Consumer advocacy group Choice has unveiled its 2026 Shonky Awards, shining a light on some of Australia's biggest companies for products and services that leave customers worse off. The annual awards, now in their 21st year, named ticketing giants, airlines, electronics brands and food companies among the worst offenders.
Ticketing Giants Cop Criticism Over Pricing Practices
Both Ticketek and Ticketmaster received Shonky Awards for pricing practices that have frustrated Australian fans. Choice chief executive Monique Perry said NRL supporters who bought tickets to certain 2026 matches through Ticketmaster reported "in demand" seats selling for $50 more than a regular seat just one row and one bay away.
Ticketek also drew sharp criticism from fans of John Farnham, who encountered fluctuating prices when attempting to buy tickets to his September tribute concert. Perry said customers logging on found themselves facing inflated costs, with around seven per cent of tickets affected by variable pricing, a situation many fans described as outrageous.
In response, a Ticketmaster spokeswoman said ticket prices were set by event organisers and that the platform did not use surge pricing or algorithms that automatically lifted prices in response to real-time demand.
For a full breakdown of this year's Shonky finalists, including details on Hisense, Virgin Australia, Ticketek and Ticketmaster among the worst offenders, see our earlier coverage.
Virgin Australia, Hisense and Petcover Also Named
Virgin Australia received a Shonky after $75 million worth of unused flight credits, issued to customers when flights were cancelled during the COVID pandemic, expired in June. The airline's handling of those credits was singled out as a significant consumer grievance.
Appliance maker Hisense earned its Shonky for awarding its own washer-dryer a five-star energy rating for a wash cycle that runs for more than 12 hours, and an eight-star energy rating for a drying cycle lasting 13 and a half hours. Critics argued the ratings were misleading given the impractical cycle lengths involved.
Pet insurance provider Petcover was also called out, with Choice taking issue with its practice of selling select "economy" customers a brand new policy each year, meaning any health conditions that emerged over the previous year would be classified as pre-existing and therefore excluded from cover.
Protein Chips and Digital Rights Round Out the List
The booming added-protein food trend also came under scrutiny. Quest was awarded a Shonky for its protein-boosted corn chips, which were found to be priced at almost ten times the cost of comparable mainstream products such as Doritos. Choice noted the product carried an 886 per cent price mark-up compared to competitors offering similar snacks.
Sony Interactive Entertainment received a gong over what Choice described as murky rights surrounding the "purchase" of movies or games through its platform, raising questions about what consumers actually own when they buy digital content.
Choice Wants Companies to Lift Their Game
Perry said the awards served a dual purpose: pushing companies to improve, and ensuring consumers were better informed before they spent their money.
"We're really here to call out all of the things that consumers are complaining about," Perry said. "In some cases we really want those finalists to lift their game, and sometimes we just want consumers to be aware."
The Shonky Awards have been running for 21 years, making them one of Australia's longest-running consumer watchdog initiatives. This year's list reflects growing frustration across ticketing, travel, insurance and the digital economy.
