The Australian Government has introduced the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Bill 2026 (Bill), marking one of the most significant expansions of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) in recent years.
Currently before the Senate Standing Committee on Economics, which is scheduled to report to the Senate on 18 June 2026, if passed, the reforms will introduce a broad new prohibition on unfair trading practices, strengthen regulation of subscription models and impose new obligations around price transparency, with substantial civil penalties for non-compliance.
The changes are aimed at practices that manipulate consumer decision making but which are said to fall short of the current ACL prohibitions aimed at false, misleading or deceptive conduct, with a stated policy focus on digital and subscription-based markets. The proposed commencement date for the reforms is 1 July 2027.
At the centre of the Bill is a new, principles-based prohibition to be inserted into Chapter 2 of the ACL.
Under proposed section 28B, a business must not, in trade or commerce, engage in conduct connected with the supply (or possible supply) of goods or services to a consumer that:
We note that a contravention can occur where detriment is merely likely, consistent with the approach taken in other parts of the ACL (such as the prohibition on misleading or deceptive conduct set out in section 18, which prohibits conduct that is, or is likely to, mislead or deceive) lowering the enforcement threshold.
The prohibition is designed to capture conduct that may fall short of being misleading, deceptive or unconscionable under existing ACL provisions.
The regime is primarily focused on the protection of "consumers" adopting the transaction-based definition, meaning that a person is a "consumer" if:
As such, the Bill is not a general business-to-business protection measure, as is the case with other parts of the ACL, such as the unfair contract terms regime. The financial threshold in the definition of "consumer" means that even notionally wholesale business-to-business transactions below $100,000 will be captured, even where the typical commercial leverage between the parties may be said to lie with the "consumer".
The explanatory materials for the Bill make it clear that the new prohibition is intended to directly address manipulative interface design and sales techniques, so-called "dark patterns".
The term "dark patterns" was first coined by user experience specialist Harry Brignull on his website "Deceptive Design", in seeking to identify user interface characteristics that steer, deceive, coerce or manipulate consumers into making choices that are often not in their best interests.
The area has been the subject of interest across consumer protection bodies internationally, and economic and regulatory agencies, including the OECD as well as Australia primarily because the practices are said to fall through the cracks of existing misleading or deceptive prohibitions.
This may include practices that:
The ACL's existing prohibition on conduct that misleads or deceives or is likely to mislead or deceive is expansive and arguably more robust than the arrangements adopted in the United Kingdom, and the European Union, particularly given its expansion to all conduct in trade or commerce, not merely to "consumer" protections.
Where the misleading or deceptive prohibition can arguably struggle to capture the character of conduct contemplated by "dark patterns" is in relation to instances where a consumer experience may unduly limit choice, narrow options or manipulate the consumer in the manner described above but where it may be difficult to characterise any one limb of that consumer experience as misleading or deceptive.
In this sense, the focus of the reforms is on the architecture of decision-making, not simply weighing the truth or potentially misleading character of individual representations but in some senses, testing the navigability or coherence of a given field in which a consumer necessarily finds itself.
The Bill also introduces a new Division 4A into the ACL, imposing specific obligations on suppliers offering subscription contracts.
Key requirements include obligations to:
Unlike the general prohibition, the subscription regime may also apply to small business subscribers, where the contract is a standard form contract and the subscriber meets the ACL small business thresholds (fewer than 100 employees or turnover of under $10 million).
To improve price transparency, the Bill strengthens ACL protections against drip pricing by introducing a new obligation to disclose mandatory transaction-based charges up front.
Where a business advertises a base price it must:
These rules will apply to consumer offers and are intended to stop practices where unavoidable fees are revealed only later in the purchasing process.
Breaches of the new unfair trading, subscription and drip pricing provisions will attract civil penalties consistent with ACL's strengthened penalty framework.
For corporations, maximum penalties include the greater of:
Individuals may face penalties of up to $2.5 million, alongside other remedies such as injunctions, compliance orders and adverse publicity orders.
The ACCC will enforce the regime and is expected to prioritise conduct causing widespread or systemic consumer harm. The ACCC has already been cracking down on harmful sales conduct discussed in our recently published article.
While the policy focus has been on online platforms and e-commerce, the transaction-focused scope of the Bill to "consumers" means that it will be far-reaching and will extend to business and government activities in trade or commerce across many aspects of the economy, including energy, water, telco, and insurance.
Energy retailers and other utilities, particularly those operating in competitive markets, are likely to face heightened exposure to this regime due to the use of complex tariff structures, discount expiry mechanics, comparison tools (including best offer prompts) and friction in switching or exit processes. Similar risks arise across infrastructure, utilities and long-term add-ons and late-disclosed pass-through fees, particularly in regulated or semi-regulated environments.
Although the Bill has not been passed by the Commonwealth Parliament, it seems to us likely to pass, including because of its consistency with global practice. In view of this, businesses should begin preparing now by:
Jackson McDonald can provide advice on how these reforms may affect your business.
If you would like assistance in reviewing your compliance risks under the new regime, please contact Elizabeth Tylich or Luke O'Callaghan.
This article was written by, Tegan Hill Lawyer Corporate Commercial.