The Food and Grocery Code of Conduct came into effect 16 June 2015 with Woolworths and Aldi the first major players to sign on.
Aldi had previously announced in March this year that it would sign on.
Woolworths announced on 6 June 2015 it would be a signatory provided no changes were made when it passed through the Federal Senate. However, other supermarket groups Coles and Metcash are yet to commit to the Code, although Metcash has indicated that it is willing to run a trial. Coles has not yet signed on despite a reported initial push for the Codes establishment.
Aldi has stated that any new suppliers will follow the new Code’s terms as of this week, with its pre-existing suppliers transiting by 3 August 2015.
The new Code of Conduct is intended to create better trade relationships between suppliers and the major retailers.
The broad language and (power held by supermarkets) has however led to queries of how well the Code of Conduct will be able to reach this goal.
When a recent Federal Senate report on the Supermarket Code of Conduct was used to make calls for an Ombudsman to be introduced to improve the enforcement process under the Code of Conduct. Some suppliers say under the Code there is insufficient access to retailer documents that could support any case against a retailer
Costs of enforcement have also been put forward as an issue with code.