The Australian federal government is making the implementation of the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct mandatory, effective April 1 next year.
The code aims to address bargaining power imbalances between large grocery retailers or wholesalers and their suppliers, in accordance with the Craig Emerson’s independent review of the code.
Through the mandated code, the government expects to crack down shrinkflation and reform planning and zoning regulations to boost competition and reduce land banking.
The Government says it expects the code to strengthen Australia’s merger framework and bolster the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) through additional funding to stop deceptive pricing practices in the supermarket and retail sectors.
Its implementation will include creating an anonymous supplier and whistle‑blower complaints pathway through the ACCC, the government said in a statement.
The government also passed the Fairer for Families and Farmers Bill to increase the penalties for large grocery retailers or wholesalers if they violate the code.
The maximum penalty will be the greater of $10 million, three times the value of the benefit gained from the contravening conduct, or 10 per cent of the turnover in the preceding 12 months.
