13 October 2026
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has launched civil proceedings in the Federal Court against major egg producer and distributor Sunny Queen, 11 associated producers and corporate entities, alleging cartel conduct and coordinated supply restrictions in the shell-egg market over at least six years.
The defendants include Sunny Queen and its joint owners, Doug Hall Poultry and McLean Farms, along with associated businesses and Victorian producer Kinross Farm. Sunny Queen and its associated operations reportedly account for approximately one-third of Australia’s wholesale egg supply to retail channels.
The ACCC alleges that producers coordinated production cuts and supply quotas across cage, free-range and organic eggs to manage domestic oversupply. The alleged practices included reducing output, coordinating flock management and culling schedules, restricting Kinross Farm’s supplies to major supermarket and wholesale chains, and acquiring production property in Queensland to limit competitors’ market access. The proceedings mark a significant test of the Competition and Consumer Act provisions on “concerted practices,” introduced in 2017, which address anti-competitive coordination between competitors even where a formal cartel agreement may be difficult to establish.
Sunny Queen has denied the allegations, stating that it cooperated with the investigation and will vigorously defend the case in court.
The proceedings could establish an important legal precedent for competition enforcement in Australia’s egg industry, particularly regarding coordinated production and supply management.
