One of Australia’s largest fresh vegetable suppliers has admitted to cartel conduct. The ACCC announced on Monday 26 October that Perfection Fresh Australia had admitted fixing the prices of broccoli, cauliflower and iceberg lettuce supplied to ALDI in New South Wales on 11 occasions between 2019 and 2020.

The proposed outcome

Perfection Fresh and the ACCC will jointly ask the Federal Court to order a $12 million penalty and to require the company to continue running a competition law compliance program. The Court will decide at a later date whether the proposed penalty and orders are appropriate.

The proposed penalty covers nine contraventions and one attempted contravention rather than all 11 admitted occasions, because one falls outside the period in which a penalty can apply. The maximum penalties available depend on when the conduct occurred, and changed in November 2022 and March 2026.

“Cartel conduct undermines competition and can increase prices, harming consumers and raising the cost of doing business,” ACCC Commissioner Luke Woodward said. “Enforcing cartel laws and protecting competition in the supply of fresh food are ongoing priorities for the ACCC.”

The company’s response

Perfection Fresh chief executive Nick Gill said the company accepted responsibility. “We take full responsibility for what occurred and acknowledge it should not have happened,” he said. “We have fully co-operated with the ACCC since becoming aware of the issue and have taken significant steps to strengthen our leadership, governance and compliance systems.”

According to the company, those steps include strengthening the executive team, establishing an in-house legal and compliance team, a formal competition law policy, training for all staff, a whistleblower platform and structural changes to separate its sourcing and sales functions.

The wider case

The ACCC began civil proceedings in September 2025 against Perfection Fresh, three other suppliers and three individuals, alleging price fixing in the supply of fresh vegetables to ALDI. The case against the other parties is continuing, and the allegations against them have not been proven. MLex reported that the matter is next listed for a case management hearing on 11 November. The ACCC said it would not comment further while the matter is before the Court.

Lessons for suppliers

Cartel risk is often thought of as a problem for big listed companies, but this case involves wholesale produce, a sector where competitors frequently talk to each other about supply, weather and logistics. A few practical points for businesses that deal with competitors:

  • Price conversations are the danger zone. Discussing or agreeing the prices you will quote a common customer is classic cartel territory, however informal the conversation.
  • Separate sourcing from selling. Perfection Fresh’s own remediation points to the risk where staff who buy from or co-ordinate with competitors also set customer prices.
  • Penalties have risen. The maximums changed in 2022 and again in 2026, so the same conduct today carries far greater exposure than it did in 2019.
  • Co-operation counts. Early admissions and an agreed penalty can shorten litigation, but the Court still has the final say.

Sources: ACCC announcement as reported by Convenience & Impulse Retailing (27 October 2026); MLex (26 October 2026); Australian Competition Law (26 October 2026).

This article is general information only and is not legal advice. Readers should seek advice specific to their circumstances.