and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to explore potential alignment within the financial services sector.

I'm lucky enough to have my office in the heart of the Brisbane seat of Moreton, in a place called Sunnybank. If you took a rock and you threw it as far as you could and you drew a circle around that, you'd find so many of these small businesses, vulnerable to big players. Some of them are in hospitality, some are in retail, some are in manufacturing—all sorts of different sectors. But, just like consumers, they deserve protections when it comes to the changing technological landscape.

This bill is part of the Albanese Labor government's drive to support consumers, to increase transparency in the marketplace and to boost competition. It's all part of this government's No. 1 priority area: supporting Australians with the cost of living. Stronger competition plays a critical role in this and helps to deliver better outcomes for households.

Labor has already seen some of the most significant overhaul of Australia's merger laws in 50 years, ensuring that major mergers are properly assessed and that anticompetitive acquisitions do not proceed without scrutiny. We've provided an additional $30 million in funding for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, strengthening its ability to take action on misleading pricing practices, particularly in sectors such as supermarkets.

Further reforms are improving fairness and accountability across the market. The government has outlawed unfair contract terms, with regulators now empowered to seek penalties for breaches. Work is also underway to strengthen the unit-pricing code. These amendments have a myriad of benefits for consumers, especially at a time when cost of living is at its toughest.

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