The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury
Opinion Piece
Stop the checkout trickery
Published in The Daily Telegraph
12 February 2026
You know the moment. You click ‘buy’, feeling quietly pleased with yourself for finding a decent deal. Then, at the final screen, the price jumps. A service fee appears from nowhere. A processing charge sneaks in. Suddenly that cheap deal looks less like a bargain.
Or perhaps it is the subscription that seemed harmless at first. Signing up took seconds. Cancelling feels closer to an endurance sport – buried menus, unanswered emails, ‘are you really sure?’ prompts designed to wear you down.
These practices are spreading across the economy, and they are quietly draining household budgets.
That is why the government is launching a nationwide crackdown on hidden transaction fees and subscription traps, with draft legislation released earlier this month to ban unfair trading practices.
Hidden fees and manipulative sign-up processes do more than irritate consumers. They undermine trust in the marketplace and tilt the playing field against honest businesses that do the right thing. When firms compete by disguising the true cost rather than offering better value, everyone loses.
These reforms will give regulators a stronger tool to act when companies cross the line, whether the purchase happens in-store or online.
This crackdown forms part of a broader agenda to strengthen competition and fairness across the economy.
Taken together, these reforms share a simple goal: markets should reward innovation and efficiency, not tricks and traps.
Strong competition is one of the most reliable ways to ease cost-of-living pressure. When businesses know customers can compare offers easily and walk away without friction, they sharpen their prices and lift their service. That is how markets are supposed to work.
Consumers should not need a crystal ball to reveal the price they’ll end up paying.
When Australians reach for their wallets, they deserve honesty in return.
Andrew Leigh is the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury
Ends