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Retailers and Wholesalers Face New Food Code Regulations in Australia

Retail

Business Honor
03 April, 2025

The new Food and Grocery Code protects suppliers, with strict penalties for violations in Australia's supermarkets.

The Food and Food Code of Conduct will be necessary for Australia's biggest supermarkets and food wholesalers starting on April 1, 2025.

The updated regulation is now in effect, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). This regulation, which was implemented under the Competition and Consumer Act, is applicable to retailers and wholesalers whose supermarket or grocery wholesale business generated more than A$5 billion ($3.13 billion) in revenue during the previous fiscal year.

The code automatically gives vendors that work with these organizations additional protection. It describes the steps wholesalers and supermarkets should take to transfer and sign contracts with their suppliers. It requires that documented supply agreements be made, legal behavior be followed, and that suppliers be treated in good faith.

Additionally, it protects providers who choose to exercise their rights under the code against any kind of reprisal. In order to ensure adherence to the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct, the ACCC has been given further authority. Businesses that breach the code may be subject to infringement notifications and legal action.

Penalties for serious infractions can reach $10 million per occurrence, three times the benefit derived from the violation, or if the exact amount is unknown, up to 10% of the business's yearly revenue from the prior year.

To guarantee compliance with the code's rules, these stiffened penalties act as a powerful deterrent.
In addition to emphasizing that retail pricing strategies, merger reforms, and resolving competition issues would be at the top of its agenda for the fiscal year 2025–2026, the ACCC has established an online platform that allows anonymous reporting of suspected code violations.

An interim study released by the ACCC in September 2024 noted a sharp drop in consumer confidence in Coles and Woolworths, the country's two largest supermarket companies. The commission concluded its inquiry of the grocery industry in March 2024 and issued 20 suggestions to increase market competition.