Three months into the price-gouging ban: what supermarket prices actually did
Packaged-grocery prices have barely moved since 1 July. Here's what did change — and what price records can and can't tell you.
Prices are correct as of 2 October 2026 and change over time — check the shop before you buy.
Since 1 July 2026 it has been illegal for Coles and Woolworths to charge prices that are significantly excessive compared with their costs. We record supermarket prices regularly, so we looked at what packaged-grocery prices did in the three months after the ban started, to 1 October 2026.
Regular prices: barely moved
Comparing each packaged product's regular shelf price in June with the four weeks to 1 October 2026 (east-coast online prices; specials and fresh produce left out):
- Woolworths: up by less than 1%
- ALDI: down by about 1%
We haven't included Coles: our Coles price history doesn't yet record the end of every special reliably, which makes a three-month comparison unreliable.
The September rises
The biggest single move we saw at Woolworths came in the first week of September, when it moved 370 packaged products to a higher regular price — 313 of them on 1 September.
- 140 went back to a price they had carried earlier in the year.
- 230 went higher than anything we had recorded for them, typically by about 7%.
Same rise, both chains
We could match 38 of those 230 new highs to the identical product at Coles (same brand, same size). For 34 of the 38, Coles was charging the same new price within three weeks of the Woolworths rise.
For example, Heinz Big'n Chunky soups (535g) went from $4.40 to $4.60 at Woolworths on 1 September, and both chains charged $4.60 when we checked coles.com.au and woolworths.com.au on 2 October 2026.
When the same product moves to the same new price at both chains, a common reason is a price rise from the supplier — but price records alone can't show why a price changed.
What this can't tell you
The law turns on whether a price is significantly excessive compared with the cost of supply plus a reasonable margin. Price records show what shoppers paid, not what anything cost the supermarket, so they can't show whether any price breaks the law. That is the ACCC's job.
What they can show is that, three months in, regular packaged-grocery prices have been steady, with one round of rises in early September.
Your best defence is still the special
Prices may not be falling, but they aren't fixed either. Coles and Woolworths often run different specials in the same week, so checking both pays.
Mai Pantry shows each product's recent price history (the last 30 days free, a full year with Mai Pantry Pro), so you can see a rise or a genuine special for yourself.
Figures are from Mai Pantry's records of east-coast online prices, June to 1 October 2026. Current prices of the named products were checked on coles.com.au and woolworths.com.au on 2 October 2026.