The first unconscionable conduct cases pursued by the Commerce Commission w/ Professor of Law Dr Jodi Gardner: 11th February, 2026

The Commerce Commission, responsible for regulating competition and fair trading in Aotearoa New Zealand, recently took two businesses to court over their ‘unconscionable conduct’.

Among other behaviour, the businesses were found to have misled and exploited consumers, and targeted particularly vulnerable customers.

This is the first time that the Commerce Commission have pursued cases under this prohibition, with ‘unconscionable conduct’ being added to the Fair Trading Act back in 2022.

To understand exactly what ‘unconscionable conduct’ entails, and how future cases may play out, Producer Theo spoke to Professor of Law at the University of Auckland Dr Jodi Gardner.