Protecting consumers from unfair trading practices: Decision Regulation Impact Statement

The Commonwealth Government, in agreement with Australian Consumer Ministers, is pursuing reforms to address unfair trading practices. Public consultations in August 2023 and November 2024 identified examples of unfair business practices causing harm that are not currently prohibited or adequately addressed under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). These examples include, but are not limited to, manipulative or distortive conduct particularly in an online context, unfair subscription practices and drip pricing practices. Stakeholders noted that businesses are increasingly using manipulative or distortive practices that fall into gaps in the ACL to unfairly influence consumer behaviour or decision-making. These practices can occur in both offline and online settings, although stakeholders frequently cited businesses’ use of ‘dark patterns’ in some digital interfaces as an example of unreasonable manipulation that could cause harm.