Andrew Leigh

The Hon Jim Chalmers MP
Treasurer

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

Banning supermarket price gouging to protect Australian shoppers

14 December 2025

The Albanese Labor Government has made new regulations to ban supermarket price gouging.

We’re cracking down on supermarket price gouging to help Australians get a better deal at the checkout.

This is all about getting a fairer go for families in their weekly shop.

The ban will prohibit very large retailers from charging prices that are excessive when compared to the cost of the supply plus a reasonable margin.

The new ban on excessive pricing of groceries for consumers in the Food and Grocery Code is now law and will come into effect on 1 July 2026.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP 
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury 

Opinion Piece

Christmas Cracker or Consumer Trap? Retailers Put on Notice

Published in The New Daily

12 December 2025

The Christmas shopping rush has settled into its familiar rhythm. Shopping centres packed at odd hours, parcels stacked on doorsteps, inboxes filling with discount codes and expiring offers. For retailers, it is the most intense trading period of the year. For households, it is a constant calculation between generosity and budget.

Most businesses operate honestly. They advertise accurately and sell goods that meet Australian standards. A few, however, rely on the rush itself: psychological pressure, questionable claims, unsafe products and the assumption that no one will stop to look too closely in the final weeks before Christmas. This year, we’re putting retailers on notice that bad behaviour carries serious consequences.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has signalled that it will be actively looking for misconduct over the festive season. Its focus is on false or misleading sales claims, fake discounts, pressure tactics that rush people into decisions, and unsafe products. These problems are not new, but the scale and speed of modern retail makes them easier to spread and harder to spot.

Since coming to office, the Australian Government has raised the penalties for anti-consumer conduct. The most egregious breaches of consumer law now carry penalties of up to $50 million per offence. These tougher penalties are intended to make non-compliance a genuine commercial risk rather than a tolerable cost.

Andrew Leigh MP
Member for Fenner

David Smith MP
Member for Bean

More than $2.5 million in Commonwealth funding for ACT schools

10 December 2025

Staff and students at three local ACT schools will benefit from more than $2.5 million in Commonwealth funding, as part of the Capital Grants Program.

The Albanese Labor Government is supporting:

• St Matthew's Primary School in Page through $771,954 in funding for the refurbishment of 3 classrooms and support spaces.
• Islamic School of Canberra in Weston through $1 million in funding for the refurbishment of an existing classroom block and amenities.
• Holy Family Parish Primary School in Gowrie through $750,000 in funding for the refurbishment of classrooms and creation of 2 new classrooms, breakout spaces and teacher collaboration area.

Member for Fenner Andrew Leigh said the project at St Matthew's Primary School will provide school staff, teachers and students with better, more modern spaces to work, teach and learn.

“The Australian Government is committed to providing all schools with appropriate funding so that all students, including those at St Matthew's Primary School, get the best possible education,” Dr Leigh said.

“I congratulate St Matthew's Primary School on their successful grant application and look forward to seeing the positive impact these new facilities will have on the school community.”

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO DARWIN, NT AFTERNOONS WITH JESS ONG
TUESDAY, 9 DECEMBER

SUBJECTS: Banning unfair trading practices, subscription traps and drip pricing

JESS ONG: Now, this might be the situation at your house as it is at mine. You know, every now and then you'll decide, ‘oh, I want to have a new movie in my life or a new TV show’. So, you go to one of those streaming services, you sign up, you get lured into some deal because you get a month or two free and you think, ‘oh, yeah, I'll set a reminder in my calendar so I can cancel before I'm charged that next amount’. And then that month comes around and you go to cancel it, to cancel your subscription. And it is just so hard to do. You're on a loop, going round and round. You might even need to call a call centre to cancel your subscription. So, then eventually you run out of puff and you just give up and these people win and it just happens over and over again.

You're basically stuck in a subscription trap. I wonder whether that's your situation like it is at my house every now and then. These subscription traps, they're not illegal in Australia, but the government does have plans to change that, and Dr Andrew Leigh is the Assistant Minister for Productivity Competition, Charities and Treasury. Hello Minister.

ANDREW LEIGH: G'day Jess. great to be with you.

JESS ONG: Why is this of national interest? Subscription traps, why is that on your radar?

ANDREW LEIGH: Three out of four Australians with subscriptions say they've had a negative experience from trying to cancel one. And as many as 1 in 10 have actually given up trying to cancel a subscription and just kept on reluctantly paying for the service. I've heard stories from people who've cancelled a credit card because it was easier than cancelling the subscriptions that were attached to it. Many subscriptions can be useful. They can make daily life more straightforward. But it ought to be as easy to cancel a subscription as it was to start it in the first place.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP 
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury 

Opinion Piece

Why Australian farmers deserve a fair go on right to repair

Published in Farm Online

9 December 2025

When a tractor breaks down in the middle of harvest, every hour counts. For too long, Australian farmers have faced unnecessary delays and inflated costs because critical repair information was locked away by manufacturers. That’s about to change.

On 28 November, Commonwealth, State and Territory Treasurers, governments agreed to broaden Australia’s right to repair framework to include agricultural machinery. This reform is practical, fair, and overdue. It means farmers will have real choice about who fixes their gear, and independent repairers will have the information they need to compete.

Modern farm equipment is a marvel of technology, but complexity shouldn’t come at the cost of control. Today, diagnostic codes and software are often restricted to authorised dealers, leaving farmers waiting days for repairs that could be done locally. Those delays ripple through the economy. The Productivity Commission estimates that extending right to repair to agriculture could lift annual GDP by $97 million through increased grain outputs alone, simply by reducing downtime during harvest.

Industry knows what this means. Farmers’ Federation President Hamish McIntyre said the reform will deliver “less downtime, lower costs, and more control over their own businesses.” GrainGrowers CEO Shona Gawel called the commitment “landmark,” while Victorian Farmers’ Federation President Brett Hosking described it as “game-changing.” NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin said the reform will allow farmers to support qualified local repairers, reducing costs and wait times. 

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
2CC RADIO CANBERRA, BREAKFAST WITH STEPHEN CENATIEMPO
TUESDAY, 9 DECEMBER 2025

SUBJECTS: Australians encouraged to support charities, Albanese Government warning retailers dodgy tactics and unsafe products will not be tolerated this festive season

STEPHEN CENATIEMPO: Time to talk federal politics with the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury Andrew Leigh. Andrew, good morning.

ANDREW LEIGH: Good morning, Stephen.

STEPHEN CENATIEMPO: I want to touch on your charities portfolio for a moment. Charities are obviously doing it tough at the moment but have a greater demand on them than they've ever had. As a politician, particularly in a Treasury portfolio, what do you think when you look at this because I mean this sort of highlights why it's so important to get fiscal policy right?

ANDREW LEIGH: Yeah, we've had a big increase in demands for the services of charities. Many Australians face cost‑of‑living pressures and many charities are out there doing great work.

We've given record support to them as a government and we're also calling on Australians, if you can, to support a trusted charity this season. If you're not sure whether a charity is trusted, the best way to find out is to go to the charity commission register at acnc.gov.au.

And we've got a target Stephen, as you know, of doubling philanthropy by 2030 and as part of that we're seeking to make it easier for charities to get deductible gift recipient status, making things more transparent and boosting trust in the sector.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TV INTERVIEW
ABC AFTERNOON BRIEFING, WITH STEPHANIE BORYS
MONDAY, 8 DECEMBER 2025

SUBJECTS: Energy rebate, Albanese Government’s cost of living relief, MYEFO, Ministerial travel, Barnaby Joyce and One Nation, National Reconstruction Fund

STEPHANIE BORYS: Now, the biggest policy news of the day was that the federal government's subsidy for electricity bills will not be extended into the new year. The subsidy began in 2023 and was twice extended amid cost-of-living pressures. Treasurer Jim Chalmers made the announcement while previewing the mid-year budget update expected later this month.

[EXCERPT]

TREASURER CHALMERS: The Commonwealth has spent almost $7 billion on these three rounds of energy bill rebates. The states and territories have kicked in another one and a half billion or so. These were a really important way that we provide help with the cost of living, but they're not the only way that we're providing that cost of living relief for people who are still doing it tough.

[EXCERPT ENDS]

STEPHANIE BORYS: Andrew Leigh is the Assistant Productivity Minister and joins me now. Thanks for coming into the studio.

ANDREW LEIGH: Pleasure Stephanie.

STEPHANIE BORYS: Now, the government's made this announcement today. Why? Why can't it go on any longer?

ANDREW LEIGH: These were temporary measures, as the Treasurer has said, put in place at a time when inflation was around 8 per cent and before we'd announced our rejigging of the stage three tax cuts and the additional two tax cuts we've delivered to households. We've always said they were going to be temporary assistance. As the Treasurer has said, it's been quite substantial - some $7 billion. But these have always been a temporary measure and we've decided, given the fiscal circumstances, it's appropriate to bring them to an end.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO CANBERRA, BREAKFAST WITH ROSS SOLLY
MONDAY, 8 DECEMBER 2025

SUBJECTS: Ministerial travel, Australia’s under-16 social media ban

ROSS SOLLY: So we've been running this poll this morning on the Anika Wells expense account and I've been asking you, does it pass the kitchen table test? It certainly seems that it's within the guidelines, but does that make it okay? I mean, is this the sort of thing that we're comfortable with? And obviously, overwhelmingly many of you think, well, it's time to revisit the guidelines. More than 80 per cent of you though, are also saying that you don't think this passes the kitchen table test.

Well, I wonder what Andrew Leigh thinks. He's the Member for Fenner and he's a man who's been renowned for his frugality over the years. Andrew Leigh, good morning to you.

ANDREW LEIGH: Good morning Ross, great to be with you

ROSS SOLLY: And good to be with you as well. Obviously, this is a huge distraction in the week when we've got this big social media ban coming in. But let's talk about it. First of all, the listeners this morning overwhelmingly do not feel that this passes the kitchen table test. Are you comfortable with it Andrew Leigh?

ANDREW LEIGH: Ross, I think it's important to recognise what we're dealing with here. This is a social media ban which is about saving kids’ lives. Since smartphones emerged, we have seen a significant increase in suicide deaths of young men and young women.

ROSS SOLLY: I get all this. Can we circle back to that? I know we know all of that and I'm going to come back to that because that is important. But I just wanted to know first of all, with regard to the expense accounts - the charges that we're getting here, the $100,000 for flights to New York for three people. The flying your family to Thredbo for a skiing trip. The flying your husband to Melbourne for the Grand Prix. The flying of your husband to cricket match. The bloody expensive dinners in Paris. I mean, do these all pass the kitchen table test Andrew Leigh?

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP PRESS CONFERENCE
MARBLE FOYER, PARLIAMENT HOUSE
SATURDAY, 6 DECEMBER 2025

SUBJECTS: Albanese Government warning retailers dodgy tactics and unsafe products will not be tolerated this festive season, banning unfair trading practices, subscription traps and drip pricing, Ministerial travel, Blayney gold mine

ANDREW LEIGH: Well good morning. My name is Andrew Leigh, the Assistant Minister for, Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury.

Today, the Albanese Government is putting dodgy retailers on notice that they need to do the right thing by Australian consumers. Australians are going to be doing a lot of shopping over the course of the next few weeks, and Australians have a right to know that whether they're shopping in-store or online, they're getting goods that are safe.

Since coming to office, the Albanese Government has stood up for Australian consumers and we've increased the penalties for anti-consumer conduct to $50 million. We've provided tens of millions of dollars to the competition watchdog so they can crack down on bad behaviour. And we've worked with states and territories to make product safety a priority for consumer ministers around the country.

If you go into a store, you have certain rights. It's important to recognise that those rights apply, whether or not the retailer says that they do. You have a right if you purchase a product that doesn't work to receive a replacement or a refund.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

Retailers On Notice: Dodgy Tactics Won't Be Tolerated This Festive Season

6 December 2025

As Australians hang the stockings and start ticking off their shopping lists, the Albanese Government is warning retailers dodgy tactics and unsafe products will not be tolerated.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) – Australia’s consumer watchdog – is checking its list twice and will be keeping a close eye on retailers, both online and in-store, to make sure Australians get a fair go at the checkout.

Labor strengthened the law to ensure serious breaches of the Australian Consumer Law come with serious consequences. Retailers who make false or misleading representations or fail to meet their obligations now face penalties of up to $50 million per breach.