The Australian Government has committed A$30m ($20m) in additional funding to support investigations and enforcement relating to the supermarket and retail sector.
This additional funding will provide around A$8.5m annually over the next 3.5 years, starting from 1 January 2025.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb expects the fund to bolster its enforcement and compliance efforts in the sector.
Cass-Gottlieb said: “This funding will enable us to escalate a range of investigations in this sector, including in relation to potential misleading pricing claims or practices, claims about delivery timeframes and costs including for regional and remote Australians, and businesses misrepresenting consumers’ rights under the Australian Consumer Law.”
The competition regulator is currently conducting a year-long inquiry into Australia's supermarket sector, initiated by a formal direction from the federal government on 1 February 2024.
The interim report of this inquiry was released just last week.
In its enforcement work this year, the ACCC has already secured more than A$85m in penalties.
This figure does not include the proposed A$100m penalty against Qantas, which is pending federal court consideration in October.
The ACCC has also initiated legal proceedings against various retail sector entities and recently released an interim report revealing that many Australians have lost trust in the country’s two supermarket chains, Coles and Woolworths.
Cass-Gottlieb added: “We have heard first-hand from consumers how the cost of living is impacting their ability to choose and that they need to be more cautious with purchasing decisions. It is critical that consumers are provided with clear and accurate information about the price or value of the goods and services they rely on.
“The ACCC is also receiving an increasing number of reports from consumers worried about prices and representations made about the quality or features of goods and services, as well as a growing number of reports about delayed or non-delivery of goods purchased online.”
Separately, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveal that retail turnover in Australia rose by 0.7% in August 2024.
The growth is higher compared to 0.1% in July and 0.5% in June 2024.
