Building consumer trust and confidence in markets, across various sectors, such as the broader retail sector, essential services and in the digital economy, will be the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) key priority in 2026 and 2027. 

In her fourth speech at the ACCC’s annual Enforcement and Compliance Policy update hosted by the Centre for Economic Development for Australia (CEDA), ACCC Chair, Ms Gina Cass-Gottlieb, announced a raft of priorities centred on the protection of consumers across many sectors with a focus on the centrality of ‘trust’ to effective operating markets. For businesses, the message is clear: consumer protection issues are no longer framed as ancillary to competition law enforcement, but as central to it.

In our report on the same event last year, we commented that those in attendance could have been forgiven for questioning whether the ACCC had forgotten that it is the competition and consumer watchdog, because the ACCC announced very little in the way of any new focus on protecting consumers. At the time, it appeared that 2025 would be a year where the ACCC was focused almost exclusively on competition law matters. While this was somewhat true, as the ACCC worked to successfully implement the new mandatory pre-merger notification regime, it appears that 2026 will be a year in which consumer protection returns to the top of the ACCC’s priority list. A consistent theme of the Chair’s address was that competition alone is not sufficient to deliver efficient or fair market outcomes.

Consumer trust and confidence, with a focus on supermarkets and retail 

It is telling that the word ‘trust’ appears 17 times in the transcript of Ms Cass-Gottlieb's speech today. It’s clearly a hot-button issue for the ACCC at the moment, especially in light of its current high-profile proceedings against the two major supermarkets and the ongoing cost-of-living issues facing consumers. It is perhaps no surprise then that the ‘lead story’ of today’s announcement focuses on the supermarket and retail sector. Ms Gina Cass-Gottlieb commented on the central role this sector plays in household budgets and the Australian economy more broadly, and announced that the ACCC will be focused on:

• misleading pricing practices that undermine consumer trust;
• conduct by firms with market power; and
• other restrictions that limit price competition.

Of course, it remains to be seen whether this means the ACCC has more enforcement action in the pipeline against supermarkets and other retail giants, including under the new price-gouging laws that come into effect this July (as forecast last month by Ms Cass-Gottlieb).

At the CEDA event, Ms Cass-Gottlieb also announced a specific focus on:

• truthful claims in relation to environmental claims and sustainability;
• fair contract terms, with a focus on motor vehicles; and
• safe products, with a focus on compliance with button battery, infant sleep and toppling furniture mandatory standards
• unsafe products in the digital economy.

While all of these issues remain enduring priorities for the ACCC, they align with this year’s overarching theme of consumer trust and confidence.

Essential services - telecommunications, gas and electricity 

On a similar note and given the theme of today’s announcement, essential services, including the telecommunications, electricity and gas sectors, will continue to be under the ACCC’s microscope in 2026 and 2027. Ms Cass-Gottlieb noted that these sectors are fundamental to economic participation, household wellbeing and business productivity and announced that the ACCC will be particularly focused on:

• promoting competition in the telecommunications, electricity and gas sectors; and
• continuing to address misleading pricing and claims in relation to essential services, with a focus on energy and telecommunications.

Manipulative practices in the digital marketplace  

Ms Cass-Gottlieb also announced a continuing focus on digital markets, given their role in shaping how consumers shop, how businesses reach customers, how services are accessed, and how markets function. More specifically, the ACCC will be focused on the emergence of practices including subscription traps and other dark patterns that manipulate consumer behaviour and unfairly impact consumer choice.

Interestingly, Ms Cass-Gottlieb also commented on the rise in unsafe consumer goods available right across the economy, facilitated by the increasing scale and reach of digital markets. In media reports before today’s announcement, Ms Cass-Gottlieb confirmed that two Chinese retail juggernauts – Temu and Shein - are among those that the ACCC will be watching. This was an issue that we thought would come to the fore last year, so it seems that we were just a year ahead of ourselves.

Business as usual - ongoing priorities 

In the financial year ahead, the ACCC will continue to focus on:

• mergers – administering the new merger regime transparently and efficiently;
• aviation – competition and consumer issues in the aviation sector;
• scams – including the implementation of Australia’s new Scams Prevention Framework, which was introduced in 2025;
• advocacy – collaborating with the government and fellow regulators to support the effective implementation of the general prohibition on unfair trading practices in the Australian Consumer Law.

Closing thoughts 

The ACCC’s 2026–27 priorities signal a more integrated approach to competition and consumer protection, with trust and safety positioned as essential conditions for market effectiveness. Like an old but faithful watchdog returned to its proper place on the porch, we are pleased to see consumer protection re-emerge to the forefront of the ACCC’s priorities.  That said, we will also watch closely how the new merger regime performs and whether the ACCC will take enforcement action in cases of failures to notify or “gun-jumping” offences. As always, it will be an interesting year.