Manipulative and false practices, cost of living and unfair trading practices: ACCC priorities for 2026-27

ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb has outlined the regulator’s focus areas for the coming year, with particular emphasis on cost of living, persistent unfair business practices, the impact of competition on productivity and conduct undermining trust in the digital economy, updated us on its key reform areas, and given an overview of the new merger clearance regime's performance.

The ACCC's themes at a glance are:

• Cost of living: The ACCC’s focus on cost of living remains strong, reflecting the ongoing pressures faced by Australian consumers. This priority is expected to drive scrutiny of pricing practices across key sectors.

• Waiver process: The ACCC’s early experience with the new merger waiver process highlights the importance of providing complete and high-quality information upfront. Parties should carefully assess whether their transaction fits the suitability criteria and ensure their application is robust to avoid delays or refusals.

• Manipulative practices: The ACCC is prioritising manipulative practices in digital markets, including subscription traps and dark patterns. Businesses operating in digital markets in particular should ensure their practices are transparent and compliant to avoid enforcement action.

• Accountability in senior management: The ACCC has reiterated the importance of accountability at the senior management level, particularly in cases of serious misconduct. Businesses are encouraged to proactively implement compliant processes and structures, and not wait until complaints or enforcement action.

The ACCC's priorities for 2026-27

Many of the ACCC’s annual priorities remain unchanged from previous years, reflecting ongoing concerns in key sectors. The ACCC's priorities for 2026-27 include:

• Supermarket and retail sector: Focusing on competition issues involving firms with market power and conduct impacting small business, as well as consumer and fair trading concerns, particularly misleading pricing. The ACCC will continue to sweep retailers' Black Friday and Boxing Day advertising.

• Essential services: Promoting competition and addressing misleading pricing and claims, especially in energy and telecommunications, where pricing structures can be complex and opaque.

• Aviation sector: Ongoing focus on competition and consumer issues, including issues around pricing transparency and availability of remedies when services are not delivered as promised.

• Environment and sustainability: Consumer and fair trading concerns in relation to environmental claims and greenwashing, which the ACCC acknowledges may increase as we continue on the path to net zero.

• Unfair cancellation terms: Supporting compliance with unfair contract terms law, with a focus on automatic renewal clauses, early termination fees, and non-cancellation clauses.

• Consumer product safety issues affecting young children: With a focus on compliance with button battery, infant sleep and toppling furniture mandatory standards. The ACCC specifically called out unsafe goods which are readily available in digital markets.

• Subscription traps in digital markets: While last year’s priorities focused on misleading or deceptive advertising in the digital economy, this year the ACCC is prioritising manipulative and false practices in digital markets. This includes “dark patterns” and “subscription traps” designed to manipulate consumer behaviour.

• Consumer guarantees: The ACCC is now prioritising industry compliance with consumer guarantees in the motor vehicle sector specifically, a shift from its previous focus on consumer electronics.

Enduring priorities: What's staying on the agenda?

The ACCC also emphasised its enduring priorities which continue to underpin its enforcement approach:

• cartel and other collusive behaviour, exclusionary conduct, anti-competitive agreements and misuse of market power;

• unsafe products, scams, and practices that disproportionately harm people experiencing vulnerability or disadvantage; and

• conduct that undermines fair dealing for small businesses, including in the agriculture sector.

Introducing a safety net: The proposal for a prohibition on unfair trading practices

The ACCC continues to support the introduction of a general prohibition on unfair trading practices in the Australian Consumer Law, which it considers would operate as a safety net for conduct that causes real harm to consumers and small businesses but is not adequately captured by the law today.

The proposed reforms will also include mirror provisions in the ASIC Act, ensuring that all consumer and business-to-business transactions are covered, including those in the financial services sector.

A few months in: How the new merger regime is shaping up

Since 1 July 2025, the ACCC:

• has received 31 merger notifications;

• approved 15 notifications; and

• is currently assessing 16, two of which have moved to Phase 2 for in-depth review.

Since 1 January 2026, the ACCC has denied three out of 26 waiver applications.

The ACCC has observed considerable variation in the quality and completeness of information provided in waiver applications, which can impact the ability to grant waivers quickly. The three waivers that were declined involved complex and dynamic markets, particularly vertical acquisitions where there was an incentive to foreclose. In these cases, the ACCC could not be satisfied, based on the information provided, that competition issues would not arise.

The ACCC encourages parties to carefully consider whether their transaction is suitable for the waiver process and to ensure that all relevant information is provided upfront. Applications that clearly meet the suitability criteria are more likely to be granted and processed quickly. Conversely, applications lacking sufficient detail or involving higher risks are more likely to be refused, requiring a full notification process.