Press Releases

Revelations that Australian authorities have deprived an organised crime syndicate of an estimated $400 million by targeting illicit tobacco operations highlight the need for strong enforcement and appropriate resourcing for police, the Australian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS) said today. An inter-agency group combining the powers of the Australian Taxation Office, Border Force and Victoria Police has been conducting a major operation this year to disrupt “industrial scale” growing and distribution of illicit tobacco around Australia. The ATO says that multiple illicit tobacco crops throughout regional Victoria have been seized and destroyed, and that the enforcement actions have disrupted cash flows to the criminal syndicate to the tune of $400 million. “The scale of this operation is staggering, and it should focus minds on the scale of the challenge we face from illicit tobacco,” said AACS chief executive Theo Foukkare. “We know that illicit tobacco is easily available in too…

Retail leaders from the Master Grocers Association (MGA), the Australian Lotteries and Newsagents Association (ALNA) and united by the Australian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS) call on the Albanese Government to convene a national policy summit to identify urgent actions to quash black market sales of e-cigarettes. The ABC’s 4 Corners has exposed the chasm in leadership that has supported the rising black market vaping trade which targets and exploits young Australians. This current regulatory approach is effectively prohibitionist and is directly contributing to the chaos in the market and enabling illegitimate retailers to sell unregulated products to anyone, including children.The system is failing Australian parents, schools, children, healthcare providers and consumers. “The UK and New Zealand have implemented very effective regulatory models that is keeping these products out of the hands of their youth, giving retailers a restricted range to sell and limiting the black market” CEO of ACCS…

Newly formed Food Industry Alliance wants to ensure food is as available and affordable aspossible for the consumerJust days after announcing the newly formed Food Industry Alliance (FIA), a group of foodindustry and farmer organisations representing $220 billion in sales, the group has met withboth the Chair and Deputy Chair of the ACCC to ensure they understand market powerissues during these unprecedented food supply disruptions, so that family-ownedindependent businesses can continue their critical role in providing food to the community. The Alliance has asked the ACCC to consider competition reform policy to protectbusinesses from unfair and anti-competitive commercial practices that could unfairlysqueeze farmers and SMEs. The Alliance asked the ACCC to look at consumer and smallbusiness law reform, to strengthen unfair contract terms, unfair trading practices andpotentially unconscionable conduct. FIA Spokesperson, Richard Forbes says, “We were encouraged to hear that all our areas ofconcern were being considered seriously by the…

Newly formed Food Industry Alliance (FIA) to work constructively with government to find solutions to immediate food related issues. In an unprecedented move, the Food Industry Alliance (FIA) has been formed between food industry associations across the food supply chain, from paddock to plate, to address key issues associated with ensuring reliable and affordable access to food for all Australians during this time of supply chain disruption. Further industry associations have also expressed interest in supporting this alliance. The FIA includes Independent Food Distributors Australia (IFDA), The National Farmers Federation (NFF), Australian Meat Industry Council, (AMIC), Master Grocers Australia (MGA) and the Australian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS). The FIA represents, or supplies food to, over 156,000 businesses with a combined revenue of a staggering $220 billion and employing almost 1 million people. “We need our food supply chains to be firing on all cylinders if we are to ensure…

The AACS Board and CEO Theo Foukkare congratulates Andreas Andrianopoulos for being awarded Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia. The award was provided for significant service to business and to philanthropy. As the Founder and Managing Director of AA Petroleum, Andreas along with his family and team have built a world class network of 55 BP branded Fuel and Convenience Stores in Victoria. Andreas was one of the early innovators of the Industry and in 2021 was inducted into the AACS Hall of Fame, a select few industry icons that have helped change the landscape of convenience retailing in Australia. To see Andreas’ contributions that led to his award, see below:

30/05/22; ACCC Media Release The ACCC has instituted proceedings in the Federal Court against Mastercard Asia/Pacific Pte Ltd and Mastercard Asia/Pacific (Australia) Pty Ltd (together, Mastercard), for allegedly engaging in conduct with the purpose of substantially lessening competition in the supply of debit card acceptance services. Mastercard’s alleged anti-competitive conduct commenced in late 2017 in the context of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s least cost routing initiative. The RBA’s least cost routing initiative aimed to increase competition in the supply of debit card acceptance services and reduce payment costs for businesses by allowing them to choose the lowest cost network to process their transactions. This enabled businesses to choose whether their debit transactions were processed by Visa, Mastercard or eftpos, with eftpos often being the cheapest option. It is alleged that in response to the least cost routing initiative, Mastercard entered into agreements with more than 20 major retail businesses,…