Starts 1 July 2027/C2026A00064/Read from the authorised Act/Not legal advice; does not certify
Competition and Consumer CheckerThe Act, section by section
Section 48BScope or machinery

What counts as a subscription contract

A contract is a subscription contract if it meets one of four gateways and is not excluded. The gateways are indefinite supply, fixed-period supply that continues automatically, an initial free period, and an initial discount period followed by a higher rate. Each gateway includes automatic liability and a right to end.

Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Act 2026, Schedule 1, Part 3, item 20, section 48BStarts 1 July 2027Part 3: subscription contracts
The requirement

Test every recurring or continuing supply against the four gateways. A contract can meet more than one. Free supply is disregarded when deciding whether the automatic liability gateway is met.

Who it binds. Any supplier offering goods or services on a recurring, continuing, free-trial or introductory-price basis.

Operative term. subscription contract

What this means in practice

The definition is wider than a monthly software plan. It covers a fixed term that rolls over unless someone stops it, an initial free period that turns into a paid supply, and an introductory rate that rises after a period. A contract that meets a gateway and is not excluded is in scope even if the parties call it something else. The right to end the contract is part of each gateway, so a contract with no exit is not saved by the definition; it simply fails to meet it. The practical work is a contract inventory, with the gateway, the automatic liability trigger and the exit route recorded for each one.

How to test it

For each contract, ask four questions. Does it provide for recurring or continuing supply, or supply for a fixed period that continues? Does a person automatically incur liability to pay? Is there a right to end? Is it an excluded contract under section 48C? Then identify which gateway applies. Do not rely on the label in the contract or the pricing page. A free trial that converts automatically is gateway (5); an introductory price that rises is gateway (6). Record the gateway and the evidence for it in the inventory.

Evidence to keep

The Act does not prescribe these records. They are the artefacts our reading says a regulator or auditor may ask for; keep the ones that fit your business and the provision.

  • Contract inventoryEvery recurring, fixed-term, trial or introductory-price contract, with its gateway and owner.
  • Terms extractThe clauses that create automatic liability and the right to end, highlighted in the approved template.
  • Pricing scheduleThe free period or introductory rate, the later rate and the date each starts.
  • Exclusion checkThe section 48C analysis for any contract claimed to be excluded.
  • Sign-offThe legal or compliance approval of the classification for each product.

What to do first

  1. Build the contract inventory and put a gateway on every row.
  2. Check the free-trial and introductory-price products first, because they are easy to miss.
  3. Record the exclusion analysis for every contract claimed to be outside the rules.

Questions

Does a free trial count?
It can. Gateway (5) covers an initial period free of charge followed by automatic liability to pay, with a right to end before the liability is incurred.
Does a fixed-term contract that rolls over count?
It can. Gateway (3) covers supply for a fixed period that continues after the period unless a party stops it or the contract is terminated, with automatic liability and a right to end.

Related sections

s 48C: Excluded contractss 48D(2): Offer disclosures 48G: Who is covered