Component Pricing rule
Australian Business & ComplianceAlso: Single price rule · Component pricing
Quick definition
The component pricing rule in Australian Consumer Law says that if you quote part of a price to consumers, you must also show the total price as a single figure, displayed at least as prominently as the components. It stops businesses advertising a low base price while burying the unavoidable fees that make up the real cost.
How it varies across Australia
The businesses that fall foul of this advertise the smallest component loudly and the total quietly. The ones that get it right lead with the all-in figure, which also happens to be the number that builds trust and reduces checkout shock.
See how pricing and conversion play out across Australian industries →What it actually means
The component pricing rule governs how you display a price made of parts. The principle is simple. If you quote any component of a price to a consumer, a base fee, a surcharge, a per-item cost, you must also display the single total price a consumer will pay, and that total must be at least as prominent as the components.
The rule exists to stop a familiar trick. Advertise a low headline component, the from price or the base fare, and let the unavoidable extras add up quietly so the real total only becomes clear late. By forcing the total to be shown prominently, the rule makes the genuine cost the number people actually see.
Unavoidable charges have to be in the total. Genuinely optional extras, things the customer can choose not to buy, do not. The line between the two is exactly where businesses get into trouble, because a fee that is dressed up as optional but is really unavoidable belongs in the total.
It connects closely to drip pricing. Drip pricing is the behaviour of revealing costs late. The component pricing rule is the legal requirement that prevents it by demanding a prominent single total.
If you are going to break a price into parts, the total has to be the loudest number on the page.
How it shows up
Risk shows up as a prominent from or base figure with the unavoidable extras in smaller text or revealed later, so the displayed total is quieter than its parts. The compliant pattern is the reverse: the single all-in total is the most prominent number, with any breakdown secondary.
The Australian context
The component pricing rule is part of Australian Consumer Law and is enforced by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. It is stricter than markets where headline base prices with later add-ons are standard. Imported pricing pages built around a prominent from price need an Australian review to ensure the total is shown at least as prominently as the components.
Where people get this wrong
Related terms
Common questions
What is the component pricing rule?
An Australian Consumer Law requirement that if you quote part of a price to consumers, you must also show the single total price, displayed at least as prominently as the components. It stops a low headline price hiding the unavoidable fees behind it.
Do I have to include every fee in the total?
Every unavoidable fee, yes. Charges a consumer cannot avoid must be in the displayed total. Genuinely optional extras, which the customer can choose not to buy, do not have to be included.
How is this different from drip pricing?
Drip pricing is the behaviour of revealing costs late. The component pricing rule is the legal requirement that prevents it, by demanding the total be shown prominently whenever you quote any part of the price.
Where does the total price need to appear?
Wherever you quote a component to consumers, including ads and listing pages, not just the final checkout. At any point you show part of the price, the prominent single total has to be there too.
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.
How we think →