This bill is currently before Parliament.
Budget, tax & economy
Businesses must not use sales tactics that manipulate consumers or unfairly shape their choices when selling everyday goods and services.
Current and emerging unfair trading practicesBusiness conduct that unfairly manipulates customers, distorts their choices, or takes advantage of them when selling goods or services., including drip pricingA pricing tactic where extra fees are added later in the buying process, after a customer has already seen an initial price. and harmful subscription practicesWays businesses sell, renew, manage or cancel ongoing paid services or memberships., exposed gaps in consumer and small businessA business that falls within the size limits set by the law and may receive protections under the subscription rules. protections. The bill bans unfair trading practicesBusiness conduct that unfairly manipulates customers, distorts their choices, or takes advantage of them when selling goods or services., requires upfront disclosure of transaction fees, and sets clearer subscription information and cancellation rules.
Australia already had the Competition and Consumer Act 2010The main Australian law that contains competition rules and the Australian Consumer Law. This bill would amend it. and the Australian Consumer LawThe national law that sets rules for fair trading, consumer rights and business conduct in Australia., but ministers and the government identified gaps as businesses used current and emerging tactics that could steer choices, hide fees through drip pricingA pricing tactic where extra fees are added later in the buying process, after a customer has already seen an initial price., or make subscriptions hard for consumers and small businesses. After consultations beginning in 2023 and a 2024 commitment, this bill responded by creating a general unfair trading ban, clearer transaction-fee disclosure, and subscription information and cancellation protections.
No significant public case against the bill is recorded so far; the main reservations are practical ones about whether businesses can understand and comply with the new rules, and whether regulators can enforce them effectively. Public material mainly shows government and consumer advocates backing stronger protections against hidden fees, manipulative sales design and subscription traps, rather than opposing the bill’s policy goal.
Andrew Leigh MP introduced this bill. Supportive speeches so far have come from Labor.
Did it become law?
Not yet
Final passage
No final vote yet
The bill has not yet completed passage through Parliament.
Days since introduction
70 days
Updated 10 June 2026.
Meaning
Businesses must not use sales tactics that manipulate consumers or unfairly shape their choices when selling everyday goods and services.
Businesses must show transaction-based feesExtra fees linked to making a purchase or payment, such as booking, service or payment processing fees. upfront, so buyers can see extra charges before deciding whether to keep buying.
Subscription sellers must give key contract information when offering a subscription to consumers or small businesses.
Subscription providers must make cancelling simple, with few steps, and must allow online cancellation in some cases.
1.2 First, the Bill introduces a general prohibition on a person engaging in unfair trading practices towards consumers. Unfair trading practices captures conduct in connection with the supply of, or an offer to supply, goods or services that:Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) explanatory memorandum
1.3 Second, the Bill strengthens protections against ‘drip pricing’ by requiring a person offering goods or services at a base price to disclose information relating to any applicable transaction based charge that would apply to the supply of those goods or services. This is intended to ensure that potential buyers are aware of transaction based charges and can make informed decisions about whether to continue with a purchase.Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) explanatory memorandum
· requiring a person that offers to supply goods or services under a subscription contract to disclose key information about the contract when making the offer;Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) explanatory memorandum
· requiring a person who supplies goods or services under a subscription contract to ensure there is an easy and straightforward way for subscribers to end a subscription contract with minimal steps, and a way to end the contract online in certain circumstances.Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) explanatory memorandum
Context
Australia already had the Competition and Consumer Act 2010The main Australian law that contains competition rules and the Australian Consumer Law. This bill would amend it. and the Australian Consumer LawThe national law that sets rules for fair trading, consumer rights and business conduct in Australia., but ministers and the government identified gaps as businesses used current and emerging tactics that could steer choices, hide fees through drip pricingA pricing tactic where extra fees are added later in the buying process, after a customer has already seen an initial price., or make subscriptions hard for consumers and small businesses. After consultations beginning in 2023 and a 2024 commitment, this bill responded by creating a general unfair trading ban, clearer transaction-fee disclosure, and subscription information and cancellation protections.
Consumer affairs ministers agreed to explore an unfair trading ban
Commonwealth, state and territory ministers committed to looking at how Australia could adopt a prohibition on unfair trading practicesBusiness conduct that unfairly manipulates customers, distorts their choices, or takes advantage of them when selling goods or services..
Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) explanatory memorandum ↗Ministers asked the Commonwealth to lead public consultation
Consumer affairs ministers agreed that the Commonwealth would consult on options to address unfair trading practicesBusiness conduct that unfairly manipulates customers, distorts their choices, or takes advantage of them when selling goods or services. in the Australian Consumer LawThe national law that sets rules for fair trading, consumer rights and business conduct in Australia. for all jurisdictions.
Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) explanatory memorandum ↗Government released an unfair trading consultation impact statement
The consultation paper sought feedback on options for dealing with unfair trading practicesBusiness conduct that unfairly manipulates customers, distorts their choices, or takes advantage of them when selling goods or services. before the government settled on legislation.
Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) explanatory memorandum ↗Government committed to a general ban and specific unfair-trading rules
The government announced it would address unfair trading practicesBusiness conduct that unfairly manipulates customers, distorts their choices, or takes advantage of them when selling goods or services. by introducing a general prohibitionA broad legal ban on a type of conduct, rather than a rule that only covers specific examples. and specific prohibitions in the Australian Consumer LawThe national law that sets rules for fair trading, consumer rights and business conduct in Australia..
Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) explanatory memorandum ↗Draft laws put unfair-trading reform out for consultation
Treasury's exposure draft and consultation process set out the proposed ban on unfair trading practicesBusiness conduct that unfairly manipulates customers, distorts their choices, or takes advantage of them when selling goods or services., subscription traps and drip pricingA pricing tactic where extra fees are added later in the buying process, after a customer has already seen an initial price..
Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman ↗ACCC put consumer trust and fake discounts in the spotlight
The ACCC made fake discounting and consumer trust enforcement priorities in 2026, reinforcing the public context for clearer pricing and fairer sales practices.
ABC News ↗Unfair trading bill was introduced to Parliament
The bill put the government’s response into Parliament by targeting unfair trading practicesBusiness conduct that unfairly manipulates customers, distorts their choices, or takes advantage of them when selling goods or services., drip pricingA pricing tactic where extra fees are added later in the buying process, after a customer has already seen an initial price. and harmful subscription practicesWays businesses sell, renew, manage or cancel ongoing paid services or memberships. affecting consumers and small businesses.
Parliamentary timeline ↗Legislative route
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second reading moved
Key criticism
No significant public case against the bill is recorded so far; the main reservations are practical ones about whether businesses can understand and comply with the new rules, and whether regulators can enforce them effectively. Public material mainly shows government and consumer advocates backing stronger protections against hidden fees, manipulative sales design and subscription traps, rather than opposing the bill’s policy goal.
The available public debate appears supportive, with criticism limited to implementation risk.
Compliance clarity for businesses
The bill creates new obligations around unfair trading, upfront fee disclosure and subscription cancellation, so the main implementation risk is whether businesses—especially smaller firms—receive clear guidance on what conduct is banned.
Enforcement will decide impact
Supporters described harmful practices such as hidden fees and subscription traps as widespread, which implies the law’s value will depend on active enforcement rather than the new prohibitions existing only on paper.
Subscription cancellation systems may be hard to police
Examples of consumers struggling to cancel subscriptions show the practical risk that firms could still make cancellation confusing unless the rules are specific enough and backed by monitoring.
Further sources
Votes
No recorded votes have been found yet for this bill.
Parliamentary debate
Start here — lead voices
Andrew Leigh says the government wants the bill passed to protect consumers from unfair trading practicesBusiness conduct that unfairly manipulates customers, distorts their choices, or takes advantage of them when selling goods or services., hidden mandatory fees and subscription traps.
Read in Hansard ↗All speeches by bloc
1 speaker · 1 support
“This bill closes those gaps. It modernises the Australian Consumer Law to reflect the realities of how Australians now buy, compare and subscribe. It ensures consumers are protected not only from outright deception but also from the kinds of subtle, cumulative influences that can undermine genuine choice.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Record
House · Introduced and read a first time
Introduced
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
House · Second reading moved
Second reading opened
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
