ACCC Names Eight Grocery Groups for Margin Checks
Australia's consumer watchdog has flagged eight grocery product groups for closer pricing scrutiny at Coles and Woolworths under the new excessive pricing ban.
Updated on Nov. 13, 2026 in Consumer Goods
Live Poll
Do you trust supermarkets to price everyday staples fairly?
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has named eight grocery product groups covering more than 1000 products for margin checks at Coles and Woolworths. The move follows the excessive pricing ban that took effect on 1 July 2026.
Why it matters
The ban aims to keep grocery markets competitive and protect shoppers from excessive pricing by the largest chains. The rules currently apply only to supermarkets with revenue above $30 billion, which Coles and Woolworths meet.
The ACCC has named eight product groups covering more than 1000 products for margin analysis, with penalties of up to $10 million per breach. Whether any product's price is significantly excessive has not yet been determined.
The players
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)
The ACCC is Australia's federal consumer and competition regulator, responsible for enforcing the Competition and Consumer Act and the Food and Grocery Code.
Coles
Coles is one of Australia's two largest supermarket chains and is among the only businesses currently meeting the $30 billion revenue threshold for the ban.
Woolworths
Woolworths is one of Australia's two largest supermarket chains and is among the only businesses currently meeting the $30 billion revenue threshold for the ban.
The details
The ACCC will analyse the margins supermarkets earn on each product, defined as the shelf price remaining after costs including purchase, transport, storage, staff wages and store rent. The eight groups are potatoes, limes, bone-in chicken, unflavoured fresh milk, bread rolls, chocolate blocks and snack bars, coffee, and kitchen sponges and scourers.
Timeline
14 December 2025: Government announced the excessive pricing ban in the Food and Grocery Code.
June 2026: ACCC published compliance and enforcement guidelines for the ban.
1 July 2026: Excessive pricing laws took effect.
13 November 2026: ACCC announced the eight-group grocery product focus list.
Early 2027: ACCC expects to publish its first monitoring report under the ban.
Industry Dynamics
The focus list puts the excessive pricing ban from the Food and Grocery Code into practice, shifting the regulator from announcing the rule to testing supermarket margins against it. The ACCC says it will concentrate on monitoring before pursuing enforcement.
Shoppers buying the named groups, such as bread rolls, milk and coffee, may eventually see changes to supermarket pricing if the ACCC finds breaches. The rules do not yet change what households pay at the checkout.
The takeaway
Grocery shoppers should watch for the ACCC's early 2027 monitoring report, which will show whether the largest supermarket chains' margins on everyday staples face enforcement. Until then, the focus list is a signal of scrutiny rather than a finding of wrongdoing.
What happens next
The ACCC will publish its first monitoring report under the excessive pricing ban in early 2027, which will use pre-ban figures as a benchmark.
Further reading
For more on how grocery pricing is regulated, see Consumer Goods coverage across Australia.
Live Poll
Do you trust supermarkets to price everyday staples fairly?
