When more than one price is displayed
Sometimes businesses display different prices for the same item. If this happens, even by mistake, the business must either:
- sell the product for the lowest displayed or advertised price, or
- stop selling the item until the incorrect price is corrected.
This does not apply when:
- there are different prices for different regions
- one price is hidden by another price. For example, one price sticker covers another
- unit price is displayed
- one of these prices is the minimum total cost including all unavoidable fees
- a price is displayed in an overseas currency.
When the price at checkout does not match the displayed price
Sometimes the price of an item in store or online at the checkout may not match the displayed or advertised price in store or online. If this happens, even by mistake, the business must either:
- sell the product for the lowest price - either the checkout price, or displayed or advertised price, or
- stop selling the item until the incorrect price is corrected.
Display of total price
Minimum total cost
Businesses must display the total price of a product or service as a single figure. This price must be the minimum total cost – the lowest amount a customer could pay, including any taxes, duties and unavoidable or pre-selected extra fees. This includes any surcharges or other fees which may apply every day of the week.
For more information, see Display of surcharges.
Example
The total price of an advertised holiday must include GST and airport taxes.
Optional extras that are pre-selected
Optional extras must be included in the total price, if the business pre-selects these options for customers. ‘Pre-selected’ means the business will include these options – and charge for them – unless the customer removes them.
Example
Seat selection for a plane flight is pre-selected by the business and will be charged, unless the customer opts to turn it off. Carbon offsets is not selected by the business and will not be charged unless the customer selects this option. The total price for the flight must include the cost of seat selection as this is pre-selected by the business. It doesn't need to include the cost of carbon offsets.
Optional extras that aren't pre-selected
The total price does not need to include optional charges that have not been pre-selected.
Example
If a business charges delivery fees, but consumers can also choose the option to click and collect for free, the business does not need to include the delivery charges in the prices displayed for its products.
Extra charges that can't be quantified
The total price does not need to include extra charges that can't be quantified (converted into a dollar amount) at the time of stating the price of a product or service.
Example
Holiday serviced apartments provider advertises its rooms as ‘from $117 per night’. The business also charges a $7 per person cleaning fee. Until someone makes a booking, the business doesn’t know how many people will be staying under that booking. As such, the business is unable to calculate the per night charge inclusive of the cleaning fee when making general advertisements of the apartments’ prices.
However, given at least one person would be staying under any booking, the business should include one $7 cleaning fee in the advertised price. As soon as the business becomes aware of how many people are staying under a booking, the business must inform the customer during the booking process of the full total price. The full cleaning fee will be able to be calculated at that point.
Prominence of prices
If a business also displays a price for just one part of a product or service, the total price must be at least as prominent as the partial price.
A prominent single total price is one that is clear and stands out so that it is easily noticed by a consumer.
Example
A business can advertise the cost of a 2-year contract as a per month fee, as long as it advertises just as prominently the total cost of the contract over the 2 years.
Example
A business can display the price of its services without including the cost of the mandatory booking fee it also charges, but only if it also displays the prices inclusive of the mandatory booking fee. The prices inclusive of the booking fee must be displayed just as prominently as the display of the prices without the booking fee included.
Displaying prices to other businesses only
If a business is displaying prices only to other businesses, it doesn’t need to include GST in the total price.
Display of unit prices
Some businesses that sell groceries must show a unit price alongside the total selling price for certain products. Unit pricing helps consumers compare prices and find the best value for money.
For more information, see Unit prices for groceries.
Display of surcharges
Card payment surcharges
In general, businesses can currently charge a surcharge for paying with a credit, debit or prepaid card, but the surcharge must not be more than what it costs the business to use that payment type. There are rules around what businesses can include in calculating these costs.
If there is no way for a consumer to pay without paying a surcharge, the business must include the minimum surcharge payable in the displayed price for its products or services.
Whether or not there is a way for a consumer to pay without paying a surcharge, businesses should clearly and prominently display any payment surcharges so that consumers are aware of the additional costs for each payment type before booking, ordering or paying.
For more information and examples, see Card surcharges.
Changes to surcharging rules
On 31 March 2026, the Reserve Bank of Australia announced upcoming changes to card payment surcharging rules in Australia.
From 1 October 2026, the Visa, Mastercard and eftpos card networks can introduce ‘no surcharge’ rules for businesses that accept payments made with prepaid, debit and credit cards from each network. When they introduce 'no surcharge' rules, this means businesses cannot charge customers a surcharge for these payment types.
The Visa, Mastercard and eftpos card networks have each decided to introduce these ‘no surcharge’ rules from 1 October 2026. For more information, see the .
Any ‘no surcharge’ rules will be set by each card network’s scheme rules and merchant contracts. The card networks or payment service providers will be responsible for enforcing these rules, not the ÌÇÐÄÔ´´.
Learn more from the .
Businesses must continue to follow the current card payment surcharging laws until these changes take effect.
Changes would only apply to card payment surcharges. They will not apply to hospitality sector weekend or public holiday surcharges or other types of fees, for example booking fees.
Weekend and public holiday surcharges
Some restaurants and cafes charge a surcharge on certain days – usually weekends or public holidays.
Although this surcharge is unavoidable, they don't need to include this charge in the total price displayed for their products, as an exemption under the law applies to them.
However, if they charge such a surcharge, they must include these words on the menu:
A surcharge of [percentage] applies on [day or days].
These words must be at least as prominent as the most prominent price on the menu.
Consumers should be made aware of any weekend and public holiday surcharges that may apply before they decide to order or purchase products from restaurants and cafes. If the menu does not list prices, information about these surcharges must be displayed in some other prominent way.
Other surcharges or fees
Businesses are generally able to set their own prices, including charging surcharges or fees. However, businesses must not mislead consumers about what they’ll be charged or why.
Consumers should be made aware of any surcharges or fees that may apply before they decide to order or purchase goods or services. Businesses should display any surcharges or fees in a prominent way so that consumers can easily and clearly see whether there are any additional costs that may apply before making a decision.
For more information, see Display of total price.
Example
A restaurant charges a 10% surcharge on Sundays, 15% on public holidays and a 5% surcharge Monday to Saturday on top of the prices displayed on its menu. There is no day a consumer can purchase an item at the price that is displayed on the menu, as a minimum of a 5% surcharge applies every day.
In this scenario, the business must include a 5% surcharge in the total price of its items as a single figure. Since a 5% surcharge applies every day of the week, it is now part of the minimum total cost of the restaurant's items.
The additional surcharge the business charges on Sundays and on public holidays must be disclosed by including the words on the menu as stated above.
Display of payment method discounts
Businesses can offer discounts to consumers who pay using a particular payment method, such as cash or PayID.
Payment method discounts should be clearly disclosed before consumers choose to book, order or pay. Businesses should clearly explain which payment methods qualify for the discount and the discount amount.
The price of any item that is displayed to consumers must be the full price the consumer will pay if they do not receive the payment method discount. Businesses may also display the discounted price, but if they do, they must display it alongside the full price.
Businesses should not:
- make the discounted price more prominent than the full price
- display only the discounted price.
Example
A café offers a 5% discount to customers who pay with cash. The menu can display both the full undiscounted price and the discounted cash price for each item.
The cash discount is clearly labelled, and the full prices are displayed just as prominently as the discounted prices.
Coffee:
- Price: $5.00
- With 5% cash discount: $4.75
Iced coffee:
- Price: $6.00
- With 5% cash discount: $5.70
Example
An online clothing retailer offers a 10% discount to customers who pay using PayID. A banner at the top of its website states:
‘A 10% discount is available for all purchases made with PayID’.
Products are displayed at the full undiscounted price throughout the website. At checkout, customers can choose from several payment methods. The PayID option is labelled ‘PayID – 10% discount’. When a customer selects PayID, the total price updates to show the discounted total before the customer completes payment.
