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Price gouging and public concern

  • March 30 2020
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Price gouging and public concern

By Grace Ormsby
March 30 2020

Panic buying has seen a number of anecdotal reports around the practice of price gouging, leading to a response from Australia’s consumer watchdog.

Price gouging and public concern

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  • March 30 2020
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Panic buying has seen a number of anecdotal reports around the practice of price gouging, leading to a response from Australia’s consumer watchdog.

Price gouging and public concern

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has noted that price gouging for essential products is a “significant public concern at this time”.

According to the watchdog, it will be prioritising its activities in relation to this conduct, even though the practice is “generally not illegal”. 

However, if a business makes misleading claims about the reason for price increases, it could be in breach of Australian Consumer Law. 

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In addition, it’s also possible that extreme price gouging for essential products may amount to unconscionable conduct, the ACCC flagged. 

Price gouging and public concern

The statement from the watchdog outlined that it will “continue to focus on affordability issues in sectors such as energy, communications and petrol”.

To do this, it will draw attention to the sectors where it considers excessive pricing to be in effect, “and where necessary will identify businesses engaging in conduct of this kind”. 

“The ACCC recognises that affordability of essential services is particularly critical at a time of growing unemployment,” it said.

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About the author

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Grace is a journalist on Momentum Media's nestegg. She enjoys being able to provide easy to digest information and practical tips for Australians with regard to their wealth, as well as having a platform on which to engage leading experts and commentators and leverage their insight.

About the author

author image
Grace Ormsby

Grace is a journalist on Momentum Media's nestegg. She enjoys being able to provide easy to digest information and practical tips for Australians with regard to their wealth, as well as having a platform on which to engage leading experts and commentators and leverage their insight.

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