Saturday, November 2, 2024

The grocery code of conduct overhaul could mean good things for suppliers. What about Aussies at the check-out?

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Consumers might not feel the effects of a mandatory grocery conduct overhaul, as a peak consumer policy body says it will watch to ensure supermarkets don’t pass on any flow-on costs to Australians.

The federal government announced on Monday that it would impose new obligations on supermarket chains to treat their suppliers fairly, enforced by hefty fines.

The soon-to-be-mandatory code will police unreasonable demands or threats by supermarkets on suppliers and will apply to companies with an annual revenue of $5 billion.

That includes Woolworths, Coles, Aldi and Metcash.

It was the main recommendation of a review conducted by former Labor minister Craig Emerson.

The government will adopt all of Dr Emerson’s recommendations, including fines of up to $10 million or 10 per cent of annual turnover, for supermarkets that don’t comply with the new code.

“I had to look at whether the voluntary code was doing its job — it wasn’t, it had no penalties and there were no disputes raised after 2021,” Dr Emerson said.

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