Petition: Price gouging during a crisis should be illegal

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Sign the petition to make price gouging during a crisis illegal

Add your name to call on state and federal governments to make price gouging illegal to ensure fair prices on essentials for everyone.

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Fair prices on essentials for everyone

Price gouging on essential items in a crisis should be illegal.

Through bushfires, floods and now a pandemic we’ve seen prices for necessary items like health products go through the roof – just when people need them most.

When we’re at our most vulnerable, we should be able to trust that the prices for essential goods, such as food and household items, remain reasonable and we’re not going to be exploited.

As the COVID-19 crisis continues, we need a law that ensures fair prices on essentials for everyone.

Join the campaign to make price gouging during a crisis illegal

What's the problem?

Right now, there are no clear laws across states and territories to stop price gouging in a crisis – and this needs to change.

Recently we’ve seen examples of items like hand sanitiser, toilet paper and cleaning products at huge markups that put these items out of the reach of everyday people.

During a crisis, our health and safety is critical. But when businesses and individual sellers excessively increase the price of essential items, this puts everyone at risk.

A crisis is not a time for profiteers to take advantage of the community.

These are some of the worst examples we've seen since the outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus:

You don't kick a community when it's down

Price gouging on essential items during a crisis should be against the law – but so far it's not. Read more about our investigation into COVID-19 price gouging.

How we change the law

To make this change, we need to show a groundswell of community support and send a powerful message that a crisis is not an opportunity for businesses to make a profit.

Here's what CHOICE will do next: