Federal election 2025: Anthony Albanese promises fresh supermarket ‘rip-off’ crackdown if Labor is re-elected

Supermarket loyalty programs and price gouging face even more scrutiny with Labor flagging a fresh crackdown on the nation’s grocery giants if it is re-elected in May.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will on Sunday announce an election commitment to make supermarket price gouging illegal.

“Australian families deserve a fair price at the check-out and Australian farmers deserve a fair price for their goods,” he said.

Consumer costs have been a target of both major parties and that is set to intensify over the course of the campaign. The Coalition has previously signalled its intention to force new laws that would allow the supermarkets to be broken up by forcing the sale of some stores — a proposal consumer watchdog the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission does not support.

Mr Albanese’s promise comes after a Senate inquiry into supermarkets, State inquiries into the same topic and a report by the ACCC into the competitiveness of retail prices.

The ACCC investigation was unable to determine if price gouging was happening, but it noted that supermarket profits were on the rise. The commission made 20 recommendations in total, including providing greater transparency in prices and promotions.

There have long been allegations that super-profitable supermarkets in Australia are making a killing by unfairly setting their prices well above cost price — though the big supermarkets reject that, it’s a practice not illegal in Australia. There are laws to ban it in the UK, the European Union and some US States, which the Goverment suggested would provide examples for it to investigate.

Mr Albanese will promise to implement the ACCC’s recommendations to improve transparency about prices, price trends and promotions and loyalty programs. A taskforce will also be established to provide advice on “introducing an excessive pricing regime for supermarkets”, to be policed by the consumer watchdog.

The consumer watchdog recommended the supermarkets be forced to alert customers when products are subject to “shrinkflation” — a practice consumers despise whereby retailers make products smaller but charge the same amount.

It also recommended Coles and Woolworths — which make up 67 per cent of Australia’s supermarket sales — be required to provide loyalty program members information on the monetary value of points and other benefits earned and redeemed.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Labor if re-elected would make sure “Australians aren’t being treated like mugs”.

“We’re delivering a better deal for families at the check-out and a better deal for farmers at the farm gate,” he said.

“Our plan helps deliver more competition, fairer prices and better deals for Australians. The biggest threat to household budgets is Peter Dutton. He will jack up taxes and cut essential services.”

Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury Andrew Leigh added: “A fair market needs fair rules. When competition is weak, prices go up and families pay the cost.”

In response to the ACCC’s inquiry, the big supermarkets warned that further red tape would push prices higher, not lower.

The Federal Government has also funded consumer group Choice to run quarterly supermarket price reports, but the retailers have repeatedly taken issue with Choice’s methodology.