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Commonwealth act
This Act created a government body called the Prices Justification Tribunal — an independent panel with the power to investigate whether large companies are charging fair prices for their goods and services in Australia. It was a response to inflationary pressures in the early 1970s, designed to give the government a tool to scrutinise and publicly expose unjustified price rises.
The Act only applies to large companies — specifically, those (or groups of related companies) with annual revenues exceeding $20 million from the sale of goods or services. Smaller businesses are entirely outside its scope.
The companies covered include:
If a covered company wants to:
...it must before doing so. The company must then wait before charging the new price — unless the Tribunal gives the all-clear sooner.
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Direct links to the current provisions in Prices Justification Act 1973.
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View on official registerSourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
If the Tribunal decides to investigate, the company must wait until the inquiry is finished (or until certain time limits expire) before applying the new price. Charging a higher price without going through this process is an offence carrying a fine of $10,000.
Importantly, the Tribunal's findings are reports and recommendations — it cannot directly force a company to lower its price, but its public reports create significant accountability pressure.
This Act represented an interventionist approach to economic management — using a quasi-judicial body (a body that acts like a court but isn't a formal court) to shine a spotlight on corporate pricing behaviour. It reflected a 1970s belief that public scrutiny and accountability, rather than direct price controls, could moderate inflation. The Tribunal had real teeth in terms of investigative powers, but its ultimate weapon was transparency and public embarrassment, not direct price-setting.