Australia Targets "Dark Patterns" and Drip Pricing in Major Consumer Law Overhaul

New laws targeting manipulative sales tactics, hidden fees and hard-to-cancel subscriptions will hit Australian businesses with fines of up to $100 million — or 30% of turnover.

Australian businesses have less than a year to overhaul how they price, market and sell to consumers, after Parliament passed sweeping reforms to the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) in July 2026.

The Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Bill 2026 introduces a broad new ban on "unfair trading practices," directly targeting so-called dark patterns — design tricks used to nudge or pressure consumers into decisions they wouldn't otherwise make. The law takes effect 1 July 2027, giving companies roughly 11 months to bring their websites, apps, pricing and subscription models into line.

It's the most significant change to Australian consumer protection law in years, and it goes well beyond the ACL's existing bans on misleading conduct, unconscionable conduct and unfair contract terms.

What Counts as an "Unfair Trading Practice"?

Under new section 28B(2) of the ACL, a business breaks the law if it does something in connection with supplying goods or services that:

1. Manipulates the consumer, or unreasonably distorts the environment in which they make a decision — and
2. Causes, or is likely to cause, detriment to that consumer.

Critically, "detriment" isn't limited to financial loss. Wasted time, inconvenience and general frustration can all count. That's a much lower bar than businesses may be used to under existing misleading-conduct rules.

The Bill's Explanatory Memorandum spells out what the two key terms mean:

• Manipulation is interference that changes a consumer's behaviour or decisions in a way that works against their own interests.
• Unreasonable distortion is pushing a consumer toward a purchase they otherwise would have been unlikely to make.

The legislation also lists non-exhaustive examples of practices that could breach the new rules, including businesses that:

• Make it hard for consumers to exercise their legal rights
• Withhold material information
• Present information in a confusing or overwhelming way
• Create pressure-cooker environments that rush consumer decisions

Drip Pricing Is Now Squarely in the Regulator's Sights

"Drip pricing" — advertising an eye-catching low price, then tacking on mandatory fees at checkout — is one of the practices the reforms specifically target.

From July 2027, any business displaying a base price must clearly show, alongside it, whether extra transaction-based charges apply. Specifically, they'll need to disclose:

• The amount of the charge (or how it's calculated, if it can't be stated upfront)
• Whether it applies per transaction
• Whether it's payable, or might become payable
• Whether the advertised base price already includes it

This information has to sit prominently, right next to the price, every time that price is shown — not buried in fine print or revealed only at the final checkout screen.

Subscription Traps: Easier In, Easier Out

The Bill also cracks down on a longstanding consumer gripe: subscriptions that are effortless to sign up for and a nightmare to cancel.

The new rules cover most consumer subscriptions, plus some standard-form small business contracts involving recurring payments or auto-renewals. Businesses will need to clearly spell out, before a consumer signs up:

• Payment obligations
• Contract length
• How and when renewal happens
• How to cancel

Just as importantly, cancelling has to be genuinely easy — and if you can sign up online, you must be able to cancel online too. The intent is simple: exiting a subscription shouldn't be harder than joining one.

The Penalties: Up to $100 Million

Regulators aren't playing around. Corporations that breach the new unfair trading practices regime face the greatest of:

• $100 million
• Three times the value of the benefit gained from the conduct, or
• 30% of adjusted turnover during the breach period

That penalty structure — mirroring recent ACL updates for other breaches — is designed to make non-compliance far costlier than fixing the problem.

What Businesses Should Do Before 1 July 2027

With commencement just under a year away, legal experts are urging businesses — especially those trading online — to start reviewing now:

• Marketing and UX design for potential "dark pattern" risks
• Pricing pages and checkout flows for drip pricing issues
• Subscription sign-up and cancellation processes
• Disclosure language across websites and apps

Companies that wait until closer to the deadline may find compliance a much bigger — and costlier — job than expected.

This article is general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Please contact us to discuss your specific circumstances.