Dark patterns and Australian consumer law: what to fix now and before July 2027

False urgency, hidden charges and hard cancellation can already create consumer law problems. Audit what customers see and what your systems actually do. New rules on unfair trading, transaction charges and subscriptions start on 1 July 2027. The card surcharge rules that began in October 2026 apply now.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Whether a rule applies to your business needs legal review.

What applies now and what changes in 2027

Some rules apply today, and others start on 1 July 2027. Here's the status in October 2026:

The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) already covers many dark patterns. Start with two sections. Section 18 bans misleading or deceptive conduct in general. Section 29 deals with specific false or misleading representations. Bait advertising, total price and consumer guarantee rules sit alongside them.

The ACCC and state and territory consumer agencies enforce the ACL. The ACCC's 2026 to 2027 priorities include manipulative and false practices in digital markets. Subscription traps and other dark patterns are named. So are harmful cancellation practices, like automatic renewals. Priorities guide enforcement without creating new obligations.

The Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Act 2026 received assent on 6 July 2026. Its commencement table starts the whole Act on 1 July 2027. Three parts matter for websites:

• a general ban on unfair trading practices, in new section 28B

• display rules for transaction based charges, in section 48A

• subscription contract rules, in sections 48B to 48H

The new general test

Section 28B applies in trade or commerce, to supplying or offering goods or services to a consumer. Conduct breaches it when both of these are true:

• it manipulates the consumer, unreasonably distorts the setting in which they decide, or both

• it causes or is likely to cause detriment, financial or otherwise

Either manipulation or distortion alone can meet the first condition. Detriment is still needed. The ban doesn't apply where the consumer is a body corporate, like a company. It also doesn't apply where they buy in the course of a business.

The subscription rules have a different scope that can include qualifying small business subscribers. Don't treat the three parts as sharing one coverage test.

The Act lists examples, though the list isn't complete:

• impeding a consumer's legal rights or remedies

• not disclosing material information

• disclosing information in an unclear or overwhelming way

• unreasonable pressure in the decision environment, including through interface design

None of these bans a named interface pattern. An ordinary timer, account or retention offer isn't automatically unlawful. The test and the overall effect decide. This is a plain English summary, so get legal review for your own case.

In September 2026, the ACCC Chair confirmed the general prohibition applies from 1 July 2027. Don't assume how it will be enforced from day one.

A separate idea is still only a proposal. Treasury consulted on a digital competition regime from December 2024 to February 2025. It's aimed at competition in digital platform markets and isn't part of the 2027 consumer reforms. Check its status with Treasury and the Federal Register of Legislation before relying on it.

Recognise dark patterns in the customer journey

The label is a starting point for investigation.

That definition is ours, not the Act's. The label helps you spot a risk. Review the whole route a customer takes, from the first promise to aftercare:

This is a review route with no measured funnel data behind it. Pay attention to each handover, like ad to page or cancellation to billing.

The two tables below keep the fourteen common patterns. Every example is made up. The first seven work through pressure and misdirection:

The other seven hide costs or block exits:

Some extra steps have good reasons, like an identity check that protects an account. Explaining what access someone loses is useful information. Ask whether the step serves the customer's transaction. Then ask whether they can still refuse or leave without real difficulty.

A common mistake is renaming a pattern, like calling a timer a reminder. The pressure stays the same.

Display prices, fees and savings clearly

Pricing rules already apply in full. The ACCC's price display guidance says the total price must appear as a single figure. It's the lowest amount a customer could pay, including taxes, duties and unavoidable or preselected fees.

Charges you can't work out yet don't need to be in that figure. Disclose them once you can calculate them. For a fee charged per person, include one in the advertised price. The ACCC's holiday apartment example shows how. Prices shown only to other businesses don't need to include GST.

Both sides use the same made up terms. For two $80 bookings with one $8 fee per transaction, the total is $168. Adding the fee twice would overstate it at $176.

Savings claims need evidence too:

• A was price must have applied for a reasonable period right before the sale started.

• Comparing with a recommended retail price the product never sold at is misleading.

• A from price still has to include unavoidable fees.

• The guidance doesn't set a number of days for that period.

The ACCC's guidance on false or misleading claims covers two more traps. Calling something free when conditions apply is likely to mislead. So is promoting a sale price on stock you can't supply, unless you're clear it's limited. That second one is bait advertising.

From 1 July 2027, section 48A adds rules for transaction based charges. They apply when you display a base price for personal or household goods or services. Show the charge information at the same time, close to the base price. It must be legible, prominent and unambiguous, and cover:

• the amount, or how it's calculated

• that it's charged per transaction

• whether it is or may be payable

• whether the base price already includes it

Excluded charges include optional ones, payment surcharges and taxes or charges imposed on the supplier. An offer made only to a body corporate is excluded too. Not every fee counts as a transaction based charge. The current total price rule still applies alongside it.

Card surcharges since October 2026

Since 1 October 2026, businesses can't surcharge Visa, Mastercard, American Express or eftpos cards. That covers credit, debit and prepaid cards. The card networks or payment providers enforce those rules. The ACCC and state agencies still act on misleading prices.

The ACCC says relabelling a card surcharge as another fee may be misleading. You can raise overall prices to recover card costs. Just don't mislead people about why prices went up.

Discounts for some payment methods are allowed. Show the full price. Disclose the discount before people choose to pay. Weekend and public holiday surcharges are different and have their own display rules.

A common mistake is leaving an old card surcharge line in a checkout template.

Make trials, renewals and cancellation clear

Subscriptions get the most new detail in 2027. Current law already applies to trials and renewals, though. A free label doesn't replace telling people what they'll pay later. The ACCC says the law requires businesses to be upfront about the total price. Its eDreams allegations, covered below, included monthly prices for an annual plan without the 12 month total.

Keep these requests apart, because each changes billing and access differently:

• cancellation, which ends the contract from an effective date

• a pause, which stops supply and billing for a time

• a downgrade to a cheaper plan

• a refund request, which asks for money back

Both versions describe the same offer. The wording must match the real contract and what your systems do.

What counts as a subscription contract

From 1 July 2027, section 48B covers four kinds of contract:

• open ended contracts that charge automatically

• fixed period contracts that roll on unless stopped

• contracts with a free period before charges start

• contracts with a discounted period before a higher rate

Section 48C excludes some contracts, like leases, hire purchase and instalment plans. Childcare and school tuition contracts are excluded too. An exclusion from these rules doesn't remove your other consumer law duties.

The exit and notice duties cover consumer contracts and qualifying small business contracts. A small business contract must be on a standard form. The subscriber must also have fewer than 100 employees, or turnover under $10 million.

Casual staff count only if employed on a regular and systematic basis. Part timers count as a fraction. Turnover is for the last income year that ended before the contract was made. This small business coverage doesn't extend to the general ban in section 28B.

Disclosure, notices and exits

Under section 48D, say a contract is a subscription when you offer it. Then disclose:

• what the subscriber will have to pay

• how long the contract runs

• whether and how it renews

• any notice requirements

• how to end it

On a website, put that information clearly and prominently near where people agree. The Act doesn't set one screen layout.

Under section 48E, regulations decide which notices you send during the contract and when. Check whether those regulations exist before you set reminder timing. Any reminder schedule you choose before then is a business decision.

Section 48F requires every way to end the contract to be easy to find and straightforward. Each way may only need steps reasonably necessary to end the contract and protect the subscriber. At least one way must be online if the subscriber joined online. That also applies whenever you offer online signup for that kind of subscription.

Existing subscriptions on 1 July 2027

Not every existing contract changes on the same day. Under section 312, the exit and notice rules apply to contracts made from 1 July 2027. They also reach an older contract from the date it's renewed, extended, continued or varied after that.

So don't assume old contracts are exempt forever, or that they all switch over at midnight. Have your legal adviser classify real contract events, one at a time:

Check that cancellation actually works

A success message doesn't prove the subscription ended. The billing provider, fulfilment system or renewal schedule may still treat it as active. Test the whole exit:

Use approved test accounts to check the effective date, any paid access left and amounts legitimately due. Confirm no renewal stays scheduled. If something fails, give people an accessible way to fix it without adding pressure.

A common mistake is testing the cancel button but never checking the next billing run.

Design checkout, consent and refunds fairly

Put conditions where the decision is made. Fine print can't fix a misleading overall impression. Review these parts of checkout:

• paid extras and their default state

• button labels, including decline wording

• delivery costs and timing

• commitments that start later

• what the back button does

• material conditions

Clear, affirmative selection of optional extras is the safer design. That's a recommendation. It doesn't mean every preselection is already banned, though preselected paid extras must sit in the total price.

This design is an example. Optional protection doesn't replace the consumer guarantees. Neutral decline wording helps people refuse without feeling judged. Humour isn't unlawful by itself, and matching button colours aren't a legal requirement.

Choices that exist but are hard to use are a practical risk. Test important information, refusal and cancellation controls with:

• a keyboard alone

• a screen reader

• browser zoom

• a small phone screen

• plain labels and clear error recovery

A passing automated scan doesn't prove usable choices or legal compliance. For the fuller standard, see website accessibility. Our form design guide goes deeper on labels and error recovery.

Keep privacy consent separate from signup and optional marketing. Privacy reform and tracking explains collection and sharing duties. The wording itself belongs in privacy notices and website terms. European cookie rules aren't ACL rules.

Refunds need accurate wording. Change of mind returns are voluntary. If you offer a change of mind policy, you must follow it. You can't rely on a "no refunds" policy to deny the consumer guarantees. A cancelled service may not mean a full refund either, since work already done can be paid for.

Use reviews and ratings accurately

Reviews sit under three separate sets of rules, so check each one that applies:

ACCC guidance on online reviews allows disclosed incentives. They must apply whether a review is positive or negative. Reviews from family, staff or paid people can mislead, and any connection must be stated. Suppressing or editing genuine negative reviews can mislead too.

Google's review policy is stricter. It bans incentives for any review, even a neutral invitation with a discount. It also bans asking only happy customers. So for Google reviews, offer no incentive at all.

Health practitioners face a third layer. Ahpra's testimonial tool explains the ban on clinical testimonials in advertising regulated health services. A comment about friendly reception staff isn't a clinical testimonial. Editing a clinical review can also mislead. Get sector advice before you publish any.

Ratings and testimonials need context. An example "4.9 from 186 reviews" should show its platform and date too. Before you publish reviews:

• don't average platform scores without their review counts

• check each platform's rules on reusing reviews

• keep a shortened review's meaning, and keep the full original

• get permission to use names or photos

• never manufacture quotes using AI, family or staff

A curated testimonial page shouldn't suggest every customer said the same. Follow collecting reviews fairly for the full workflow.

Substantiate comparisons and other claims

A business must be able to prove any claim it advertises. That includes comparisons, rankings and local claims. Compare like with like:

• the same offer and inclusions

• the same period and location

• the same units and tax treatment

An objective "best" or "number one" claim needs evidence for the impression it creates. Vague praise, like "great service", is judged in context, so not every adjective is illegal.

Local claims need the same discipline. Check that offices and service areas are real. Claims about qualifications or response times need records too. Claim only awards, rankings and local presence you can prove. Build service pages on that evidence, as service page SEO explains.

Check each badge against the real licence or programme, including its expiry date. A staff member's qualification isn't a business wide accreditation. The JustAnswer case, covered below, shows the risk of a false affiliation.

For a client result, record:

• the source data and period

• the starting point and spend

• the service scope

• the client's permission

• the limitations

Present a single result as one result, never as typical or guaranteed. Keep a record for every commercial claim:

Accurate evidence and authorship also help readers judge your claims. See evidence and authorship for that side.

Disclose influencer and affiliate relationships

Paid, gifted and commission relationships change how people read a recommendation. ACCC social media guidance says statements must be true, accurate and provable. Businesses are responsible for posts they incentivise influencers to make. A false health claim stays false, disclosed or not.

A comparison site needs its own record of:

• which offers are included

• how rankings are worked out

• who pays, and whether commissions affect placement

Put a meaningful disclosure where readers see the recommendation. A vague line buried in terms may not correct the impression.

Agree the rules with each creator in writing:

• approval and disclosure

• permitted claims and real product experience

• corrections and how long evidence is kept

Keep AI, ads and product feeds consistent

Claims appear in more places than the page itself:

• titles, descriptions and H1s

• structured data and product feeds for shopping platforms

• emails and ads

• checkout screens

Whoever or whatever wrote the text, the claim still needs evidence. AI generated superlatives and statistics need the same checks as anything else. Use one shared offer record for price, inclusions, dates, stock basis and conditions:

Review generated text before publishing and after material changes. If a vendor adds text or badges automatically, find out how to switch them off and correct them.

Google's own rules overlap with the ACL but are separate. The Google Ads misrepresentation policy covers unclear payment models, unavailable offers and false affiliations. For Shopping listings, Google Merchant Center's misrepresentation policy requires the total price, recurring costs and the billing interval. Platform approval isn't legal clearance. A policy problem and a legal problem can also end differently.

For keeping the ad's promise on the page, see Google Ads copy. Structured data must match what the page shows. A validator checks the code but can't verify stock, genuine reviews or a lawful price claim.

Plan for failures: if a stock widget breaks or a feed disconnects, suppress the claim. Do the same when inventory goes stale or an offer expires. Don't swap in a random visitor count. Record the evidence source and how fresh it must be for your business.

Review personalisation and conversion tests

Treasury looked at dynamic pricing, where a price rises during the purchase itself. Its impact statement on unfair trading practices proposed no specific rules for it. It said the ACL likely already addresses the conduct. Review the data used, the offer and its effect on customers, including anyone in a vulnerable situation. The privacy guide linked above covers profiling and data questions.

Approve factual claims and choice design before a test goes live. Don't keep a known misleading version running as the comparison. Record each test like this:

Track customer outcomes beside sales:

• complaints about unexpected charges

• refund and chargeback (card dispute) rates

• cancellation completion

• time taken to fix errors

• customers who knowingly chose to stay

For each, define what the rate is measured against and the comparison period. More completed purchases can sit alongside more harm.

Clear design won't always lift conversion. Measure qualified demand and net outcomes, with their uncertainty. Easier cancellation is a real customer outcome, even if short term retention falls.

A common mistake is judging a test on completed purchases alone. Conversion optimisation walks through approved experiments. For enquiries that don't arrive, see our guide to website conversion problems.

Apply the checks to your industry

Each industry has its own pressure points, so start by checking whether a sector regulator adds rules:

The scenarios below are examples, each with concrete review tasks.

Ecommerce

A homewares store should check that sale prices are genuine and stock signals are live. Optional extras should start unticked, and delivery costs should show early. State statutory return rights accurately. Returns wording that calls sale items non refundable is risky, as the HSK United matter below shows. The ecommerce website checklist covers the wider build.

Trades

A plumber's site might show a callout fee beside a job price, so make the difference obvious. State after hours costs, the real service area and licence details. If a quote can change on site, say what could change it. Don't promise availability you can't meet.

Professional services

An accounting practice should check qualifications and affiliations against the actual entity. Describe the scope accurately and avoid outcome promises. Show how fees work, like fixed or hourly, before people book.

Professions don't all share one regulator. Financial products need specialist advice.

Hospitality

A restaurant should show minimum guest numbers or spend, room hire fees and deposits upfront. Dietary claims need evidence. Non card surcharges, like weekend ones, follow their own display rule. Booking platforms should show the same terms as your own site.

SaaS and memberships

A software subscription should show trial eligibility, minimum commitment and the billing interval at signup. Explain renewal plainly. Then test that cancellation stops billing. If you quote an annual plan monthly, show the annual total too.

Regulated healthcare

A physiotherapy clinic can't use clinical testimonials in its advertising.

Ahpra's advertising requirements also cover discounts and urgency. Offers must state their terms. Phrases like "don't delay" tied to unsupported health risks may be unlawful. Treatment claims need evidence. For the build side, see healthcare website design.

Learn from enforcement without overstating penalties

Three 2026 matters show today's law at work on websites. None involves the 2027 Act. Two involved infringement notices, a fixed penalty the ACCC can issue without going to court:

HSK United paid after the ACCC alleged misleading strikethrough prices and returns wording. Some products hadn't sold at the crossed out price since at least January 2025. Its policy called clearance items non refundable. Paying an infringement notice isn't an admission.

The ACCC alleged eDreams called a 15 day trial free without saying only new subscribers qualified. It also alleged eDreams showed monthly prices for an annual plan without the 12 month total. Paying the notices wasn't an admission.

eDreams also gave a court enforceable undertaking, a formal promise the ACCC can enforce in court. In it, eDreams admits the conduct contravened or likely contravened the ACL. It includes refunds or credits for eligible customers.

JustAnswer admitted telling people they could use its service for a one off $2 joining fee. They were actually signed up to subscriptions of $45 to $75 a month. It also implied an affiliation with the Fair Work Ombudsman. The court ordered refunds, a corrective notice and other orders.

How penalties work

Start with the notices. The first two amounts work out at $19,800 a notice. That's consistent with 60 penalty units at the old $330 value. Penalty units rose to $364 on 1 July 2026. Many corporate notices are now $21,840, and listed corporations face $218,400.

Court penalties go much higher. For conduct from 28 March 2026, a company's maximum is the greatest of three amounts:

• $100 million

• three times the benefit, if a court can work it out

• 30% of turnover as the Act measures it, if it can't

Individuals face up to $2.5 million, and other provisions have different maximums. Courts set actual penalties case by case.

Consumer Affairs Victoria's guide to misleading or deceptive conduct lists civil remedies such as injunctions and damages. Penalties may apply if the conduct breaches the ACL in other ways. So a confusing button doesn't mean an automatic $100 million fine. From 1 July 2027, breaching the new general ban can also attract penalties and infringement notices.

Run the audit and assign the work

Start with your main sales journey and test it like a customer. Twenty checks cover the usual problem areas, in three groups. First, claims and proof:

Second, prices and offers:

Third, subscriptions and rights:

Using synthetic details in an approved test environment, test each journey across these states:

• mobile and desktop

• first and repeat visits

• signed in and anonymous

• keyboard and zoom

• several quantities and a coupon

• out of stock and failed payment

• refusal, cancellation and a refund request

Record each finding with its evidence:

Give each role clear ownership:

• designer: information prominence and usable choices

• developer: real data, integrations, failure handling and expiry

• copywriter: accurate wording and qualifications

• agency: consistency across channels

• business owner: approving factual evidence

• legal adviser: the law and how it applies

Assigning a task doesn't move your legal responsibility. For scoping that work, see choosing a web designer. Website launch checks cover technical QA only. The website compliance checklist holds the full audit.

The claims record from earlier is the backbone, with each entry linked to its test evidence. If you find a problem, deal with the practice and its effects:

Legal advice decides what you owe affected customers. There's no blanket refund rule for every issue. Changing future copy alone may not fix past harm.

Plan the work before July 2027

Fix current problems now. The month below is a planning aid, not a grace period.

Then plan the longer run to commencement:

Map contracts and scope now. Finish technical and content work early enough to test it properly. Recheck regulations and guidance before commencement. By 1 July 2027, aim to have:

• subscription terms shown clearly near the point of agreement

• an easy online exit wherever people can join online

• transaction based charges shown beside base prices

• a contract map applying section 312 to older subscriptions

• test records showing each journey works as designed

What we recommend at Elev8d

Frequently asked questions

Next steps

Pick the step that fits where you are.

Written by Ajay K.Co-founder, Elev8d

Ajay is the co-founder of Elev8d and writes most of what you will read here. Psychology grad turned marketer, which is a fancy way of saying he cares about why people click, not just where things rank. Every guide is written in plain English for Australian businesses, tested on real campaigns before it earns a spot on this site.