The report by Allan Fels found that rising prices were not just caused by true inflation but often by greed, corporate gouging and "profit pushing" by companies with too much market power.

"The ability of companies to charge unfair prices, amidst the unprecedented economic and social dislocation ensuing from the COVID pandemic, has significantly undermined the well-being of the Australians we heard from."

Professor Fels also stated in his report: "Adding insult to injury, numerous of the individual allegations of price-gouging received by our inquiry dealt with unfair behaviour by large commercial banks, which have used their market dominance to extract even more profit from customers through higher interest costs and other charges.

Professor Fels chaired the ACCC from 1995 until 2003 and his inquiry for the ACTU received hundreds of submissions from members of the public – mostly with concerns about prices in the supermarket, energy and banking sectors.

The report analysed a selection of pricing practices that enabled businesses to squeeze extra dollars from consumers in ways Professor Fels argued would not be possible in more competitive markets.

Professor Fels said the banking, insurance, and energy sectors used loyalty schemes, which were often a low-cost means of retaining and exploiting consumers by providing them with low-value rewards of dubious benefit.

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