Australians will be protected from subscription traps, hidden fees and dynamic pricing under a ban on unfair trading practices that hopes to ease torrid cost-of-living pressures.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese unveiled his latest corporate crackdown on Wednesday as he seeks to capitalise on voter anger at businesses using dishonest tactics to raise their profits.

“We’re taking strong action to stop businesses from engaging in dodgy practices that rip consumers off,” Albanese said.

The ban will empower the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to go after firms making it hard to cancel subscriptions, hide fees, or change prices during a purchase.

That includes online concert ticket sellers, which have introduced dynamic pricing in recent years; and streamers or gyms that give Australians the run around when they try to cancel.

Additionally, penalties will be introduced where suppliers refuse to provide refunds to customers.

“Our new unfair trading regime will look at outlawing dynamic pricing,” Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones said on Wednesday.

“But also other sorts of really sharp practices; subscription traps, everything from streaming accounts to gym membership, which have got a big front door and a really small back door if you want to get out of them.”

The move comes after an ACCC consultation on a crackdown last year, which itself follows at least five years of public pressure from the competition watchdog and consumer advocates.

Despite that, it’s unclear exactly how far the ban will go, with a Treasury consultation process set to deliver a “final reform proposal” in the first half of 2025 – potentially before the federal election.

Consumer group Choice welcomed the move on Wednesday, saying it would bring Australia’s laws into line with other nations.

“Unfair business practices are rife in Australia, tricking people into spending more money, sometimes without their knowledge,” Choice’s director of campaigns Rosie Thomas said.

“The proposed ban would save consumers from tricks and traps such as dynamic ticket pricing, gym memberships that are almost impossible to cancel, and costly, pre-checked extras at online checkouts.”

Explained: Unfair trading practices

A ban on unfair trading practices would bring them under the Australian Consumer Law, which gives the ACCC powers to investigate and prosecute companies engaging in tricky tactics.

That could include things like dynamic pricing, which is when a company changes prices during the transaction process; or drip pricing, where firms hide fees until you’re just about to pay up.

Ticketmaster and Ticketek have been notorious for using dynamic pricing in recent years, saying on its website that prices are “flexible and subject to change at any time”, which has sparked widespread backlash.

Companies that introduce hoops consumers have to jump through before cancelling a contract or subscription could also be covered by the unfair trading practices ban.

That includes cases where businesses make it too hard to contact them to deal with issues.

Previous research has found that most consumers find it hard to communicate with companies and encounter barriers when they try to cancel a subscription or even get an insurance payout.

Another common pain point for Australians in recent years has been the massive amounts of personal data consumers are required to hand over when making any purchases online.

The unfair trading practices ban could cover that too, specifically cases where businesses “unnecessarily” require an account to be created or other personal data at the checkout.

Broadside at dodgy tactics

The unfair trading crackdown is just the latest broadside at corporations from the Albanese government over the past month as it looks to tackle cost-of-living pressures among voters.

An announcement about a potential ban on card surcharges and several reforms aimed at the market dominance of supermarkets Coles and Woolworths have featured in the policy blitz.

But targeting unfair trading could be the broadest crackdown of all because it will cover consumers and small businesses, and goes to the psychological tricks companies use.

For example, the ACCC’s has suggested unfair trading practices include cases where firms are “exploiting or ignoring behavioural vulnerabilities” through so-called “choice architecture”.

A wide range of businesses try to influence consumers by presenting their choices in specific ways, such as when convenience stores hold 2 for $10 specials on drinks sold for $4.99 each.

Other examples can include so-called nudge tactics, where businesses send consumers push notifications on their phone providing them implicit suggestions to buy their goods or services.

So depending on where the government’s final reform proposal lands, the ban could represent a huge crackdown on how businesses can communicate with consumers and present prices.