Mackay Chapman January ACCC Update
In this month’s ACCC update:
- ACCC takes HelloFresh and Youfoodz to court over ‘subscription traps’
- Tightened oversight of APRA’s music licensing power
- Bupa fined $35m for rejecting claims consumers were entitled to
- City Beach fined $14m for selling unsafe button battery products
- WiseTech forced to divest logistics software unit after ACCC merger probe
Read on for the full scope.
ACCC takes HelloFresh and Youfoodz to court over ‘subscription traps’
The ACCC has launched proceedings against HelloFresh and Youfoodz, alleging the meal-kit providers steered tens of thousands of Australians into subscriptions they thought they’d cancelled (or didn’t realise they’d signed up for in the first place).
According to the ACCC, both brands told new customers they could cancel online before their first delivery cut-off – in reality, customers who hit cancel still received their box (and bill), unless they tracked down a customer service agent by phone.
The regulator says the confusion wasn’t accidental.
Customers could sign up with a tap, but unwinding the subscription required persistence, multiple follow-ups, and in some cases financial hardship.
Between the two companies, over 100,000 people were charged for meals they tried to decline.
HelloFresh also allegedly required consumers to hand over payment details just to view menus, and quietly rolled many into ongoing subscriptions the moment they clicked through.
Some customers only discovered they were signed up when dinner turned up at their door or via PayPal alerts.
As Commissioner Luke Woodward put it: if signing up takes 30 seconds, cancelling shouldn’t take detective work.
Tightened oversight of APRA’s music licensing power
The ACCC has released a draft decision proposing to renew the authorisation that allows the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA, not to be confused with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority) to continue managing public performance rights for songwriters and publishers in Australia.
APRA has acted as a near-monopoly collector and distributor of music royalties for decades. The ACCC agrees that collective licensing still delivers efficiencies and ensures artists get paid, but is proposing stronger conditions to curb the risks that come with that market power.
The ACCC wants:
- Clearer transparency in how APRA sets licence fees for businesses
- More visibility on how royalties are distributed to artists
- Recurring reviews of licensing schemes and distribution rules
- A strengthened and more accessible dispute resolution process for members and licensees
- Consultation requirements before major changes are adopted
The ACCC notes that bars, cafés, retailers, broadcasters and other businesses that play music largely have no genuine alternative to APRA licensing today, putting an obligation on APRA to demonstrate fairness and accountability.
The regulator also acknowledges the landscape is shifting as digital platforms like YouTube and Spotify dominate music delivery, opening the door for possible future competition to APRA’s model.
The draft decision is open for submissions until 16 February 2026. The ACCC will finalise its position after considering feedback.
Bupa fined $35m for rejecting claims consumers were entitled to
The Federal Court has ordered Bupa to pay $35 million after finding the insurer engaged in unconscionable conduct and made misleading representations about members’ entitlement to benefits.
Between 2018 and 2023, Bupa told thousands of members (as well as hospitals and medical providers) that certain claims were not covered, when eligible portions of those claims should have been paid under the member’s policy.
This mostly occurred where patients had more than one treatment item on the bill. If even one component wasn’t covered, Bupa rejected the entire claim rather than paying the insured portion.
The court found this was incorrect and, for a period between 2020 and early 2021, crossed into unconscionable conduct.
Bupa has admitted its conduct, cooperated with the investigation and is already running a remediation program. To date, more than $14 million has been returned in relation to 4,100 affected claims, with more compensation still to come.
As well as penalties, Bupa faces a five-year injunction preventing repeat conduct.
The case is a clear reminder for insurers: claims assessment needs to be right the first time.
City Beach fined $14m for selling unsafe button battery products
Retailer City Beach has been hit with $14 million in penalties after the Federal Court found it supplied tens of thousands of products that did not meet Australia’s mandatory button battery safety standards.
Between June 2022 and October 2024, City Beach sold more than 54,000 products with battery compartments that were not child-safe, and more than 56,000 items without the required safety warnings.
The products included toys, keyrings, digital novelty items and light-up accessories, many of which were squarely marketed at children.
The Court described City Beach’s failure to comply with the standards as pervasive and condemnable, noting that the retailer exposed more than 50,000 children to the risk of life-threatening injury.
Button batteries can cause catastrophic internal burns if swallowed, and have already been linked to multiple child deaths in Australia.
Consumers can check if affected items are subject to recall via the Product Safety Australia website or by contacting City Beach directly.
WiseTech forced to divest logistics software unit after ACCC merger probe
The ACCC has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking requiring ASX-listed WiseTech Global to sell logistics software provider Expedient, resolving competition concerns arising from WiseTech’s 2025 takeover of US software group e2open.
Expedient was swept up in the broader e2open deal and became part of WiseTech’s portfolio in August 2025.
The ACCC says WiseTech went ahead with completion despite being told the regulator had serious concerns, and before the ACCC’s review was finished.
WiseTech’s CargoWise platform already dominates the logistics software market in Australia. By absorbing Expedient, the ACCC found WiseTech effectively removed one of its closest competitors, materially reducing customer choice and potentially paving the way for higher prices and lower service levels.
To unwind that outcome, WiseTech and its BluJay subsidiary must sell Expedient to a buyer approved by the ACCC (one capable of operating the business independently and as a real competitive constraint).
The announcement is a significant signal of how the strengthened merger control framework will operate, particularly for dominant companies making serial acquisitions in concentrated markets such as tech and logistics.
The contents of this article and any linked articles do not constitute legal advice, are not intended to be a substitute for legal advice, and should not be relied upon as such. They are designed and intended as general information in summary form, current at publication, for general informational purposes only. You should seek legal or other professional advice concerning any particular legal matters you or your organisation may have.
