{"id":"F2024L00132","name":"Competition and Consumer (Price Inquiry—Supermarkets) Direction 2024","slug":"competition-and-consumer-price-inquiry-supermarkets-direction-2024","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":442263,"registerId":"F2024L00132-fast-fetch-1775957315537","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Competition and Consumer (Price Inquiry—Supermarkets) Direction 2024","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![Commonwealth coat of arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nCompetition and Consumer (Price Inquiry—Supermarkets) Direction 2024\n\nI, Jim Chalmers, Treasurer, give the following direction to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.\n\nDated   1 February 2024\n\n \n\nDr Jim Chalmers\n\nTreasurer\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n1  Name \n\n2  Commencement\n\n3  Authority\n\n4  Definitions\n\nPart 2—Price inquiry into groceries\n\n5  Commission to hold an inquiry\n\n6  Directions on matters to be taken into consideration in the inquiry\n\n7  Directions as to holding of the inquiry\n\n8  Period for completing the inquiry\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Competition and Consumer (Price Inquiry—Supermarkets) Direction 2024.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this instrument The day after this instrument is registered.\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.\n\n4  Definitions\n\nNote: Expressions have the same meaning in this instrument as in the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 as in force from time to time—see paragraph 13(1)(b) of the Legislation Act 2003.\n\nIn this instrument:\n\ninquiry has the meaning given by subsection 95A(1) of the Act.\n\nFood and Grocery Code of Conduct means the code set out in Schedule 1 to the Competition and Consumer (Industry Codes—Food and Grocery) Regulation 2015.\n\ngroceries includes the following:\n\n (a) groceries within the meaning of the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct; and\n\n (b) raw materials that are to be processed into, or used in the manufacture of, items covered by paragraph (a).\n\nprice has the meaning given by subsection 95A(1) of the Act.\n\nretailer has the meaning given by the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct.\n\nState or Territory authority has the meaning given by subsection 95A(1) of the Act.\n\nsupplier has the meaning given by the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct.\n\nsupply has the meaning given by subsection 95A(1) of the Act.\n\nthe Act means the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.\n\nwholesaler has the meaning given by the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct.\n\nPart 2—Price inquiry into groceries\n\n \n\n5  Commission to hold an inquiry\n\n (1) Under subsection 95H(1) of the Act, the Commission is required to hold an inquiry into the markets for the supply of groceries. The inquiry is not to extend to any of the following:\n\n (a) the supply of a good or service by a State or Territory authority; and\n\n (b) reviewing the operation of any Australian law (other than the Act) relating to the supply of groceries, except as necessary to consider the matters set out in section 6; and\n\n (c) reviewing the operation or scope of the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct, except as necessary to consider the matters set out in section 6.\n\n (2) For the purposes of subsection 95J(1), the inquiry is to be held in relation to goods and services that are groceries.\n\n (3) Under subsection 95J(2), the inquiry is not to be held in relation to the supply of goods and services of that description by a particular person or persons.\n\n6  Directions on matters to be taken into consideration in the inquiry\n\n  Under subsection 95J(6) of the Act, the Commission is directed to take into consideration all of the following matters in holding the inquiry:\n\n (a) the structure of the markets for the supply of groceries by suppliers, wholesalers and retailers, including:\n\n (i) the level and nature of competition at each of these levels of the markets; and\n\n (ii) relationships between the parties at different levels of each of the markets (for example, relationships between wholesalers and retailers); and\n\n (iii) the competitiveness of small and independent retailers, including those in regional and remote areas; and\n\n (iv) the impact of technological change on each of the markets, including the impact of the growth of online shopping; and\n\n (b) the approach of suppliers, wholesalers and retailers to setting prices for groceries, including the use of data analytics in setting prices;\n\n (c) factors affecting the price of inputs along the supply chain for groceries, including:\n\n (i) any impediments to the efficient availability of inputs along the supply chain; and\n\n (ii) any impediments to the efficient pricing of inputs along the supply chain; and\n\n (iii) any difference between the prices paid, and prices charged, by suppliers, wholesalers and retailers for groceries; and\n\n (d) non-price aspects of competition in the markets for groceries, including the impact of:\n\n (i) loyalty programs; and\n\n (ii) discounts offered by retailers for future purchases of groceries or other goods or services.\n\n7  Directions as to holding of the inquiry\n\n  Under subsection 95J(6) of the Act, the Commission in holding the inquiry is directed to give to the Treasurer an interim report on the inquiry by no later than 31 August 2024.\n\n8  Period for completing the inquiry\n\n  For the purposes of subsection 95K(1) of the Act, the inquiry is to be completed, and a report on the matter of inquiry given to the Treasurer, by no later than 28 February 2025.\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument does not amend existing legislation; it directs the ACCC, under powers in the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, to conduct an inquiry into grocery supply markets and prescribes its subject-matter, exclusions and reporting deadlines (see ss 3–8). It narrows the inquiry's operational scope via explicit exclusions (State/Territory authority supplies; broad reviews of other laws or the Food and Grocery Code) and sets fixed interim and final reporting dates, but does not change the legal scope of the Act itself."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-references to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct create interpretive dependency on external definitions and statutory tests (see ss 3–4, definitions).","Multiple market levels and relationships required for examination (suppliers, wholesalers, retailers) increase factual and analytical complexity (s 6(a)).","Directed subject-matter is broad: market structure, pricing methods (including data analytics), input-cost drivers and non-price competition (ss 6(b)–(d)), requiring economic and technical evidence.","Specified exclusions narrow scope but raise legal questions about what is \"necessary\" to consider other laws or the Code (s 5(1)(b)–(c)), adding doctrinal complexity.","Prohibition on focusing the inquiry on particular persons limits targeting but requires careful design of scope and sampling (s 5(3)).","Tight, mandatory reporting timetable with an interim report deadline and a fixed final completion date imposes operational and resourcing pressure on the ACCC (s 7; s 8).","Requirement to consider technology and online shopping implicates rapidly changing data sources and methods (s 6(a)(iv)), increasing empirical difficulty.","Potential compliance and information demands on industry participants (price, input cost, use of analytics) could be substantial depending on ACCC's information requests (ss 6(b), 6(c)).","The Direction prescribes matters to consider but leaves procedural design and evidentiary choices to the ACCC, generating administrative discretion within statutory bounds (s 5; s 6)."],"plain_english_summary":"This Direction requires the ACCC to hold a price inquiry into markets for the supply of groceries, covering suppliers, wholesalers and retailers, and prescribes the specific issues to be examined (market structure, pricing approaches, input costs, data analytics, loyalty schemes and online shopping). It excludes supplies by State or Territory authorities and broad reviews of other laws or the Food and Grocery Code, and sets an interim report due 31 August 2024 and a final report due 28 February 2025. The inquiry affects grocery industry participants and may inform future regulatory or commercial choices."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a standard ministerial direction establishing a specific price inquiry under existing statutory powers. It operates within the established framework of Part VIIA of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and does not expand beyond the traditional scope of such directions. The exclusions in section 5(1) actually narrow the scope compared to a maximalist interpretation of the ACCC's inquiry powers."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument: only 8 sections across 2 Parts","Minimal defined terms: 9 definitions in section 4, most simply cross-reference existing legislation","Heavy reliance on external statutory framework: multiple references to sections 95A, 95H, 95J, and 95K of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, requiring readers to consult that Act for full context","Single layer of conditional logic: section 5(1) contains three exclusions ('not to extend to') that limit the inquiry's scope","No nested exceptions or complex procedural requirements","Straightforward directive structure: the instrument primarily gives directions rather than creating substantive rights or obligations itself"],"plain_english_summary":"The Treasurer has ordered the ACCC to run a major price inquiry into Australia’s supermarket sector, tracing how groceries are priced from farm to checkout. It affects major chains, smaller retailers, suppliers and consumers, and will probe competition, pricing practices, supply‑chain cost drivers, loyalty offers and online retailing.\n\nThe ACCC has broad investigatory powers, must report interim and final findings by Aug 31, 2024 and Feb 28, 2025, and could recommend enforcement or law changes."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/competition-and-consumer-price-inquiry-supermarkets-direction-2024","history":"/api/acts/competition-and-consumer-price-inquiry-supermarkets-direction-2024/history","analysis":"/api/acts/competition-and-consumer-price-inquiry-supermarkets-direction-2024/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/competition-and-consumer-price-inquiry-supermarkets-direction-2024/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/competition-and-consumer-price-inquiry-supermarkets-direction-2024/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/competition-and-consumer-price-inquiry-supermarkets-direction-2024/documents"}}