ACCC penalties double to $100 million: What the 2026 changes mean for Australian businesses

Australian businesses are now operating in a significantly tougher competition and consumer law environment. These changes follow significant volatility in global fuel prices and public concerns about price gouging.

In March 2026, the Australian Parliament passed legislation that doubles the maximum civil and criminal penalties for many breaches of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA) and the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), lifting them from $50 million to $100 million per contravention.

Similar changes were last made in 2022, when penalties increased five-fold, but the Australian government has now deemed further, even more severe action is necessary.

Why ACCC penalties have increased in 2026

While recent political attention and media commentary have focused on petrol pricing, these reforms apply to all businesses, economy-wide.

Importantly, the ACCC’s track record shows that mid‑market and privately owned businesses are not immune, particularly where conduct impacts consumers or smaller suppliers.

This is not a technical adjustment. It is a deliberate recalibration of regulatory expectations, with real implications for businesses of all sizes.

What has changed in the penalty regime?

For corporations, the maximum penalty for many contraventions of the CCA and ACL is now the greater of:

• $100 million per contravention (up from $50 million),
• three times the value of any benefit obtained from the conduct, or
• 30% of adjusted turnover during the breach period (where the benefit cannot be determined).

The increase applies across core compliance risk areas, including:

• Misleading or deceptive conduct
• Unconscionable conduct
• Cartel conduct
• Misuse of market power
• Exclusive dealing and resale price maintenance
• Merger‑related contraventions under the new mandatory regime
• Breaches of industry codes and key ACL provisions (eg, component pricing, product safety recalls, standards compliance, etc).

The increased penalties meaningfully shift the risk profile for businesses of all sizes, and materially alter the CCA and ACL enforcement, compliance and governance landscapes.

ACCC penalties: A compounding regulatory reform environment

The penalty increase also does not sit in isolation. It comes alongside:

• a mandatory and suspensory merger clearance regime commencing in 2026;
• expanded ACCC monitoring and market inquiry powers;
• proposed new prohibitions on unfair trading practices; and
• continued regulatory focus on unfair contract terms, pricing practices, margins and transparency.

ACCC penalties: What is the risk for businesses?

Penalties available at this far greater scale:

• support deeper and more resource‑intensive (more aggressive) ACCC investigations;
• increase the ACCC’s litigation appetite;
• improve the ACCC’s settlement leverage;
• place greater scrutiny on board-level and executive oversight, not just front-line conduct; and
• reduce the tolerance for non-compliant or contravening conduct that might have previously been viewed as marginal, technical or low impact.

What you should do now

The move to $100 million penalties draws a clear line in the sand. For Australian businesses, the question is no longer whether competition and consumer law risks are “material”, but rather whether existing governance, compliance and oversight arrangements are fit for a dramatically tougher enforcement environment.

If you are a business operating in Australia, you should:

• Reassess where CCA and ACL risks arise across pricing, sales, procurement and distribution.
  When was your last CCA/ACL risk audit? Do you know which activities carry the highest risk?
• Test whether your compliance frameworks are fit for today’s penalty environment.
  When did you last review your CCA/ACL compliance program — and do you have one in place?
• Ensure your board and senior executives have clear visibility of key risks and mitigation strategies.
  When was the last time you upskilled your board and senior management team?
• Conduct staff training so CCA and ACL obligations are understood and applied day‑to‑day.
  When was the last time your staff cohorts were trained on the CCA and ACL aspects relevant to their day-to-day roles?
• Address grey‑area conduct early to prevent it becoming entrenched or drawing regulatory scrutiny.

Macpherson Kelley’s CCA and ACL experts can help you take stock before the ACCC does it for you. For further information and assistance, please contact Kelly Dickson.

The information contained in this article is general in nature and cannot be relied on as legal advice nor does it create an engagement. Please contact one of our lawyers listed above for advice about your specific situation.