Anthony Albanese has promised that a re-elected Labor government will outlaw price gouging by supermarkets, marking the first big policy announcement of the campaign.
The prime minister on Sunday will announce Labor will act on recommendations made by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to improve transparency about supermarket prices, promotions and loyalty programs.
Labor will also establish a taskforce to provide advice on introducing an “excessive pricing regime” for supermarkets, which would be enforced by the ACCC.
“Labor will make price gouging by supermarkets illegal,” Albanese said in a statement.
“Because Australian families deserve a fair price at the checkout and Australian farmers deserve a fair price for their goods.”
The taskforce, which will include experts from Treasury, the ACCC and other market and regulatory bodies, is expected to report back to the government within six months with a proposed course of action. However, few details were provided about what the pricing regime might entail.
Australia has competition laws to prevent companies from abusing their market power but they do not address excessive pricing. It is understood Labor will look at excessive pricing laws in the European Union, the UK and in 30 US states as potential models for their reform.
The assistant minister for competition, Andrew Leigh, said: “It’s time Australians had the same protections from excessive pricing as consumers overseas.”
It comes after the ACCC’s inquiry into supermarkets released its final report on 21 March, which found Coles, Woolworths and discount rival Aldi, were among the most profitable supermarket chains in the world.
Grocery prices were found also to have risen sharply over the past five years, which was mostly attributed to increased business costs, although the report also found that the supermarkets had increased product prices and profit margins during this period.
According to the ACCC, this meant “at least some of the grocery price increases have resulted in additional profits”.
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The ACCC urged the government to force Coles, Woolworths and Aldi to publish all prices on their websites and allow online comparison tools to access the data to inform shoppers. It also recommended greater transparency measures for suppliers.
To this end, Tuesday’s budget also included $2.9m over three years to “help suppliers stand up to the big supermarkets”.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said Labor would ensure “Australians aren’t being treated like mugs”.
“We’re delivering a better deal for families at the checkout and a better deal for farmers at the farm gate,” he said.
With cost of living emerging as a central issue in the election, Labor is touting Sunday’s announcement as part of its broader efforts to address the issue, along with tax cuts, energy bill rebates and cheaper medicine.
The Greens and the Coalition recently called on Labor to introduce divestiture laws that would forcibly break up the supermarket chains as punishment for price gouging.