Card Payment Surcharges Banned in Australia from 2026

[HMcM]

I don't drink coffee so couldn't care less but you shouldn't go and use such places in other countries then where the cost is the same regardless of the day.

It's a hypothetical situation, I don't drink coffee either. But if you want to have weekend penalty rate to stay then socialising the cost over the whole week does make the Tuesday coffee drinker pay for part of the Sunday coffee drinker's coffee. As for other countries most have nowhere near the penalty rate structure that we do. Where are you talking about that has to pay massive weekend penalty rates but doesn't surcharge?

You are still confusing a surcharge with the cost of doing business. Penalty rates are known in advance, before a business even commences operation, so they don't need to appear as a surcharge. They should be baked into the business model from day one. In such places, you would have no idea whether your Tuesday coffee is subsidising your Sunday coffee.

I mean this is just where we disagree, I would know because I understand how penalty rates work. Hiding the cost by socialising it doesn't make the cost go away, it just forces cheaper customers to pay more for the benefit of more expensive customers. I don't think that's a moral thing to do. But tell me, if the Tuesday customer can afford to and is willing to pay more to subsidise the Sunday customer, why does the business not simply charge them more in the first place and pocket the profit? Better yet charge the Tuesday customer more and then close on a weekend to avoid paying penalty rates.

 

[Pushka]

South Australia has quite significant and wide covering penalty rates. Consequently many small or family businesses close on those days or operate under restricted hours.

 

[serfty]

In relation to the surcharge changes (being the topic of this thread) the RBA has stated the following:

They [changes] do not apply to weekend surcharges, public holiday surcharges, or booking fees or service fees.

In addition. the ACCC states the following:

Although this [Weekend and public holiday} surcharge is unavoidable, they don't need to include this charge in the total price displayed for their products, as an exemption under the law applies to them.

However, if they charge such a surcharge, they must include these words on the menu:
A surcharge of [percentage] applies on [day or days].
These words must be at least as prominent as the most prominent price on the menu.

If a business decides to roll up all surcharges into a single advertised price and charge the same every day of the week, it is up to them. Market forces will kick in.

For example if there are two competing stores with one store (A) having surcharge free prices on a Wednesday but adding surcharges on a Sunday and the other store (B) having the same flat rate every day¶, the day of the week may determine which store customers might buy from.

Frequently Asked Questions – Removal of Card Payment Surcharges From 1 October 2026

Frequently asked questions about Card Payments Regulation

www.rba.gov.au

Price displays

Businesses must display clear and accurate prices, and must not mislead consumers about their prices. There are specific laws about how businesses must display their prices.

www.accc.gov.au

¶which is more than the prices of store (A) on a Wednesday but less than store (A)'s nett cost on a Sunday.

 

[Saab34]

How are the airlines recouping the loss? I see Jetstar has increased seat fees and now has higher fees for aisle seats.

 

[Mr_Orange]

In relation to the surcharge changes the RBA has stated the following:

They do not apply to weekend surcharges, public holiday surcharges, or booking fees or service fees.

Urghhh, so let's sit back and watch the explosion of service fees!!!

 

[serfty]

Urghhh, so let's sit back and watch the explosion of service fees!!!

That may happen but cannot relate to the amount being paid or the payment method. The ACCC is stating that any such fee must be clearly advertised.

Other surcharges or fees​

Businesses are generally able to set their own prices, including charging surcharges or fees. However, businesses must not mislead consumers about what they’ll be charged or why.

Consumers should be made aware of any surcharges or fees that may apply before they decide to order or purchase goods or services. Businesses should display any surcharges or fees in a prominent way so that consumers can easily and clearly see whether there are any additional costs that may apply before making a decision.

The remove of card payment surcharges is more about those extra costs which were being added to a purchase transaction, say, on a paywave.

 

[MooTime]

Urghhh, so let's sit back and watch the explosion of service fees!!!

Absolutely I mean the shop cafe store are providing a service so why not have a charge for it now that the credit card surcharge is gonski.

 

[flydoc2]

.The RBA basically expected high increases at barista type places due to the relatively small payments being made.

Post in thread 'Card Payment Surcharges Banned in Australia from 2026'

Oct 1, 2026

0.1% but that was from the RBA that also said these changes would people money, so I expect more then 0.1%

Surcharge ban won’t end scrutiny on payment costs, RBA warns

Labor MP Jerome Laxale says focus will now shift to payments costs for business, issuing a warning to payment service providers and digital wallets.

www.afr.com

Higher interest rates, is great for me though

You are perfectly right to expect individual price changes higher than 0.1% at the cash register. The 0.1% figure is a macroeconomic calculation by the RBA based on the total net impact across the entire economy.

Menu and shelf item adjustments will be larger at the individual level; when a...

• serfty

The Federal Assistant Technology minister begs to differ:

Mr Charlton today rejected concerns that ending surcharges would force businesses to lift prices, saying payment processing costs had fallen.

"That reduction means that card payments are cheaper for businesses to process, so there's no reason as a result of this reform that consumers should be paying more when they tap their card for a coffee," he said

As did the PM last week, apparently:

Last week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Attorney-General Michelle Rowland posted videos to social media celebrating the change, which Mr Albanese said would save Australians money "every time you tap”
(my bolding)

Government under pressure to intervene over ATO credit card ban

The federal government is facing growing pressure over the Australian Taxation Office's decision to stop accepting credit card payments for tax bills.

www.abc.net.au

Awkward.

 

[drron]

Weekend and Public Holiday have been in force for 79 years and are in awards and enforced by the Fair Work commission. The ACCC itself has said surcharges for those days are not illegal.
They have nothing to do with the change in CC fees.
I really wonder if some of those quoting my posts saying they are a cost of business and should be covered by the charge on the menu have ever eaten out on weekends and public holidays. Try as I may I can't remember a small hospitality business not charging a surcharge for the penalty rates.

 

[SYD]

Weekend and Public Holiday have been in force for 79 years and are in awards and enforced by the Fair Work commission. The ACCC itself has said surcharges for those days are not illegal.
They have nothing to do with the change in CC fees.
I really wonder if some of those quoting my posts saying they are a cost of business and should be covered by the charge on the menu have ever eaten out on weekends and public holidays. Try as I may I can't remember a small hospitality business not charging a surcharge for the penalty rates.

Yes, nothing to do with CC fees.

For many years, a lot of places just didn’t open on Sundays (or Public Holidays) but peeps started to expect it. Many places absorbed the costs, most these days pass on the extra costs rather than getting everyone on Mon to Fri to subsidise weekend trade.

We often find ourselves in MEL over the Easter w/e. That becomes an expensive trip eating out several times a day for 4 or 5 days!

 

[esseeeayeenn]

They're the cost of doing business under certain circumstances. Personally I think that weekend penalty rates and especially Sunday penalty rates need to be abolished outright. The Sunday penalty rate is a holdover of a much more observing Christian country that we no longer are. As a Mon-Fri worker there would be plenty of times I'd prefer to have a weekday off.

When it comes to it being the "cost of doing business" if that's the case then why shouldn't the specific extra costs fall upon those who cause the business to incur them instead of being socialised. If I get a coffee on a Tuesday morning then the cafe is incurring x staffing cost, on a Sunday they are incurring a 2x staffing cost. Why should I pay more for my coffee on a Tuesday so that you can get a coffee cheaper on a Sunday?

The crux of the surcharges is to pass on extra costs to those who incur them. You don't pay a card surcharge if you pay in cash, you don't pay a weekend surcharge if you shop when their staffing costs are lower.

Depends when their last increase to costs was though. Inflation's 4%, their staffing costs have gone up, their payment fees cannot be past on, their cost of materials has gone up considerably. I don't like paying more but you get to 10% pretty quickly. Years ago I worked for a food manufacturer and within the space of a year the tins that we packaged food into went up ~30%, just that made a notable increase in the cost of all of our goods.

Weekend penalty rates recognise that our society continues to be organised around a 5 day working week with 2 days off for most of the workforce.
Although many more people now work on weekends, children still go to school Monday to Friday.
For this and many other reasons, the distinction is still relevant, even if, like me, you're an atheist.
Weekend penalty rates recognise that people who work weekends give up some of the benefit of the weekend.
Including the capacity to spend time with their children or other family whose lives remain organised around the weekend.
With respect, your reference to religion is conflating two different things.
The historical reasons why a social convention evolved the way it did, and the current reasons why it persists.

Weekend and Public Holiday have been in force for 79 years and are in awards and enforced by the Fair Work commission. The ACCC itself has said surcharges for those days are not illegal.
They have nothing to do with the change in CC fees.
I really wonder if some of those quoting my posts saying they are a cost of business and should be covered by the charge on the menu have ever eaten out on weekends and public holidays. Try as I may I can't remember a small hospitality business not charging a surcharge for the penalty rates.

I have ever eaten in a restaurant which imposed a surcharge on Saturday nights.

 

[HMcM]

Weekend penalty rates recognise that our society continues to be organised around a 5 day working week with 2 days off for most of the workforce.

That is the standard work week for sure. Different places have different work weeks, different cultures also have different work weeks.

Although many more people now work on weekends, children still go to school Monday to Friday.
For this and many other reasons, the distinction is still relevant, even if, like me, you're an atheist.
Weekend penalty rates recognise that people who work weekends give up some of the benefit of the weekend.

Children is just about the only thing that having a weekend off becomes an objective benefit for. But many of these industries (retail / hospo) were predominately staffed by younger, childless people. I much prefer when I have a day off on a weekday. I can be far more productive, everything is open, I can go to the bank, it's easier and quicker to get served at a lot of places. Having the hospo weekend comes with downsides but one cannot ignore the upsides as well.

Including the capacity to spend time with their children or other family whose lives remain organised around the weekend.
With respect, your reference to religion is conflating two different things.
The historical reasons why a social convention evolved the way it did, and the current reasons why it persists.

I don't believe it is, the only reason that there is a higher penalty rate on Sunday to Saturday is a Christian one. There's no secular higher importance to Sunday to Saturday. In fact I'd argue I see a lot more people out and about with their family and friends on a Saturday then Sunday. If we were a Jewish nation it would Saturday, if we were Islamic it would likely be Friday. If it's simply penalty for the sake of the weekend then it would pay the same Saturday and Sunday.

 

[Mr_Orange]

They have nothing to do with the change in CC fees.

Agreed, and I haven't intended to imply that they are.

Try as I may I can't remember a small hospitality business not charging a surcharge for the penalty rates.

I have certainly witnessed more and more businesses adding weekend surcharges over the time period that I have lived in Australia. I would even go so far as to say there were none (at the establishments that I visited) when I moved here.