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Compliance and Enforcement

Australia: ACCC’s 2026-27 compliance and enforcement priorities

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In brief

The Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Gina Cass-Gottlieb, announced the ACCC’s 2026-27 compliance and enforcement policy and priorities during her annual address to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia on 19 February 2026.

There were no surprises with the ACCC’s focus areas for the year ahead, with many continuing from last year.

Key takeaways

  • The ACCC announced 11 compliance and enforcement priorities for the year ahead, with key focus areas including the supermarket and retail sector, aviation and essential services (notably telecommunications, energy, electricity and gas). Misleading pricing claims continues to be a focus across a number of sectors.
  • Competition and consumer issues (particularly manipulative and false practices and unsafe consumer goods) in digital markets will continue to be a priority for the ACCC.
  • The ACCC will maintain an ongoing focus on environmental and sustainability claims, compliance with consumer guarantees (particularly for motor vehicles) and unfair contract terms (notably in relation to cancellation, automatic renewals, early termination fees and non-cancellation clauses.)
  • The enduring priorities of cartel conduct, misuse of market power and other anti-competitive conduct will continue, with a focus on the accountability of senior executives particularly where there is a poor culture of compliance.
  • The ACCC will also be focused on the implementation of the new merger control regime which commenced on 1 January 2026, with Ms Cass-Gottlieb noting that to date the ACCC was meeting its target finalising 80% of waiver and notification applications within 20 business days.

Compliance and enforcement priorities for 2026-27

We outline below the ACCC’s 2026-27 priorities and draw attention to what is new, what has evolved, and what businesses should be preparing for in the year ahead.

Competition and consumer issues in supermarket and retail sectors

The ACCC will continue to prioritise competition and consumer concerns in the supermarket and retail sectors, with an emphasis on firms with market power and conduct that impacts small business. It will also focus on misleading pricing practices.

The ACCC has taken active enforcement action to address conduct that it considers undermines competition in the supermarket and retail supply chains. The ACCC Chair noted that the ACCC conducted major sweeps of retailers’ Black Friday and Boxing Day sales advertising for the past two years and will continue to do so – targeting misleading ‘site-wide’ and ‘store-wide’ claims, as well as misleading claims of ‘up to a percentage amount off’ where the discount applies to very few products. The Chair also noted the separate proceedings it commenced in September 2024 against Coles and Woolworths for alleged misleading discount pricing claims continue in the Federal Court.

Essential services: telecommunications, energy, electricity and gas

The ACCC will continue to promote competition in relation to these essential services. It will also continue to address misleading pricing and claims with a focus on energy and telecommunications.

The Chair said that in recent years, the ACCC’s work in the energy sector has shown that greater transparency can improve outcomes for consumers. For example, the Chair said that by monitoring and reporting on retail electricity prices, the ACCC identified that many customers were paying a ‘loyalty penalty’ for staying with the same provider.

Aviation

The ACCC Chair noted that competition in the aviation industry is characterised by high levels of concentration, high barriers to entry and limited consumer choice. In 2026-27, the ACCC will prioritise competition and consumer issues through market monitoring, advocacy and enforcement action, where necessary.

Digital economy

In light of the critical role digital platforms play in the Australian economy, the ACCC will continue to promote competition in digital markets. It will also have a particular focus on manipulative and false practices in digital markets, with the ACCC particularly calling out ‘subscription traps’ and ‘other dark patterns’ as an area of focus. The Chair also stated that the scale and reach of digital markets have facilitated a rise in unsafe consumer goods, which are now a focus for the ACCC.

The ACCC will also continue to advocate for a new digital competition regime.

Environmental and sustainability claims

The ACCC will continue to prioritise competition and consumer concerns in relation to environmental and sustainability claims, with a focus on greenwashing. Over the past year, the ACCC has taken enforcement action in respect of alleged misleading greenwashing claims across a range of sectors.

Unfair contract terms

The ACCC will prioritise the enforcement of unfair contract terms in consumer and small business contracts with an emphasis on harmful cancellation terms, including those associated with automatic renewals, early termination fees and non-cancellation clauses.

Consumer guarantees

The ACCC will seek to improve industry compliance with consumer guarantees. The Chair stated that this year the ACCC’s focus for consumer guarantees is motor vehicles. The Chair commented that the ACCC would be exploring different approaches to achieving compliance, including working collaboratively with industry.

Product safety for young children

Product safety for young children remains an important priority for the ACCC especially in relation in the enforcement of button battery standards. In addition, the ACCC will raise awareness on new infant sleep and toppling furniture standards.

Enduring priorities

Each year, the ACCC remains focused on its enduring priorities, which include cartel conduct, anti-competitive conduct, product safety, consumers experiencing vulnerability or disadvantage, conduct impacting First Nations Australians, protection of small business and agriculture and working together with the National Anti-Scam Centre to detect and stop harm caused by scams.

Ms Cass Gottlieb emphasised that the ACCC has “active investigations and court proceedings underway”, and that the ACCC will seek high penalties where conduct causes harm. The Chair specifically noted that it will be focusing on accountability of senior executives, particularly where there is a poor culture of compliance.

Unfair trading practices

The ACCC will support the introduction of the proposed prohibition on unfair trading practices to address what it considers to be a gap in the existing consumer protection laws in Australia.

Implementation of the new merger regime

Finally, while not a specific compliance and enforcement priority, the ACCC will this year be focused on implementing the new merger control regime, which came into full effect on 1 January 2026, following a six month transition period from 1 July 2025.

Ms Cass Gottlieb said that the ACCC has received 31 merger notifications since 1 July 2025. Of these, 15 have been approved and 16 are currently under assessment, with two having moved to a Phase 2 review. Since 1 January 2026, the ACCC has received many notification waivers, having approved 23 and denied three.

Ms Cass Gottlieb commented that the level of applications received by the ACCC was in line with their expectations. She said the ACCC is meeting its target timeframe of finalising 80% of waiver and notification applications within 20 business days.

* * * * *

Naasha Loopoo, Consultant, has contributed to this legal update.

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Author

Georgina Foster is a partner in Baker McKenzie's Sydney office and leads the Firm’s Australian competition practice. Georgina is a leading merger clearance lawyer. She also regularly advises clients on competition law issues relating to joint ventures and strategic alliances, cartel conduct, as well as pricing and distribution strategies. She has significant experience in representing clients in ACCC investigations into alleged contraventions of Australian competition and consumer laws, including acting for immunity applicants. She also regularly assists clients with competition and consumer law compliance programs.

Author

Lynsey Edgar is a partner in the Sydney dispute resolution team, whose practice focuses on competition and consumer law. She is global co-lead of the Firm's Competition Litigation Taskforce. Lynsey is recognised in Legal500 (Competition and Trade, Australia, 2022), where she is described by clients as having "high commercial acumen" and providing "clear and commercial merger control advice". Client feedback to Chambers & Partners states that Lynsey is "outstanding in her ability to advise on complex matters". Lynsey is a member of the Law Council of Australia's Competition and Consumer Committee, and has spoken widely on topics including compliance with competition law and responding to regulatory investigations. Lynsey's practice focuses on competition investigations, enforcement litigation and regulatory matters. She assists clients with complex merger clearances, advises on highly technical aspects of competition/antitrust law, and has experience in cartels including immunity applications. Lynsey also advises on consumer issues including misleading and deceptive conduct, consumer guarantees, advertising, unconscionable conduct, and compliance with the Australian Consumer Law. Lynsey has significant experience defending clients facing investigations by regulators, particularly the ACCC, and assists clients to effectively resolve commercial disputes involving competition and consumer law claims.

Author

Helen Joyce is a partner in Baker McKenzie’s Dispute Resolution Practice Group in Melbourne. She joined the Firm in 2010 having spent the prior decade practising as a solicitor in London. Helen is recognised in the 2023 edition of Best Lawyers Australia for Competition Law and Litigation. Helen specialises in regulatory investigations and disputes, including in particular, proceedings under the Competition and Consumer Act, the Australian Consumer Law, the Corporations Act and the National Electricity legislation. She regularly acts in significant civil penalty enforcement and white collar criminal proceedings commenced by the ACCC, AER, ASIC or IBAC. Her clients include regulators, major corporations and high net worth individuals. Helen also regularly provides strategic advice on issues arising under the CCA and the ACL such as anti-competitive conduct, misleading and deceptive conduct, product liability and consumer guarantees. In addition to her regulatory work, Helen has significant experience in the litigation aspects of schemes of arrangement, both in the Victorian Supreme Court and the Federal Court and she is regularly engaged by commercial clients in matters involving complex contractual disputes.

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