Multiple pricing—what are my obligations?

Multiple pricing

Under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) a business must not supply goods if:

• the goods have more than one displayed price - 'contain multiple prices'; and
• the supply takes place for a price that is not the lowest of the displayed prices.

A business who displays the same good with more than one price – ‘with multiple prices’ – must:

• sell it for the lowest displayed price; or
• withdraw the goods from sale until the price is corrected.

'Displayed price'

A ‘displayed price’ is a price, or any representation that may reasonably be inferred to be a representation of a price that is:

• attached to or on:
• the goods
• anything connected or used with the goods
• anything used to display the goods
• published in a catalogue available to the public, when:
• the deadline to buy at that price has not passed
• the catalogue is not out-of-date
• that price applies only to the goods at a specific location or in a specific region, or
• that reasonably appears to apply to the goods, including a partly-obscured price.

A price is not a ‘displayed price’ when it is:

• entirely obscured by another price
• a price per unit of measure and shown as an alternative means of expressing the price
• not in Australian currency, or unlikely to be interpreted as Australian currency.

A displayed price published in a catalogue or advertisement that is incorrect, can be corrected by publishing a retraction to a similar circulation or audience to the original advertisement.