ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission)

Australian Business & Compliance

Also: ACCC · Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

What it isAustralia's competition and consumer regulator

EnforcesAustralian Consumer Law and fair competition

Watches forMisleading claims and dodgy pricing

Can imposeLarge penalties and court action

Quick definition

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, or ACCC, is the national regulator for competition and consumer protection. It enforces Australian Consumer Law and the rules against anti-competitive behaviour. For marketers it is the body that pursues misleading claims, fake pricing and unsubstantiated advertising, and the penalties it can seek are significant.

How it varies across Australia

The advertising the regulator pursues clusters in predictable places: pricing that overstates a discount, environmental and health claims that cannot be backed, and urgency that is not real. Brands that substantiate before they publish almost never appear on its radar.

See how brand trust signals vary across Australian industries →

What it actually means

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is the national body that enforces both fair competition and consumer protection. It administers the Competition and Consumer Act, which contains Australian Consumer Law.

For marketers the relevant half is consumer protection. The regulator pursues misleading and deceptive conduct, false or unsubstantiated claims, fake or inflated pricing, bait advertising and undisclosed conditions. It sets enforcement priorities each year, and recent focus areas have included greenwashing, where environmental claims cannot be substantiated, and pricing practices that mislead.

It has real teeth. It can investigate, accept enforceable undertakings, issue infringement notices and take businesses to court, where the penalties for misleading conduct are large and scale with the conduct.

The practical point is that the regulator does not care whether your campaign was clever or whether you meant well. It cares whether your claims are accurate and whether you can substantiate them. If a claim about price, performance, savings or sustainability cannot survive a request for evidence, it is exactly the kind of claim the regulator exists to pursue.

The regulator does not chase clever marketing. It chases claims that cannot be backed up.

How it shows up

Regulator risk shows up as any public claim you could not back with evidence on request: a savings figure, a best or number-one claim, an environmental or health benefit, a reference price. The practical test is to ask, for every claim in the campaign, what document proves this. No document means no claim.

The Australian context

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is the national regulator, working alongside state and territory fair trading bodies. It is more active on pricing and substantiation than regulators in some markets, and its enforcement priorities shift each year, so an Australian campaign should be checked against current focus areas. Greenwashing and misleading pricing have been recent priorities worth particular care.

Where people get this wrong

Assuming the regulator only targets large companies.Small and medium businesses receive infringement notices too, often over everyday issues like was-now pricing or unsubstantiated claims. Size is not protection.

Making claims you cannot substantiate on request.The regulator can ask for evidence behind a claim. A savings, performance or sustainability claim with no supporting document is exactly what it pursues.

Ignoring the annual enforcement priorities.The regulator signals where it will focus each year. Running a campaign heavy on, say, environmental claims during a greenwashing crackdown raises the risk sharply.

Common questions

What does the ACCC do?

It is Australia's national regulator for competition and consumer protection. It enforces Australian Consumer Law and the rules against anti-competitive conduct. For marketers it pursues misleading claims, fake pricing, bait advertising and unsubstantiated advertising.

Can the ACCC fine my business?

It can issue infringement notices, accept enforceable undertakings and take businesses to court, where penalties for misleading conduct are significant and scale with the conduct. It acts against small and medium businesses, not just large ones.

What advertising does the ACCC focus on?

Misleading and unsubstantiated claims, inflated or fake pricing, bait advertising and undisclosed conditions. It sets annual enforcement priorities, and recent focus areas have included greenwashing and misleading pricing practices.

How do I stay off the ACCC's radar?

Substantiate every claim before you publish. For each statement about price, savings, performance or sustainability, hold the evidence that proves it. If a claim cannot survive a request for proof, do not run it.

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About New Rebellion

New Rebellion is a marketing intelligence consultancy. We build tools, score Australian businesses on how their marketing actually performs, and publish Debrief every day. This dictionary is part of how we work in the open.

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