Imagine going to the supermarket for the weekly shop and discovering there is not a single price in sight.

You have a set amount of money to spend — and a promising plan for dinner — but no idea what the goods in your shopping trolley will cost.

It is a situation playing out in smaller stores and remote communities across Australia.

There is currently no specific legal requirement for smaller stores to display prices – a loophole consumer groups say is leaving shoppers “flying blind” and struggling to budget.

Australian Consumer Law requires larger stores to display price-per-unit costs for all goods sold.

This means it is standard for supermarkets like Coles, Woolworths and Aldi to show the total price, as well as the amount you’re paying per kilogram or item.

However the laws do not apply to stores with a physical size of less than 1,000 square metres.

Authorities say they want and expect all stores to display prices, but there doesn’t appear to be legislation specific enough to enforce the requirement.

“If this was happening in an urban setting, the outrage that would come from the community would be huge and the government would be listening,” consumer advocate Lynda Edwards said.

“How are people supposed to budget for their shopping if there are no prices?”

Consumer groups are now calling for the federal government to make price displays mandatory.

‘Double standard’ leaves remote consumers most vulnerable

Shoppers in regional towns say the situation is annoying and confusing.

Valerie Cox, a pensioner living in the northern Western Australian town of Broome, says she’s visited stores in her area that have no prices at all.

“When things don’t have a price, sometimes you buy it and it’s much more than you thought it was,” she said.

“Or you have to go up and ask how much it is. All the shops should have prices on everything.”

The problem appears to be most common in remote Aboriginal communities, where community leaders say it’s contributing to financial stress.

Bettina Cooper heads the Indigenous consumer support service Mob Strong Debt Help.

“In recent trips to Arnhem Land we noticed it was mostly healthy food that didn’t have prices, which is disturbing because people are less likely to buy them,” she said.

“How can we expect people to improve their quality of life and their health and manage their money, if the stores aren’t doing things to help them?”

Ms Cooper says it highlights a double standard, where basic consumer rights are often overlooked in remote parts of the country.

“We keep talking about closing the gap, yet we don’t provide people with the same essential pricing options to be able to buy things that are healthy and affordable,” she said.

“We need to provide the same standards as we do for people in the rest of Australia.”

Mysterious case of the mop bucket

In a joint statement, the ACCC and the Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones have made clear they would like stores to display prices.

“In general, businesses should communicate the total price payable in some way prior to purchase,” the statement said.

“If a business does not communicate prices in any way prior to purchase, this may constitute misleading conduct under the Australian Consumer Law.”

However the legislation allows for businesses to communicate prices in a variety of ways, including verbally. 

And there does not appear to have been any application or enforcement of the laws when it comes to the widespread failure of stores to display visible prices.

In a recent submission to government, a coalition of consumer advocacy groups detailed an example involving an overpriced mop bucket sold in a remote community in Western Australia.

“In this instance the client purchased a mop bucket from the store for $69,” the submission stated.

“The price of the mop bucket was not displayed in the store and the client was only made aware of the price once it was scanned at the check-out.

“Online research later revealed that the bucket and mop was available for $41 at other retail stores.”

The complaint was referred to Consumer Protection WA and a regional officer discussed the matter with the store, but no action was taken.

Are new laws needed?

Consumer groups are hoping change is imminent to make pricing mandatory — the issue is up for discussion within two different governments reviews.

The federal government has announced it is bolstering the Unit Pricing Code, including a consideration of whether to “expand the scope of retailers covered by the code”.

This could result in small stores also being required to display a breakdown of the cost of each item.

The government is also developing a national strategy on remote community food supply.

The strategy, due to be finalised next year, is expected to put in place a range of guidelines to try to improve the quality, cost and reliability of grocery supplies in Aboriginal communities.

Public health experts are hoping price displays will be made mandatory.

“If prices aren’t available in stores it’s difficult for families to prepare that budget and make healthy choices, so that is one area we’d really like to see some action on,” Curtin University’s Melissa Stoneham said.

“Imagine if people in Sydney had to go to Woollies or Coles and do their shop without prices — imagine how hard it would make it for you to meet your cost of living goals.”

Ms Edwards, a Wangkumara-Barkindji woman and the capability coordinator with Financial Counselling Australia, believes there is a case and an appetite for change.

“Because these communities are very small, they do seem to be overlooked in terms of what’s fair,” she said.

“And it’s causing embarrassment and shame for people, because they’ll take things up to the cash register and realise they don’t have enough money to afford it.

“People are talking about this now, so we just need to hope there can be some changes to laws that can make it through parliament.”