Key takeaways
- 10 of 16 sign-up flows: delivery charge missing next to the plan price. A fee charged on every order or booking is shown beside the advertised price, not at the end of the flow.
- 7 of 19 sign-up flows: condition for free delivery or a discount shown only below the offer. Information that changes the price belongs where the price is shown, not one level deeper.
- No new screen needed: each of the 6 findings is a label, a line or the order of a step.
What we saw across 20 sign-up flows walked
Each finding with the screen it sits on, the rule it touches and how big a change usually is (S label or text, M layout or order, L new screen or route). Walked against the full Flowlane checklist for Australia (16 checks); shown here: every finding that came up in more than one flow. Each number counts only the flows in which that step could be checked.
Every rule chip opens its card on the rules page.
| What we saw | Flows | Rule (market rules) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delivery charge missing next to the plan priceWhere it sits: Checkout address step, delivery page | B · s 48A B · s 48AFrom 1 July 2027 Fees beside the priceFees paid with the price are shown beside the base price. Read the rule, with examples →A fee charged on every order or booking is shown beside the advertised price, not at the end of the flow. | SSmall | |
| Condition for free delivery or a discount shown only below the offerWhere it sits: Plan page, terms, offer pages | C · s 28B C · s 28BFrom 1 July 2027 No manipulation, no undue pressureNo design that manipulates or unreasonably distorts the decision. Read the rule, with examples →Information that changes the price belongs where the price is shown, not one level deeper. | MMedium | |
| Subscription, larger size or paid extra already selected on arrivalWhere it sits: Product page, plan page, basket | C · s 28B C · s 28BFrom 1 July 2027 No manipulation, no undue pressureNo design that manipulates or unreasonably distorts the decision. Read the rule, with examples →A paid extra the customer did not choose can steer the decision. | SSmall | |
| Free-delivery promise for subscribers changes in basket or checkoutWhere it sits: Plan page, basket, checkout | B · s 48A B · s 48AFrom 1 July 2027 Fees beside the priceFees paid with the price are shown beside the base price. Read the rule, with examples →The condition for a fee must be the same on every screen that shows it. | SSmall | |
| Marketing emails ticked in advance at checkoutWhere it sits: Checkout contact step | D · Spam Act s 16 D · Spam Act s 16In force since 2004 Marketing messages need consentCommercial emails and texts need consent; a pre-ticked box is not express consent. Read the rule, with examples →Express consent to marketing messages needs an active choice; a pre-ticked box is not one. | SSmall | |
| Also seen in two or three flows | |||
| Minimum term or cancel cut-off missing where the plan is confirmedWhere it sits: Plan page, checkout | A · s 48D A · s 48DFrom 1 July 2027 Clear terms before sign-upPrice, term, renewal and exit, close to where the customer agrees. Read the rule, with examples →Before the contract is entered: term, renewal and how to end it, near the point of agreement. | SSmall | |
Three examples
Written as categories, no company identifiable.
Fees
In one sign-up flow, a meal plan of about $93 came to about $105 at checkout: about $15 delivery on every order, first shown after the address was entered.
Add-ons
In one basket, shipping protection for about $3 was switched on by default and added to the first order unless the customer turned it off.
Joining
In one sign-up flow, the checkout said cancel anytime, while a tooltip next to the plan asked for at least two deliveries before cancelling.
What the rules ask
The Act received Royal Assent on 6 July 2026 and its rules apply from 1 July 2027; until then these are patterns that will need a look. The Spam Act rules on marketing consent already apply. Shown here: the rules this report touches.
Subscriptions
Before the contract is entered: the price, the price after any introductory period, term, renewal and how to end it. A subscription taken out online must be cancellable online, by a route that is easy to find.
Fees and total price
A fee that applies to every transaction is shown beside the base price, at the same time, as prominently. Where the amount is not yet known, how it is calculated.
General prohibition
No practice that manipulates or unreasonably distorts a decision: pressure that is not real, defaults that steer, obstacles to a choice the customer is entitled to make.
Consent
Commercial emails and texts need consent; a pre-ticked box is not express consent.
Check your own flow in ten minutes
One question per finding. A "no" is worth a look; it is not a verdict.
Not observed in this benchmark
What a public walk cannot show. Not part of the benchmark; included in a Flowlane review of your own flow.
Reminder and renewal emails
They go to the customer's inbox after sign-up, so a public guest walk cannot see them.
Included in a Flowlane review
We check them with a test account you provide.
Cancelling inside the account
Most sites describe cancelling in the account, which needs a login that a guest walk does not have.
Included in a Flowlane review
We walk the exit with a test account.
Plans behind an email or login step
Some sites show the plan price only after an email or a login, where our walk stopped.
Included in a Flowlane review
We walk past it with details you provide.
Method and anonymity
Same walk, same checklist, same rule mapping for every sector.
Public flows, walked as a guest
Each flow was walked in a desktop browser set to the market's language, time zone and storefront, from the entry page to the last screen before payment or personal data. Cookie banners were read before the first click and spot-checked from the market; banners shown only to visitors from other countries were left out. Nothing was bought, no account was created, no personal data was submitted.
One screenshot per observation
An observation counts only with a screenshot, the URL, the step number, the date and the exact wording on the screen. Uncertain observations are not counted.
Rule, not verdict
Each pattern is matched to the provision it touches. It marks a screen worth a look, not a legal finding: whether a rule applies depends on facts a public walk cannot see.
Anonymous by design
No company is named, quoted or identifiable. Examples are written as categories. The sample is drawn from the sector, not from clients, and no participant was told.
20-minute walkthrough
Your own flow against 20 walked flows, in 20 minutes.
- 20 minutes
- Reviewed before the call
- No system access
- The two steps worth a look first, with the screen they sit on
- The rule each one touches, under the Australian rules
- Where your flow sits against the sector benchmark, for you only