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The Australian Consumer Law

Multiple Pricing

What is multiple pricing?

Multiple pricing is where a supplier displays more than one price for the same goods.

What is a displayed price?

A displayed price is a price:

• 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 date to purchase the product hasn't passed
  • the catalogue is current and not out of date
  • the price applies on to goods in a particular location or region
• reasonably appears to apply to the goods, including a partly-obscured price
• displayed on a cash register or scanner

What is not a displayed price?

A price is not a displayed price, when it is:

• entirely obscured or covered by another price
• a unit price and shown as an alternative method of displaying the price
• not in Australian currency or unlikely to be interpreted as Australian currency

NOTE: A price published in a catalogue or advertisement ceases to be a displayed price when a retraction is published in a similar circulation or audience.

What must a business/supplier do?

A supplier who displays multiple prices for the same goods must:

• sell the goods for the lowest 'displayed price' OR
• withdraw the goods from sale until the price error is corrected.

Component Pricing

A supplier must not promote or state a price that is only part of the cost, unless also prominently advertising the single (total) price.  This applies to the supply and promotion of goods and services usually used for personal, domestic or household use or consumption.

Displaying the total price

The total price must:

• be clear at the time of sale
• be as prominent as the most prominent component of the price
• be the total of all measurable costs
• include any charge payable; and
• include the amount of any tax, duty, fee, levy or charges (eg GST).

The total cost does not have to include postage or freight charges from the supplier to the consumer unless the supplier is aware of a minimum charge that must be paid.

Free publications and guides

• Sales practices: a guide for business and legal practitioners - HTML version [238kb / 32 pages]
• Sales practices: a guide for business and legal practitioners - PDF version  [2.4mb / 32 pages]

 You will need a PDF viewer such as Adobe Reader installed on your computer to view PDF documents.  Please contact us if you have difficulty viewing or printing the document.

Order printed copies of these guides by emailing consumer.affairs@justice.tas.gov.au