CFA and several member organisations have made written submissions to the federal government’s review of the grocery industry unit pricing mandatory Code of Conduct administered by the ACCC.
The Code requires most very large grocery stores and online grocery retailers to display on shelf labels, etc. the price per unit of measure of grocery products in fixed measure packages, such as packaged breakfast cereals and cartons of milk.
The closing date for submissions on Treasury’s discussion paper was 28 February.
The CFA submission, and those of members, called for major improvements to the current system, including to the prominence and legibility of unit prices. Most also wanted it extended to include more grocery retailers and non-grocery retailers, such as pharmacies (for non-prescription items) and hardware stores.
CFA members which made a written submission included:
Treasury is now considering submissions and consulting further with stakeholders.
The Code is scheduled to sunset in 1 October 2019 unless legislative action is taken to continue its operation.
Given the great popularity of grocery unit pricing with consumers and the high self-reported levels of use, it is very unlikely that the Code will cease to exist on 1 October 2019. However, there is great uncertainly about whether it can, or will, be significantly modified before then.