Australia’s competition regulator will examine the prices and margins of more than 1,000 grocery items at Coles and Woolworths, starting with eight product groups. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced the list on 13 November and expects to publish its first monitoring report in early 2027.

The list covers potatoes, limes, bone-in chicken, plain fresh milk, bread rolls, chocolate blocks and snack bars, coffee, and kitchen sponges and scourers. It spans fresh food, packaged grocery and household goods, giving the regulator a view of categories with different costs and promotion cycles.

Inclusion on the list does not mean a supermarket has charged an excessive price. The ACCC says its initial focus is monitoring compliance. It can take enforcement action where appropriate and will continue to collect pricing and margin information beyond the eight groups.

The rules took effect on 1 July 2026 and currently apply to Coles and Woolworths, the two Australian supermarket groups that meet the revenue threshold. There is no fixed margin cap. The regulator considers whether a retail price is significantly excessive compared with the supermarket’s cost of supplying the product plus a reasonable margin.

That distinction matters when costs and shelf prices move at different speeds. In Australia’s fresh produce market, a lime price can respond to changes in availability, freight or wastage. In chocolate or coffee, the shelf price may reflect a different cost period from the one covered by a new supplier invoice. A price rise alone does not show how the retailer’s margin changed.

For buyers, the useful comparison is the price actually paid, including promotions, against the cost of supplying the same product over the same period. A change in pack size or in the mix of premium and value lines can also distort a category average. For suppliers, dated records of changes to costs, pack sizes and promotional funding can help explain when those changes reached the shelf.

The ACCC selected the first eight groups using consumer and supplier reports, historical prices, margins and sales revenue, alongside whether products were essential or discretionary. The first report will use data from before the rules took effect to establish a baseline. That will give buyers and suppliers a starting point for comparing how prices, costs and margins move under the new rules.

Editor’s note: This report draws on the ACCC’s 13 November 2026 announcement and its guidance on supermarket pricing. The examples of cost and promotion changes explain what buyers can look for; they are not findings about either retailer.