In brief
On 9 February 2026, the Exposure Draft of the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Bill 2026 (“Exposure Draft”) was released by Treasury, detailing proposed amendments to the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) which aim to enhance consumer protections from unfair trading practices. If passed, the changes are proposed to take effect from 1 July 2027.
The Exposure Draft proposes a general prohibition on unfair trading practices, protections against unfair subscription practices, and improved protections against drip pricing. These reforms are mostly targeted at dealings with consumers. If passed, the reforms will introduce new concepts into the ACL as set out below and businesses will be at risk of incurring civil penalties for some forms of conduct that may currently fall outside the scope of the ACL.
Background
While the ACL contains broad protections for consumers, including for specific types of unfair trading practices, the ACCC’s position is that there are gaps and so it has for some time advocated for a broader prohibition on unfair trading practices to supplement the existing provisions.
In November 2024, Treasury released a consultation paper seeking feedback on both a general prohibition of unfair trading practices and specific prohibitions, including targeting unfair subscription practices and drip pricing.
The key issue identified by Treasury in its review was a concern that Australian businesses are engaging in increasingly harmful practices, both in an online and offline context, which do not necessarily contravene existing ACL provisions despite potentially causing harm to consumers.
The proposed reforms set out in the Exposure Draft aim to close the gap that Treasury is concerned about by introducing increased protections from unfair trading practices, including emerging forms of alleged misconduct in an online context.
Download full version of Australia: Proposed ACL Unfair Trading Reforms.