The Albanese government will give Australia’s consumer and corporate regulators new powers to issue infringement notices to big businesses that breach unfair contract term laws, in a move aimed at protecting consumers and small businesses from one-sided “take-it-or-leave-it” contracts.

Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury Andrew Leigh said the government would introduce the expanded powers following a Treasury review of the amendments to the unfair contract terms protections.

The changes would allow the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to respond to breaches more quickly and flexibly, without always having to launch lengthy court proceedings.

The government says the measure is aimed at large businesses, including supermarkets, petrol companies and digital platforms, where standard form contracts can leave consumers and small businesses with little ability to negotiate.

“Whether a big business is a supermarket, a petrol company, or a digital platform we won’t tolerate Australian consumers and small businesses being taken for mugs,” Dr Leigh said.

The move builds on reforms that came into effect in November 2023, which made unfair contract terms illegal and introduced civil penalties for businesses that propose, use or rely on them in standard form contracts with consumers and small businesses.

Those reforms increased maximum penalties to $100 million per offence, making breaches of consumer and competition law a far more serious financial risk for large corporations.

Treasury’s final report, released on 29 June, found the amended unfair contract terms regime had been “broadly successful”, expanding protections to more small businesses and strengthening deterrence by introducing civil penalties.

The review concluded the reforms were already pushing businesses to remove or amend unfair clauses from their contracts, but recommended giving regulators additional enforcement options.

The proposed infringement notice powers would sit below court action, allowing regulators to deal with some breaches faster while reserving litigation for more serious or contested cases.

The government said this would help level the playing field for small businesses that often sign standard contracts with much larger companies for essential services, supply arrangements, digital platforms, fuel, retail, telecommunications or franchising.

The ACCC has already taken action under the strengthened regime.

In June 2025, the ACCC accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from Mable Technologies after the online disability and aged care support platform admitted it had breached the Australian Consumer Law by using unfair contract terms in standard form agreements with clients and support workers.

The ACCC said Mable’s terms included a possible minimum penalty fee of $5,000 in some circumstances, automatic approval of service logs unless disputed within 24 hours, terms allowing fee and contract changes without reasonable notice, and clauses seeking to limit Mable’s liability.

ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said at the time the regulator was concerned the terms had disadvantaged clients, including NDIS participants, and support workers operating as sole traders or small businesses.

The government also cited action involving Aidacare and ASIC proceedings against Venture 5 Group, trading as CashnGo Australia, as examples of regulators using existing powers to target unfair or unlawful conduct.

The new infringement notice powers form part of a wider competition and consumer protection agenda being pursued by the Albanese government.

Earlier this year, the government introduced legislation to ban unfair trading practices, including subscription traps, drip pricing and business tactics that rely on confusion, friction, hidden fees or consumer fatigue.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said at the time the government was seeking to crack down on “dodgy deals”, while Dr Leigh said businesses should compete by offering better products and services, not by building “more cunning traps”.

The government says the latest changes will further strengthen the ability of regulators to act when powerful businesses use unfair terms to shift risk, limit rights, impose unreasonable penalties or lock customers and small businesses into one-sided arrangements.

For small businesses, the reform could mean faster action against unfair contract clauses without having to wait for major court cases.

For consumers, it could increase pressure on companies to clean up standard contracts before regulators step in.

Dr Leigh said the goal was a marketplace where consumers and small businesses could deal with larger firms on fairer and more transparent terms.

“These reforms are part of the Albanese government’s broader agenda to level the playing field,” he said.

The final shape of the infringement notice regime will be determined through legislation, but the government has made clear it wants regulators to have more practical enforcement tools when big businesses tilt contracts in their own favour.

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