ACCC's compliance and enforcement priorities update 2026-27 address

Good afternoon and thank you for the introduction. I begin by acknowledging the Traditional Custodians of the lands, waterways and skies across Australia. I pay my respects to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, on whose Country we meet, and to their Elders past and present. I also extend my respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people joining us today.

I thank CEDA, once again, for hosting this event. CEDA has long been a critical voice in Australia's economic and policy conversations, and we value the opportunity to share our work at this important forum.

It is a pleasure to be here to announce the ACCC's Compliance and Enforcement Priorities for 2026-27.

At their core, the ACCC's priorities reflect two fundamental conditions for a healthy economy: competition and consumer trust. Our priorities sit at the intersection of these two objectives. They are designed to respond to emerging issues, where trust is being undermined and harm is most acute.

Competition, consumer trust and productivity

There is no doubt that we continue to operate in a time of heightened volatility, uncertainty and polarisation.

For consumers, this is a time marked by continuing cost-of-living pressures and increasing complexity in the products and services they rely on.

For business and industry, it is a time of rapid change and uncertainty.

And for governments and regulators, it is a time marked by both declining trust and rising expectations. Expectations to not only respond to disruption and complexity - but to share in the responsibility of shaping Australia's economic future.

The OECD's 2026 Economic Survey of Australia makes clear that strong competition policy, vigorous enforcement, and sustained market oversight are central to lifting Australia's medium-term economic prospects. In fact, the OECD has found that productivity is around 50 per cent higher in countries with the most competition-friendly regulatory settings than in those with the weakest.[1]

Competition drives productivity by incentivising investment, innovation and efficiency. And competition law, and its rigorous enforcement, are important contributors to productivity growth.

But competition alone is not enough. Markets only deliver when people trust that prices reflect genuine competition, that information is accurate, that products and services are safe and that basic rights will be honoured.

When businesses mislead, obscure information or cut corners, they harm consumers and undermine trust. They also disadvantage firms that invest in quality, innovation and compliance and systems that protect consumers or their data.

Consumer protection and competition policy are fundamentally connected. Consumer protection supports trust and participation in markets; competition supports outcomes that consumers can have confidence in. Together, they are vital to the proper functioning of markets and to the strength of the economy as a whole.

This is where effective, right-sized regulation matters.

Trust is not built by consumers having to complain to secure their basic rights. It is not built by businesses doing the right thing only when compelled to do so. It is built when there is a shared understanding - across both the business and consumer communities - of the standards of behaviour expected in markets, and when there is real accountability for meeting those standards.

The ACCC exists to ensure competition and consumer law delivers as intended - through clear standards, active oversight, and enforcement where conduct causes harm.

Meeting this responsibility requires a continuous process of engagement, evidence-gathering and action, shaped by what is emerging in markets. At the ACCC, we listen to consumers and businesses, engage directly with industry, and draw on a wide range of intelligence to identify where competition and trust are under pressure. And to ensure our focus remains on the issues that matter most to the public we serve.

We use these tools to bring transparency to market dynamics and conduct that may not otherwise be visible. And where the evidence points to harm, we act.

Through all this work we apply the principle of right-sized regulation. That is, action that is rigorous where harm is greatest, proportionate where regulatory burdens risk stifling progress, and always directed to the same end - protecting consumers, promoting competition, and enabling innovation and productivity.

And it is against this backdrop that we set our compliance and enforcement priorities.

Enduring priorities

Before I turn to the ACCC's annual priorities for 2026-27, I want to remind us of the constants - the enduring priorities - that guide our work.

Some forms of conduct are so damaging to competition, consumer welfare and market confidence that they will always demand our attention. These enduring priorities underpin our annual focus and guide how we assess risk and decide when to act.

First, we will always prioritise conduct that strikes at the competitive process itself - cartel and other collusive behaviour, exclusionary conduct, anti-competitive agreements and the misuse of market power.

We have active investigations and court proceedings underway, including our misuse of market power case against Mastercard, which goes to trial next month. Our cartel enforcement program remains strong, with four cases before the courts alleging cartel conduct by corporations and senior executives across a range of sectors - from mobile crane hire and fresh produce supply to facility management services to the Department of Defence.

Second, we will always prioritise conduct that places consumers at serious risk - including unsafe products, scams, and practices that disproportionately harm people experiencing vulnerability or disadvantage, or First Nations Australians, particularly where barriers exist to asserting basic consumer rights.

Last year, the Federal Court ordered Optus to pay a $100 million penalty for unconscionable conduct in selling mobile phones and contracts to vulnerable consumers who could not afford or use them, and for pursuing resulting debts. More than 400 consumers were affected, including many First Nations Australians in regional and remote communities. The Court described the consequences as "profound", involving severe financial harm and emotional distress.

That outcome sends a clear deterrence message: large corporations must have systems and incentives that prevent exploitation - particularly where vulnerability is apparent.

We will continue to seek high penalties where conduct causes serious harm. This includes focusing on accountability of senior executives, particularly where there appears to be a poor compliance culture within the business.

Third, we will continue to prioritise conduct that undermines fair dealing for small businesses, including in the agriculture sector, where power imbalances can be acute and the consequences long-lasting.

For example, our action against Western Australian wholesaler Galati Group for alleged breaches of the Horticulture Code, including trading without compliant horticulture produce agreements. Galati was the sixth trader to pay penalties for alleged Code breaches since mid-2023.

These priorities provide continuity and clarity. They keep our focus on the most serious sources of harm to competition and trust, while allowing our annual priorities to respond to emerging risks and changing market conditions.

With that foundation in place, I will now turn to the ACCC's Compliance and Enforcement Priorities for 2026-27.

Consultation for the 2026-27 priorities highlighted persistent concerns: high and rising cost of goods and services, conduct undermining trust in the digital economy, and restrictions imposed by businesses that limit other businesses' ability to compete.

Supermarket and retail sector

I will begin with our priorities in the supermarket and retail sector which reflect the central role this sector plays in household budgets and the Australian economy more broadly, particularly in a period of sustained cost-of-living pressure.

Over the past year, the ACCC has acted to address conduct that undermines competition in supermarket and retail supply chains and that weakens consumers' ability to make informed choices.

We initiated civil cartel proceedings against four fresh food suppliers - and three senior executives - for alleged price fixing in the supply of staple fruit and vegetables to ALDI stores across multiple states.

We also took action to address restrictions on price competition in retail supply chains through a number of resale price maintenance matters, where suppliers sought to control the prices at which retailers could sell products. By accepting court enforceable undertakings from these suppliers, our actions focused not only on enforcement, but on restoring competitive freedom and embedding compliance to prevent recurrence.

Alongside competition issues, consumer trust in supermarket pricing remains a priority.

We conducted major sweeps of retailers' Black Friday and Boxing Day sales advertising for the past two years - targeting conduct including misleading 'site-wide' and 'store-wide' claims, and claims of 'up to a percentage amount off', where the discount applies to very few products. And our separate proceedings against Woolworths and Coles for alleged misleading discount pricing claims continue in the Federal Court.

Accurate and meaningful pricing information is fundamental to effective competition. If discount claims mislead, consumers cannot make informed choices, businesses that follow the rules may be disadvantaged, and the competitive process is at risk.

For these reasons, our compliance and enforcement priorities to address competition and consumer concerns in the supermarket and retail sector will remain for 2026-27 - and will focus on conduct by firms with market power, restrictions that limit price competition, and misleading pricing practices that undermine consumer trust.

Essential services

I will now turn to telecommunications, electricity and gas - sectors that are fundamental to economic participation, household wellbeing and business productivity.

These markets share common features. They provide essential services, are often concentrated, and involve complex pricing structures that make it difficult for consumers and small businesses to compare offers and exercise choice.

Because these services are so essential, the consequences of poor market outcomes can be felt more acutely. When information is unclear, consumers and small businesses have limited ability to avoid harm.

Over recent years, the ACCC's work in energy has demonstrated how transparency can help improve outcomes. Our monitoring and reporting on retail electricity exposed the extent to which many consumers were paying a loyalty penalty. That transparency supported improved outcomes while also revealing where problems persist.

Transparency is a precondition for competition, but it must be matched with culture, systems and processes that consider consumer outcomes - and accountability - particularly where conduct causes serious or systemic harm.

In the Optus case accountability was underlined by the combination of the penalty and five-year court-enforceable undertaking committing to consumer remediation. Optus committed to consumer remediation, changes to sales incentives, improvements to internal systems and controls, and a $1 million donation to support digital literacy for First Nations Australians.

Taken together, this outcome reflects a balanced and integrated regulatory approach: strong enforcement where harm is serious or systemic, combined with remedies to compensate affected customers.

Looking ahead, our 2026-27 compliance and enforcement priorities include promoting competition in essential services, including telecommunications, electricity, and gas sectors. And also continuing to address misleading pricing and claims in relation to essential services, with a focus on energy and telecommunications.

Aviation

Aviation is another sector where competition and consumer issues remain firmly in focus for the ACCC.

Aviation plays a critical role in Australia's economy and social connectivity - particularly for regional and remote communities. Like telecommunications and energy, Australia's aviation sector is also characterised by high concentration, significant barriers to entry and limited consumer choice.

In recent years, consumers have faced concerns about pricing transparency, and the availability of remedies when services are not delivered as promised. Where competitive pressure is weak, these issues can become entrenched.

In 2026-27, the ACCC will also continue to prioritise competition and consumer issues in the aviation sector, including through market monitoring, advocacy to promote better outcomes for consumers and competition, and enforcement action, where appropriate. Our focus is on ensuring consumers benefit from genuine competition, clear information and fair treatment - particularly in a sector that provides a vital service for many Australians.

Digital and data-enabled markets

The dynamics I have described in supermarkets, essential services and aviation are also evident in digital markets - where scale, data and design rapidly reshape market dynamics and consumer outcomes.

Digital markets now shape how consumers shop, how businesses reach customers, how services are accessed and how markets function. As a result, conduct in digital markets can have rapid and wide-ranging effects on competition and consumer wellbeing.

Our continuing focus in this area reflects that reality. It is directed at protecting consumers, promoting competition, supporting transparency and trust, and ensuring that innovation can flourish.

In 2026/27, the ACCC will prioritise manipulative and false practices, and unsafe consumer goods, in digital markets. This priority recognises the emergence of practices including subscription traps and other dark patterns that manipulate consumer behaviour and unfairly impact consumer choice. It also recognises the rise in unsafe consumer goods available right across our economy facilitated by the increasing scale and reach of digital markets.

Alongside this work, we will also continue to prioritise promoting competition in digital markets.

This builds on the important outcomes we have secured over the past year - for example, our investigation in relation to Google's distribution of search services on Android devices. This investigation resulted in a combination of a penalty and court-enforceable undertaking by Google, and earlier by our telecommunications carriers, providing the opportunity for greater choice in default search engines for millions of Australian consumers.

In this case, Google admitted to breaching Australia's competition law and agreed to jointly submit to the Court that it should pay a penalty of $55 million, which was then ordered by the Court.

Importantly, the court-enforceable undertaking included commitments to modify the way Google distributes Search in Australia.

In other cases, competition has been strengthened without litigation, for example our investigation into Equifax for exclusivity arrangements uncovered conduct that risked restricting entry and hindering existing competition and innovation in a developing market, where access to data is critical.

As a result of our work, Equifax stopped relying on the exclusivity and revenue sharing provisions in its agreement with SuperChoice, one of the largest holders of payroll and superannuation data in Australia. Equifax also later amended the agreement to remove these clauses. In addition, we also secured a court-enforceable undertaking from Equifax not to enter into future agreements preventing competitors from accessing this data.

Our focus on digital markets also includes our role enforcing the Consumer Data Right (CDR) - a pro-competitive reform designed to give consumers and small businesses greater control over their data and to support entry and innovation.

For example, in 2025, we issued infringement notices to Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia Bank for alleged failures relating to data sharing and data quality obligations under the CDR framework. These outcomes were accompanied by remediation commitments to restore functionality and strengthen confidence in the CDR system as it matures and expands.

Digital platform competition reform

In addition to this work, it is our view that a proactive approach to the regulation of digital platforms is needed - and we continue to advocate for a new digital competition regime.

Right-sized regulation is at the centre of the regime, which would be based on service-specific codes of conduct targeted to the few platforms and critical intermediary services that exhibit market power and impede competition and diversified innovation.

We will continue to engage with the Government on our competition recommendations for digital markets in the year ahead.

Scams Prevention Framework

Our work in digital markets in the year ahead will also extend to the implementation of Australia's new Scams Prevention Framework, which was introduced in 2025.

The Framework responds to the growing prevalence and impact of increasingly sophisticated scams that exploit gaps across sectors. It establishes a coordinated, economy-wide approach, requiring designated sectors to take proactive steps to prevent, detect, disrupt, respond to and report scams, and to share actionable intelligence with the ACCC.

By embedding clear responsibilities, strong enforcement and accessible redress mechanisms across key sectors, the Framework represents a significant shift toward system-wide consumer protection in an increasingly digital and interconnected economy.

Consumer safety, trust and confidence

I will now turn to our remaining compliance and enforcement priorities for 2026/27 which focus on consumer and fair trading concerns - where trust in markets depends on truthful claims, fair contract terms and safe products.

Environment and sustainability

Starting with environment and sustainability. As we continue on the critical path to net zero, we expect to see a continuation of, if not an increase in, environmental claims in the marketplace. We know that consumers rely on this information to make informed decisions. And in 2026-27, we will continue to prioritise consumer and fair trading concerns in relation to environmental claims and sustainability, with a focus on greenwashing.

Over the past year, the ACCC has taken enforcement action against misleading environmental and sustainability claims, applying long-standing consumer law principles to emerging forms of green marketing.

This included commencing court proceedings against Edgewell in relation to claims that Hawaiian Tropic and Banana Boat sunscreens were "reef friendly", and against Australian Gas Networks Limited for advertising that gas supplied to households would become renewable within a generation without reasonable grounds.

It also included litigation against Clorox Australia, where the Federal Court also imposed penalties of $8.25 million for falsely representing that certain GLAD products were made from "ocean plastic".

Beyond litigation, we will also work to address misleading green claims using compliance, education and guidance to shape market conduct and secure timely outcomes.

Unfair contract terms and consumer guarantees

Trust, and effective competition, is also undermined when consumers and small businesses are locked into unfair contractual arrangements, or don't receive remedies they are entitled to.

For this reason, our priorities for 2026-27 include unfair contract terms - particularly harmful cancellation practices such as automatic renewals, early termination fees and non-cancellation clauses. And also improving compliance with consumer guarantees, with a focus on motor vehicles.

These priorities reflect our preventative approach - and the importance of setting clear expectations, supporting compliance and intervening where harm is widespread.

Challenges with enforcing consumer guarantee rights remain a common issue raised by consumers. As I've announced, this year our focus for consumer guarantees will be on motor vehicles.

Our renewed focus in this space involves exploring different approaches to achieve compliance, including working collaboratively with industry to deliver changes for the benefit of consumers.

Product safety

Product safety also remains an important focus.

Australians expect the products they buy to be safe. Cost and safety shouldn't be trade-off decisions for households - particularly in an environment of continuing cost-of-living pressure.

In 2026-27, we will continue to prioritise product safety issues for young children, with a focus on compliance with button battery, infant sleep and toppling furniture mandatory standards. In addition, we will focus on unsafe products in the digital economy.

This builds on significant outcomes from the past year, including a $14 million penalty imposed by the Federal Court on City Beach for supplying products that failed to comply with mandatory button battery safety standards.

It also includes separate infringement notices, and court enforceable undertakings, in relation to products supplied by The Wiggles and Hungry Jacks without required button battery warnings. These matters highlight the breadth of supply chains affected by product safety obligations and the importance of compliance across retail, promotional and licensed merchandise.

Unfair trading practices

In complement to these priorities, we continue to support the introduction of a principles-based, general prohibition on unfair trading practices in the Australian Consumer Law.

A general prohibition would operate as a safety net, addressing conduct that causes real harm to consumers and small businesses, including vulnerable groups, but is not adequately captured by current provisions. By applying across both consumer and business-to-business transactions, it would promote consistent expectations of fair conduct and reduce regulatory gaps. Similarly, by inclusion of mirror provisions in the ASIC Act, it will ensure that transactions that often include financial service elements are effectively covered.

By setting a clear normative standard for behaviour, a general prohibition would provide flexibility to respond to emerging harm as markets evolve, while supporting confidence and innovation.

We welcome the across Government agreement to introduce this prohibition. This is important work for the agency in the years ahead, as we collaborate with government and fellow regulators to support its effective implementation.

Australia's new merger regime

Finally, I cannot discuss the important work for the ACCC without mentioning Australia's new merger regime, which came into full effect on 1 January following a six month transition period. A strong and effective merger regime is fundamental to competitive, dynamic and resilient markets that support consumer confidence and for drive innovation and economic prosperity.

Australia's new merger regime establishes an administrative approval system that is balanced and targeted. Acquisitions that do not raise competition issues can be dealt with quickly with minimal burden. At the same time, the small number of complex and contentious acquisitions which raise potential competition concerns can be identified with mandatory notification and subject to careful scrutiny through a transparent, predictable and timely process - delivering better outcomes for consumers and businesses.

We have received 31 merger notifications since 1 July 2025 - 15 have been approved and 16 are currently under assessment, including 2 which have moved to Phase 2 for in-depth review.

We have also seen a steady flow of applications for notification waiver. Since 1 January 2026, we have approved 23 and denied 3.

To date we have met our target of around 80% of waiver and notification applications determined within 20 business days.

In the year ahead we will remain focussed on administering the new regime transparently and efficiently. And we look forward to reporting on our performance and the key trends we are seeing as the regime beds down.

Conclusion

In closing, the ACCC's compliance and enforcement priorities for 2026-27 reflect a clear and consistent focus.

They recognise the pressures facing households and businesses, the pace of change in markets, and the need for regulatory responses that are evidence-based, proportionate and effective.

Across these priorities, our approach is to target conduct that causes the greatest harm, set clear expectations for compliance, and intervene decisively where accountability is required.

In the year ahead, we will continue to use the full range of tools available to us - enforcement, guidance, transparency and reform advocacy - guided by evidence and informed by risk.

And in doing so, the ACCC will play our part in supporting markets that work for consumers and businesses and that contribute to Australia's long-term productivity and prosperity.

Thank you.

[1] OECD (2026), OECD Economic Surveys: Australia 2026, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/d22a1efd-en.