Australian Consumer Law maximum penalties rise to $50 million

From 10 November 2022, ACL maximum penalties for companies rose to $50 million or more. The fixed amount has since doubled to $100 million.

10 November 20229 min read

From 10 November 2022, the maximum penalties for breaching key parts of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) rose dramatically. For a company, the fixed maximum per contravention went from $10 million to $50 million, with alternative limbs based on the benefit obtained or the company’s turnover. For individuals, the relevant ACL maximums rose from $500,000 to $2.5 million.

Most practice owners think about Ahpra and the TGA when they think about advertising risk. But the ACL applies to every business, including health practices, and its penalties now dwarf those under the National Law. If your website, ads or social posts make misleading claims about price, outcomes, reviews or “free” offers, these are the numbers that sit behind them.

Update: the fixed $50 million figure has since been doubled. Under the Treasury Laws Amendment (Doubling Penalties for ACCC Enforcement) Act 2026, the fixed amount rose to $100 million for conduct on or after 28 March 2026. The turnover and benefit-based limbs described below were not changed by that Act. We cover the 2026 change in our article on the Unfair Trading Practices Act 2026 and $100 million ACL penalties.

What changed

The changes were made by the Treasury Laws Amendment (More Competition, Better Prices) Act 2022 (Act No. 54 of 2022), passed by the Commonwealth Parliament. The Act received Royal Assent on 9 November 2022. Schedule 1, which contains the penalty increases, commenced the next day, 10 November 2022.

For corporations, the Act lifted the maximum penalty for each relevant contravention of the ACL (and for many competition law contraventions) to the greater of:

$50 million (previously $10 million);
three times the value of the benefit obtained that is reasonably attributable to the conduct, if the court can determine it; or
if the court cannot determine the benefit, 30% of the company’s adjusted turnover during the breach turnover period.

For individuals, the Act replaced the $500,000 maximum with $2,500,000 for the ACL penalty provisions it amended.

The Act also introduced two new definitions that drive the turnover limb:

Adjusted turnover is the total value of supplies the company and any related bodies corporate made, or are likely to make, during the period. It excludes supplies between related companies, input taxed supplies, supplies not for consideration, supplies not connected with the company’s enterprise, and supplies not connected with Australia’s indirect tax zone.
Breach turnover period is the longer of two periods: the 12 months ending at the end of the month in which the contravention stopped (or proceedings began, if earlier), or the period running from the start of the month in which the contravention began to that same end point.

In plain terms, the longer the conduct runs, the longer the turnover window can be.

The new maximums apply to conduct on or after 10 November 2022. Conduct before that date is dealt with under the old maximums.

The same Act also contained Schedule 2, which made unfair contract terms in standard form contracts unlawful and subject to penalties. That part started a year later, on 9 November 2023, and we cover it in our article on unfair contract terms.

Who it applies to

The ACL applies to businesses acting in trade or commerce. For health practices, that typically covers:

practices operating through a company (the corporate maximums apply);
practitioners operating as sole traders or partnerships (the individual maximums are relevant);
cosmetic clinics, dental groups, allied health providers and telehealth services that advertise to the public; and
agencies and contractors that create or publish advertising for practices.

Being a registered health practitioner does not take you outside the ACL. Ahpra regulates practitioner advertising under the National Law, and the ACCC regulates consumer law. Both can apply to the same ad.

What the rules require

The 2022 Act did not create new obligations about what you can say. It changed the consequences of getting it wrong. The underlying ACL rules stayed the same, including the general ban on misleading or deceptive conduct and the specific rules about false or misleading representations about goods and services.

Penalties are per contravention

The ACL penalty provisions set a maximum “for each act or omission“. A campaign that runs a misleading claim across many ads or for many months may involve multiple contraventions. The maximum is a ceiling set by Parliament; the court decides the actual amount.

The turnover limb scales with your business

For a small practice the $50 million figure is likely to be the highest of the three limbs. For larger groups, including those with related companies, 30% of adjusted turnover over a long breach turnover period could be larger. The point Parliament was making is that penalties should not be a cost of doing business.

Individuals face higher exposure too

Raising the individual maximum to $2.5 million matters for practitioners who trade in their own name, and for directors or managers involved in a company’s conduct.

What it means for your marketing

The ACCC’s enforcement focus is on what the ordinary consumer takes away from an ad. These are the areas where practice marketing most often runs into ACL issues.

Website

Prices. “From” prices must be genuinely available. If most patients pay more because of consult fees, imaging or theatre costs, say so clearly. If you show a “was” price, make sure it reflects a price patients were genuinely charged.
Outcomes. Claims about results, recovery times or success rates need to be accurate and supportable. Ahpra separately requires that claims about the effectiveness of a regulated health service be supported by acceptable evidence.
“Free“. A “free consultation” that is only free if the patient books a procedure is not free. State the conditions next to the claim.
Bulk billing and gap claims. If you say you bulk bill, be clear about which patients or services that applies to.

Google Business Profile and reviews

Manipulated reviews can mislead consumers. In August 2020 the Federal Court ordered HealthEngine to pay $2.9 million for misleading conduct that included not publishing around 17,000 reviews and editing around 3,000 reviews. That was under the old $10 million cap. Similar conduct after 10 November 2022 faces a much higher ceiling.

Social media and influencers

Sponsored posts that are not disclosed as advertising, or that misrepresent a person’s experience, can be misleading. The ACCC has said this applies both to influencers in trade or commerce and to the businesses using them. For registered practitioners, Ahpra’s testimonial ban adds a further layer.

Paid ads

Short ad formats are where qualifications get dropped. If a search ad says “$0 consult” or “no gap“, the conditions need to be in the ad or immediately available, not hidden three clicks deep.

Email and SMS

Limited-time offers should be genuinely limited. Repeatedly “extending” a sale that was presented as ending soon can mislead.

Printed and in-clinic material

Brochures and price lists often outlive the prices in them. Date your printed materials and pull them when prices or inclusions change.

Common mistakes we see

Treating the ACL as someone else’s problem. Practices focus on Ahpra and the TGA and forget that consumer law applies to the same content.
“From” prices that almost nobody pays. Headline prices based on the simplest possible case, without explaining what usually adds to the cost.
Before-and-after or outcome claims without context. Presenting best-case results as typical.
Old offers left live. Landing pages from past campaigns that still rank in Google with expired prices.
Agency copy that nobody at the practice checked. The practice is the advertiser, whoever wrote the words.

A practical checklist

Audit every page that mentions a price, fee, rebate, gap or “free” offer, and check the conditions are clear and next to the claim.
Check that “from” prices are available to a meaningful share of patients, and explain common extra costs.
Remove or qualify outcome claims that you cannot support with evidence.
Review how reviews are collected and displayed, and stop any filtering or editing that changes the overall impression.
Make sure any paid or gifted social content is clearly labelled as advertising.
Find and update or remove expired campaign landing pages.
Keep a simple record of who approved each piece of advertising and when.
If you operate through a company group, be aware that adjusted turnover includes related bodies corporate.
Brief your agency on ACL as well as Ahpra and TGA requirements, and ask how they check claims.

How this fits with other rules

National Law (Ahpra). The National Law has its own advertising offences. From 21 October 2022, Ahpra states the maximum advertising penalty rose to $60,000 for an individual and $120,000 for a body corporate. These are separate from, and much lower than, ACL maximums. The same misleading ad could be dealt with under either regime.

TGA. Advertising therapeutic goods is regulated under the Therapeutic Goods Act and the Advertising Code. That is a separate regime with its own penalties.

Privacy Act. A month after the ACL increases, the Privacy Act’s maximum penalty for serious interferences with privacy was lifted to a similar formula (the greatest of $50 million, three times the benefit, or 30% of adjusted turnover) from 13 December 2022.

Later changes. The fixed ACL amount doubled to $100 million from 28 March 2026, and new bans on unfair trading practices, drip pricing and subscription traps are due to start on 1 July 2027.

Frequently asked questions

Does a small practice really face a $50 million penalty?

The $50 million figure is a maximum, not a typical amount. Courts set penalties based on the circumstances. The point for practices is that the ceiling is now high enough that regulators and courts can impose penalties that matter to any business.

Did the 2022 changes create new advertising rules?

No. Schedule 1 changed the penalties, not the rules about what you can say. The rules on misleading conduct and false or misleading representations stayed the same.

Does this apply to conduct before November 2022?

The new maximums apply to conduct on or after 10 November 2022. Earlier conduct is dealt with under the maximums that applied at the time.

Is the maximum still $50 million?

No. For conduct on or after 28 March 2026, the fixed amount is $100 million. The benefit and turnover limbs still apply as alternatives.

Who enforces the ACL against health practices?

The ACCC enforces the ACL and brought the HealthEngine case, for example. For registered practitioners, Ahpra and the National Boards deal with advertising under the National Law, and the ACCC has said it works with other regulators, including Ahpra and the TGA, to decide who is best placed to act.

Need a hand?

If you want a second set of eyes on your pricing pages, offers and reviews, our AHPRA compliance audit covers consumer law risks alongside the National Law, and our compliant content service can rewrite pages so prices and conditions are clear.

This article is general guidance based on the published rules, not legal advice. Final responsibility for advertising and consumer dealings sits with your practice and, for health advertising, the registered practitioner, and complex situations may need independent legal advice.