ACCC Chair warns retailers against rapid antigen test price gouging

By DANIEL LO SURDO

The Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Corporation (ACCC) Rod Sims has sent a warning to businesses selling COVID-19 rapid antigen tests at excessive prices, saying that any retailers engaging in “cartel conduct” or misleading consumers could be “named and shamed” or face legal action.

Mr Sims said that eBay and Kogan were marketplaces where the consumer watchdog has seen the most excessive pricing, while adding that they have not yet seen evidence of widespread price gouging.

“We’re gathering the information as fast as we can, it’s really important in these circumstances to get a base of facts,” Mr Sims said. “If we find excessive pricing there, at this time, we’ll take whatever action we can and we judge appropriate.”

Anecdotal evidence of price gouging has been rife during the last fortnight, as queues for PCR testing and changed state border crossing requirements have forced the rapid antigen tests to the forefront of the nation’s fight against the virus.

While Prime Minister Scott Morrison said yesterday that making rapid antigen tests free to the entire population would “undercut” the private market, Mr Sims has implored Australians to report any price gouging to assist in the investigation.

“I’d urge anybody who sees excessive pricing to get onto our website and let us know – you are our eyes and our ears, clearly if we get a number of reports about excessive pricing from particular outlets, that’s when we can get involved and take whatever we judge to be the appropriate action.

“We’ve had over 100 reports so far, but I would expect we would get a lot more given all the interest in this topic. We’re on the case, we are going to be monitoring this very closely, and we’re very aware of all the concerns around the pricing of rapid antigen tests.”

While the ACCC is in the early stages of its investigation, they have acknowledged the importance of immediate action on rapid antigen tests, given the importance of access throughout Australia.

RAT Run

Presently, only people who fall under the new close contact definition – those who have spent four or more hours with a confirmed case in a household or household-like setting – are able to access a free rapid antigen test, with the federal government funding half of the costs of tests purchased by the states.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said last week that the state has ordered 50 million total tests, while the Victorian government’s 34 million tests will be arriving in batches throughout January, as COVID-19 cases continue to skyrocket throughout the country.