Rapid antigen tests are being advertised for $1,000 when they are meant to be selling for as little as $12.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has compiled a list a complaints about price gouging for home testing kits.
In one case, it noticed a home test kit being advertised with a four-figure price tag.
‘The highest prices by far have been identified on online marketplaces, one of which featured an advertisement of a test for over $1,000 each,’ it said.
Ordinary Australians have typically also reported exorbitant prices to the competition regulator.
From Christmas Day to January 7, maximum prices surged from just $14 to $100.
This was well above the wholesale costs of $3.95 to $11.45 for one test.
Rapid antigen tests are being advertised for $1,000 when they are meant to be selling for as little as $12 (pictured is a chemist in Sydney)
When it came to reported rip offs, pharmacists had the most complaints at 879 during the two-and-a-half week period covering December 25 to January 12.
This was followed by 283 for supermarkets, tobacconists and convenience stores and 272 for petrol stations.
In some cases, retailers are even refusing to give customers a receipt to hide their price gouging.
ACCC chair Rod Sims said retailers selling RATs at a huge mark-up needed to explain themselves.
‘We are asking those businesses to urgently explain the prices they are charging,’ he said.
‘In the middle of a significant outbreak of Covid-19 in a pandemic, the excessive pricing of rapid antigen tests required to diagnose the illness and protect other members of the public, is of significant concern to the ACCC.’
The competition regulator has contacted more than 40 test suppliers, major retailers and pharmacy chains demanding details on their pricing.
Since October, the Therapeutic Goods Administration has approved 22 test kits, with 16 of them made in China and only one manufactured in Australia, with the rest from the US, Germany, South Korea and Singapore.
The TGA approved its first self-administered rapid antigen test almost a year after their counterparts in the United States and the UK.
From Christmas Day to January 12, maximum prices surged from just $14 to $100 by January 7
With Chinese New Year coming up on February 1, Chinese factories are set to close, further delaying supplies.
ACCC chair Rod Sims said retailers selling RATs at a huge mark-up needed to explain themselves
Now a backlog in orders, as a result of new Covid testing rules allowing RATs, is creating uncertainty.
‘Given delays in the supply of tests, or test parts, into Australia, delays in distribution due to Covid illness or isolation requirements within workforces and at the retailer level, there is significant difficulty forecasting accurate supply,’ Mr Sims said.
The ACCC has also received reports about retailers refusing to issue receipts, which is a breach of consumer law for goods worth more than $75 before GST.
Of those, 31 per cent related to convenience stores, tobacconists and supermarkets, followed by 27 per cent for pharmacists and 23 per cent for petrol stations.
The ACCC has also received reports about retailers refusing to issue receipts, which is a breach of consumer law for goods worth more than $75 before GST (pictured is a stock image)
Since October, the Therapeutic Goods Administration has approved 22 test kits, with 16 of them made in China (pictured is a Chinese-made example listed for less than $25)
‘We are closely examining reports of businesses refusing to issue receipts for rapid antigen tests,’ Mr Sims said.
Australia has lagged behind other major economies in approving rapid antigen tests.
The American Food and Drug Administration approved the first over-the-counter home testing kit in December 2020.
The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved the first lateral flow test kit in January 2021.
Rapid antigen tests in Australia have quickly sold out at chemists and supermarkets after National Cabinet, on January 5, announced they would be allowed to confirm a positive Covid test.
The measure was designed to people from having to queue up for hours at a Covid testing clinic to get a PCR or polymerase chain reaction test.
Pensioners, veterans and health care card holders will be entitled to 10 free rapid antigen tests over three months at pharmacies, when stocks arrive.
On New Year’s Day, Queensland allowed visitors to rely on a negative rapid antigen test result into of a PCR test to gain entry into the state.
But since January 15, neither have been needed.
The New South Wales government has since January 12 required residents to register a positive rapid antigen test result.
The federal government last week invoked the Biosecurity Act 2015 to ban price gouging on rapid antigen tests and and impose restrictions on improper exports.
The test kits have sensitivity ratings ranging from 80 per cent for acceptable to 95 per cent for very high sensitivity.
When it came to reported rip offs, pharmacists had the most complaints at 879 during the two-and-a-half week period, followed by 283 for supermarkets and convenience stores and 272 for petrol stations