Drip Pricing Rules 2027: Your Website Checklist
Australia's new drip pricing and dark patterns rules start 1 July 2027. A screen-by-screen checklist for online stores and subscription websites.
Drip pricing can already breach Australian consumer law, and from 1 July 2027 the rules get explicit. From that date, a mandatory transaction-based charge must be shown with the price every time the price appears, manipulative "dark pattern" design is banned, and online subscriptions must be cancellable online. Parliament passed the Unfair Trading Practices Act in July 2026, and penalties for companies reach $100 million or more.
If you sell to the public online, take bookings with fees, or run subscriptions or free trials, it's worth checking your website. Most are small: moving a fee, unticking a box, adding a cancel button. This guide covers what the law says and gives you a checklist to work through, screen by screen.
What is drip pricing?
Drip pricing is showing a low headline price, then adding compulsory fees as the customer moves through checkout: a booking fee on the payment page, a "service fee" in the cart, a delivery charge that can't be avoided. By the time the real total appears, the customer has already invested time and is less likely to walk away.
Drip pricing isn't new to the law. It can already breach the Australian Consumer Law's misleading conduct and component pricing rules, and the ACCC has acted on it before. DLA Piper describes the 2026 Act as bringing "expanded drip pricing protections".
What changes on 1 July 2027
The Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Act 2026 adds three things to the Australian Consumer Law from 1 July 2027:
- A general ban on unfair trading practices (section 28B). As Macpherson Kelley summarised it in July 2026, a business breaks the rule if its conduct "manipulates consumers or unreasonably distorts the environment in which they make decisions" and causes, or is likely to cause, detriment to them.
- Drip pricing rules (section 48A). Where a price has a mandatory transaction-based charge, information about that charge must be shown whenever the base price is shown, "prominent, legible and unambiguous", and close to the price.
- Subscription rules. Cancelling can involve only the steps reasonably necessary, and a subscription sold online must be cancellable online. Regulations can also require set information at key points such as trials and renewals, but as DLA Piper noted in July 2026, none had been made yet.
The general ban and the drip pricing rules protect consumers buying goods or services for personal, domestic or household use. The subscription rules go further and also protect many small business customers.
Are dark patterns illegal in Australia?
From 1 July 2027, yes, when they manipulate people into decisions that harm them. Dark patterns are design tricks that push people toward a choice they wouldn't otherwise make. According to Allens' February 2026 summary, Treasury's examples for the draft law included "using confusing menus with pre-selected checkboxes, omitting or obfuscating key information, and the 'unnecessary' display of countdown timers or low stock notifications".
Note the word "unnecessary". The examples point at timers and stock warnings that aren't true: a timer that resets every time the page loads, or an "only 2 left" banner that's always there. Some of these can already be misleading under the current law.
The website checklist
We built this from the Act's three parts, mapped onto the screens of a typical online store or subscription site. It's our reading of where each rule bites, not a legal test. Go through it on your phone as well as your computer, because fees and fine print often hide differently on small screens.
| Where | Check | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Product and listing pages | Every mandatory fee (booking, service, card or platform fee) is shown next to the price, not just at checkout | Drip pricing |
| Ads, emails and social posts | The rule applies whenever the base price is shown, so show mandatory fees with advertised prices too | Drip pricing |
| Cart | Nothing is added by default: no pre-ticked insurance, donations, extended warranties or upgrades | General ban |
| Checkout | Countdown timers and stock warnings are real and accurate, or removed | General ban |
| Opt-out buttons | "No thanks" is worded neutrally, with no guilt-tripping ("No, I don't like saving money") | General ban |
| Free trial sign-up | The end date and the price after the trial are clear before people sign up | Subscriptions |
| Reminder emails | Customers are told before a trial converts and before each renewal (good practice now; regulations may require it) | Subscriptions |
| Account page | There's an online cancel button, and cancelling takes no more steps than it needs | Subscriptions |
| Cancel flow | Only the steps reasonably necessary: watch for forced phone calls, chat bots or repeated "are you sure?" screens | Subscriptions |
If you use Shopify, WooCommerce or a booking platform, check its settings for fees that are added at checkout, and whether they only appear on the last step.
What are the penalties for unfair trading practices?
Breaking the new rules brings the same maximum penalties as other serious Australian Consumer Law breaches. Since March 2026 that has been the greatest of $100 million, three times the benefit gained, or 30% of adjusted turnover for a company, per breach. For individuals the maximum is $2.5 million, according to Boettcher Law's guide to the reforms. The ACCC can also issue infringement notices without going to court.
When should you start?
Now, if you run subscriptions or take bookings with fees. Changing checkout often means theme edits, testing and sometimes a plugin or platform change, which takes longer than people expect. Fix the cheap things first (untick boxes, show fees on product pages), then the cancel flow.
The same review is a good time to check two other changes: the Digital Duty of Care Bill if your site has reviews, comments or a chatbot, and the December 2026 privacy policy rule if software makes decisions about your customers.
Want us to check your checkout?
Our checkout and subscription audit tests your buying and cancelling journeys against every line of this checklist for $890 ex GST, with fixes listed by priority. We build online stores too, such as UmiTochi, a WooCommerce store selling wagyu and seafood by the cut. See all our prices.
Questions people ask
Is drip pricing illegal in Australia?
Drip pricing can already breach the Australian Consumer Law. From 1 July 2027, section 48A also requires any mandatory transaction-based charge to be shown prominently near the price whenever the price is displayed.
What is drip pricing?
Drip pricing is advertising a low headline price and adding compulsory fees during checkout, so the customer only sees the real total at the end.
Are dark patterns illegal in Australia?
From 1 July 2027, dark patterns that manipulate consumers or unreasonably distort their decisions, and cause or are likely to cause them detriment, are banned under section 28B. Some are already illegal if they mislead.
Is a countdown timer on my website illegal?
Treasury's examples of unfair practices include the 'unnecessary' display of countdown timers or low-stock warnings. Fake or resetting timers are the risk; for a real deadline, check with a lawyer if unsure.
Do the subscription rules apply to my existing subscribers?
Partly. The subscription rules apply to contracts entered into from 1 July 2027, and also to older subscriptions that are renewed, extended, continued or varied after that date, according to King & Wood Mallesons.
What are the penalties for unfair trading practices?
Companies face up to the greatest of $100 million, three times the benefit, or 30% of adjusted turnover per breach. Individuals face up to $2.5 million.
This guide explains how the rules affect websites. It isn't legal advice: for your terms of sale or subscription contracts, check with a lawyer.
Sources: Parliamentary Library: Unfair Trading Practices Bill 2026 Bills Digest · Macpherson Kelley: reforms passed, 12 months to prepare · DLA Piper: Australia introduces new unfair trading practices laws · Boettcher Law: unfair trading practices and dark patterns · Allens: Treasury unveils blueprint · King & Wood Mallesons: arriving mid-2027 · Macpherson Kelley: ACCC penalties double to $100 million
Cover photo: Shopping online with bank card, by Bogdan Hoyaux / European Commission, CC BY 4.0, resized.