Doubled maximum penalties for competition and consumer law breaches raise compliance stakes

In response to rising fuel prices, the Federal Government has significantly increased the financial consequences of not complying with Australian competition and consumer law by, most notably, doubling one limb of the maximum financial penalties from $50m to $100m per contravention. This follows on from a significant increase in penalties in 2022.

While the Treasury Laws Amendment (Doubling Penalties for ACCC Enforcement) Act 2026 (Cth) does not introduce any new prohibitions or change the substance of the provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) (CCA) or, within that, the Australian Consumer Law, the increase in penalties attaches to long-standing competition and consumer provisions and will therefore affect businesses generally.

As a result of these changes, for contraventions occurring on or after 28 March 2026, the maximum penalty for any individual contravention by a corporation of a relevant provision is now the greater of:

• $100m;
• three times the value of the benefit obtained; and
• if the court cannot determine the value of the benefit obtained, 30% of the company’s (and related bodies corporate’s) ‘adjusted turnover’ during the ‘breach turnover period’.

While the reform to the penalty framework in the CCA and ACL arrives at a time when there is heightened regulatory scrutiny on fuel pricing, the amendments to the penalty regime are not sector-limited and therefore serve as a further catalyst for businesses in all industries to ensure that their operations comply with the Australian competition and consumer regime.

This reform builds on an already-substantial increase of penalties in 2022, which put businesses on notice that penalties would be more onerous so as to not merely be the ‘cost of doing business’. With maximum penalties now having a further uplift, the consequences of non-compliance are more severe than ever.

Gadens’ competition and consumer law experts are available to guide businesses looking to review their positions and revisit their competition and consumer compliance frameworks.

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Authored by: 

Adam Walker, Partner
Kosta Arvanitakis, Graduate