Supermarket ‘Price Pain’ and Online ‘Subscription Traps’ Put Albanese Government Under Pressure
Nationals leader David Littleproud has accused the Albanese Labor government of dragging its feet on key supermarket transparency reforms and “letting shoppers down” during a cost‑of‑living crisis, as Labor counters that it has already delivered a tough mandatory supermarket code and is now moving on wider consumer protections, including a national crackdown on online “subscription traps”.
Supermarket prices and Nationals’ criticism
Nationals leader David Littleproud says families will head into 2026 still “shopping in the dark” because the government has not forced the major supermarket chains to share real‑time price data in a way that lets consumers easily compare prices across stores and products.
He points to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s supermarkets inquiry, which recommended that the largest chains be compelled to publish their prices online and provide “dynamic price information” via application programming interfaces (APIs) that third‑party comparison tools could use to help shoppers find the lowest prices.
Mr Littleproud argues that almost every grocery item has risen in price during the cost‑of‑living crunch, with some products up around 20 per cent, while real wages have failed to keep pace, leaving household budgets under severe strain at the checkout.
He says that, nearly 300 days after the supermarkets inquiry report, failure to implement the dynamic pricing tools amounts to a broken promise and is “costing families” over the New Year period.
ACCC reforms and ‘shrinkflation’ concerns
The ACCC’s inquiry into supermarket competition and pricing recommended a suite of measures aimed at improving transparency, including mandatory online pricing by big chains, dynamic price APIs for the very largest retailers, and clearer disclosure of so‑called “shrinkflation”.
Shrinkflation occurs when a product’s size or weight quietly falls while the price stays the same or rises, and the ACCC has urged that supermarkets be required to publish clear notifications when package sizes change, alongside prominent unit‑pricing information so shoppers can see the true cost per litre, kilo or unit.
Mr Littleproud says the lack of mandatory shrinkflation notifications leaves room for “tricky pricing practices” that take advantage of busy consumers who may not notice subtle changes in package size.
He also links delayed implementation of transparency measures to pressure on farmers, who are facing higher input costs and lower margins, arguing that stronger rules would help both producers and shoppers “vote with their feet” and switch to better deals.
Government’s supermarket code and response
The federal government says it has already taken significant steps by making the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct mandatory for large supermarket chains from 1 April 2025, implementing recommendations of an earlier independent review by former Labor minister Craig Emerson.
The mandatory code applies to supermarket and grocery wholesalers with more than $5 billion in turnover and is designed to protect farmers and suppliers by requiring written supply agreements, good‑faith dealings, and anonymous complaint channels, with penalties of up to 10 per cent of turnover for serious breaches
Assistant Minister for Competition Andrew Leigh has highlighted that the strengthened code is aimed primarily at conduct in the supply chain rather than directly setting prices, and that other levers such as competition cases and planning reforms are also being used to increase supermarket competition.
Labor figures note that Coalition MPs voted against the mandatory code package in Parliament, even as they now demand faster and tougher action on supermarket behaviour.
New push on online ‘subscription traps’
While the Nationals press for faster supermarket changes, the government is also moving to outlaw a wider class of unfair trading practices, with Assistant Minister Leigh describing 2026 as the year “subscription traps” and similar tactics will be banned under an expanded Australian Consumer Law.
Subscription traps include free trials that silently roll into paid plans, cancellation buttons hidden deep in websites or apps, and requirements to phone during business hours to cancel, even when sign‑up was instant and online.
Draft national legislation due for consultation in early 2026 is expected to impose a general ban on unfair practices that manipulate consumer decision‑making and cause harm, with specific rules targeting subscription traps and “drip pricing”, where mandatory fees are only revealed at the final step of checkout.
Under the proposed reforms, businesses would need to clearly disclose key subscription terms before sign‑up, send reminders before free trials convert to paid plans, and ensure cancelling is at least as simple as joining, with regulators given stronger powers and civil penalties for breaches.
What it means for Australian families
For households juggling high rents, mortgages and rising food bills, the debate leaves a gap between the reforms already in place and the on‑the‑ground experience of weekly shopping and online subscriptions.
Consumer advocates say dynamic price tools, clear shrinkflation warnings and tougher penalties for misleading tactics would give people more power to compare options and walk away from bad deals, but warn that none of these measures will instantly reverse global food inflation or broader cost‑of‑living pressures.
As Parliament prepares to consider both supermarket‑related regulations and the broader unfair trading ban in 2026, families, farmers and digital‑business operators will be watching closely to see whether the final laws deliver practical changes at the checkout and in their inboxes, rather than just another round of political blame‑shifting.
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