New price-gouging laws to hit Coles, Woolies from July 2026, Treasurer Jim Chalmers announces   
Labor has been blasted after the announcement of a new ban that would force Coles and Woolies to pay millions in fines if they failed to comply.


News.com.au
December 14, 2025

Australia’s peak retail body has slammed Labor’s new excessive pricing ban, saying it risks driving the prices of groceries up amid an affordability crisis.

Unfair grocery pricing will become illegal under the new laws, with supermarket giants facing up to $10m in fines if they breach the ban, Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced on Sunday.   

Very large retailers like Coles and Woolworths will be not be allowed to charge prices deemed excessive, as compared to the cost of the supply, plus a reasonable margin.

The laws are part of changes to the Food and Grocery Code, will be enforced by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

They will come into effect on July 1, 2026.

Penalties per breach range from $10 million; three times the value of the benefit derived, or, if that value cannot be determined; 10 per cent of the company’s turnover during the preceding 12 months.

The new laws will target very large retailers, like Coles and Woolworths.
Australian Retailers Association chief executive Chris Rodwell described the measures as “subjective” and claimed it would increase “legal risk, compliance costs and uncertainty across the grocery sector”.

“Grocery prices are overwhelmingly driven by input costs — energy, freight, wages, insurance and supplier costs,” Mr Rodwell said.

“Out of a $100 basket, just $3 represents supermarket profit with essentials such as milk and fresh produce operate often operating on event lower margins.

“Regulating the profitability of individual items risks making staples more expensive, particularly for lower-income households and regional communities.

“The best way to put downward pressure on prices is to provide regulatory and tax relief.”

Coles, Woolies hit out at laws

In a statement, Woolworths described the new laws as “unprecedented” and claimed it created an “uneven playing field”.
“We acknowledge the tabling of this regulation,” a Woolworths Group spokesman said.

“Right now, we are absolutely focused on delivering the best value for customers.

“Average prices in Woolworths Food Retail have declined year-on-year for seven consecutive quarters, bringing lower prices for customers.

The changes would gives Australians a “fairer go” at the checkout, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said.   

“This includes our Lower Shelf Prices commitment which includes more than 800 products, delivering average savings of 12.6% for customers since August.

“Today and every day, we compete vigorously for every item in our customers’ baskets.

“The law is unprecedented by targeting only two Australian-owned companies, creating an uneven playing field which will see much larger, foreign-owned retailers free to charge customers whatever they want, without any of the new proposed restrictions.”

Coles claimed the new rules would place “upward, not downward” pressure on prices, in a statement.

“Coles is committed to easing pressure at the checkout for Australian families,” a Coles spokesman said.

“For every $100 customers spend at Coles, we make around $2.43 in profit – less than 3 cents in the dollar.

“We urge the Government to tackle the real drivers of higher grocery prices for Australian families.

“Increasing regulation is likely to put upward, not downward, pressure on prices. At a time when the focus should be on easing cost-of-living pressures, these regulations risk doing the opposite.

Coles was critical of the new laws and claimed it could risk making groceries more expensive.

“Australia’s grocery sector is highly competitive, and carving out large multinationals and other major players from this legislation does not reflect how Australians shop and risks weakening competition.”

‘Fairer go’: Chalmers

Mr Chalmers defended the crackdown on price-gouging, saying it built on a key Labor election commitment and would help Australians already struggling to put food on the table during an affordability crisis.

“This is all about making sure that families and pensioners get a fairer go at the checkout,” he said.   

“We know that people are under pressure. We want to make sure, and we will make sure, that the supermarkets are not price gouging their customers, and that’s what this important change is all about.”

Earlier this year, Coles and Woolworths were found to be among the most profitable supermarkets in the world, during an ACCC inquiry triggered

Bobby. wrote on Dec 14^th, 2025 at 5:11pm:



And? Hand picked vs Machine picked. Although there is now a robot.

This is seven months away and will have more holes then Swiss cheese. Nothing but a desperate attempt to distract from MPs stealing taxpayers money. 

Bobby. wrote on Dec 14^th, 2025 at 5:22pm:

and what is the price the grower receives? What is the transportation cost? What is the spoilage rate? so many questions, so many answers needed.

"Supermarket shelves have been stripped bare of a popular meal staple, with customers warned it may be some time before supplies return to normal.

Capsicums are the latest fresh produce item to suffer a severe shortage, after a string of similar supply issues across fruit and vegetable categories in 2025.

According to a Coles Customer Notice "extreme weather in the growing regions" have impacted supplies of yellow and green capsicums."

...

"A nearby Aldi store didn't have any capsicums at all. Woolworths' website lists red and yellow capsicums as "out of stock"."

https://kitchen.nine.com.au/latest/capsicum-shortage-hits-australian-supermarket...

Red capsicums are the latest of the ripenings.

Coles and Woolworths hit back at government's price gouging ban


Dec 14 2025
ABC News.


In short:
The federal government has introduced rules to limit "excessive pricing of groceries".   

The ban will prohibit very large retailers from charging prices that are excessive when compared to the cost of the supply.

What's next?
The move against price gouging takes effect on July 1.


Australia's major supermarkets are furious they are being targeted with more regulations, with Coles crying poor about making about $2.50 for every $100 a customer spends.

The federal government has introduced rules to limit "excessive pricing of groceries", and Australia's major supermarkets are furious they are being targeted with more regulations.

Lower grocery bills are being promised within this new ban on price gouging, but giant retailers say they are the ones feeling the pinch.

The move against price-gouging, foreshadowed before a snap consultation period earlier in the year, takes effect on July 1.

Key takeaways from the ACCC's supermarkets report
.
Allegations of price gouging by the supermarket giants prompted an inquiry into the sector by the ACCC — but after a year of investigating, its final report hasn't been able to say whether it's taking place.

It will prohibit very large retailers from charging prices that are excessive when compared to the cost of the supply, plus a reasonable margin, the government said on Sunday.

"This is all about getting a fairer go for families in their weekly shop," Treasurer Jim Chalmers said.

From July, supermarkets could face fines of $10 million per breach, three times the value of the benefit derived or 10 per cent of the company's turnover during the preceding 12 months.

In March, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found the near-duopoly enjoyed by Coles and Woolworths gave them little incentive to compete vigorously.

They were among the most profitable supermarkets in the world, an inquiry found.

But the report never directly accused the supermarkets of gouging customers, something both Coles and Woolworths have consistently denied.

It did not make a finding on, or seek to define whether supermarket prices were "excessive", since high margins are not prohibited under consumer laws.

Coles hit back, saying more regulations were not the answer to lowering grocery prices and would drive costs up for shoppers.

"At a time when the focus should be on easing cost-of-living pressures, these regulations risk doing the opposite," a Coles spokesperson said on Sunday.

"For every $100 customers spend at Coles, we make around $2.43 in profit — less than 3 cents in the dollar," they argued.


Coles said this ban could have the opposite effect than intended. 

Valued at more than $29 billion, the supermarket giant said higher energy, freight, labour, insurance and production costs were the key pressures to getting goods on shelves and selling them.

Woolworths warned the ban would create a butterfly effect where shoppers would miss out on great deals, with the $36 billion public company saying it had delivered savings for consumers for seven quarters in a row.

"The law is unprecedented by targeting only two Australian-owned companies," a Woolworths spokesperson said, referring to it and its competitor Coles.

The retail giant said it would result in "an uneven playing field which will see much larger, foreign-owned retailers free to charge customers whatever they want, without any of the new proposed restrictions".

The Business Council of Australia also savaged the price gouging ban for being misplaced in its target.

"We all want lower prices for Australians, but regulation should be based on evidence," the council's CEO Bran Black said.

"If Australia wants lower prices and better outcomes for consumers, we need to focus on reducing unnecessary regulation and addressing the underlying cost pressures across supply chains."
The consumer watchdog's report found grocery prices rose at more than double the rate of wages between late 2022 and early 2023, attributing at least some of those rises to additional profits for Coles, Woolworths and Aldi.

In a statement, the Australian Retailers Association's chief executive Chris Rodwell said they "strongly oppose" the ban.

"These measures seek to address a problem for which there is no evidence and risk having the opposite effect — pushing grocery prices higher for Australian families," Mr Rodwell said.

The treasurer said the changes give the competition watchdog the powers it needs to hold supermarkets to account by policing the new regime.

"One of the best ways to ease the cost of living for Australians is to help people get fairer prices at the checkout and that's what this is all about," he said in a joint statement.