• The Federal Court of Australia has formally declared that eharmony breached the Australian Consumer Law, in a ruling ([2026] FCA 1445) reported in early October 2026.
  • Premium plans of 6, 12 or 24 months rolled into a further 12 months at the full price, which the ACCC says could be up to five times the starting price.
  • eharmony intends to seek leave to appeal some, but not all, of the findings. No penalty has been set.
  • About 1.3 million Australians signed up for free Basic membership between 2019 and 2024, according to the ABC.

Dating operators that sell cheap long plans which roll over at full price have a fresh warning from Australia. The Federal Court has formally declared that eharmony broke consumer law in the way it sold, priced and renewed memberships. The ruling lets eharmony seek an appeal, and keeps the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on course for penalties.

The declarations, in ACCC v eHarmony, Inc (No 2) [2026] FCA 1445, formalise Justice Christopher Horan's liability ruling of 25 August. eharmony told the court it plans to seek leave to appeal some, but not all, of the findings, according to Australasian Lawyer. No penalty has been set.

The DII Take

This ruling spells out, in unusual detail, how a dating subscription must not be sold in Australia. It targets a model many operators still use: a low monthly headline, a long minimum term and a full-price renewal that few users notice. An appeal may trim some findings, but the renewal finding survived even eharmony's July 2024 fixes. Operators should treat the renewal screen, not the terms and conditions, as the place where the law will be tested.

What the court found

The ACCC sued in September 2023 after hundreds of complaints. In August, Justice Horan upheld its case on six kinds of conduct dating back to 2019, the ACCC said. eharmony, which the ABC describes as Australia's fourth-largest dating site, was identified by the ACCC as part of the ParshipMeet Group when the case was filed.

Renewal was the heart of it. Premium plans were sold as six, 12 or 24 month terms. Unless members switched renewal off, they rolled into another 12 months at the regular undiscounted price.

The ACCC says renewals could cost up to five times the original price, and that the terms sat in small print late in checkout. Law firm Clayton Utz notes the court found changes made in July 2024 still did not fix the problem.

The ABC reported one case. A user paid A$155.64 for six months and deleted her profile two months later, but was charged A$478.80 on renewal. When eharmony refused to cancel, she stopped her card and was passed to a debt collector.

The court also found that eharmony's promise of free dating misled users, since Basic members could not hold real conversations without paying. Monthly prices left out a mandatory A$3 instalment fee, and the total price of each plan was not shown prominently. eharmony also advertised one-month plans long after it had stopped selling them, and implied users could cancel early. The court did accept that July 2024 changes cured the monthly price claim.

Why the appeal slows the penalty

The ACCC wanted the declarations made together with penalties. eharmony asked for them now, so it could seek leave to appeal first. The judge agreed with eharmony, finding an appeal could change the outcome on penalties and relief.

The case returns for case management no earlier than 28 days after the declarations. The ACCC plans to seek discovery for the penalty stage, which the court warned may not be quick or simple. Legal news site Lawyerly reported the ruling at the start of October.

The ACCC is seeking penalties, injunctions, consumer redress and costs. For a sense of scale, the Federal Court ordered JustAnswer to pay A$10M in July 2026, in a case that included an A$2 sign-up offer which enrolled users in a monthly plan. In August, eharmony told Reuters it was "carefully reviewing the Federal Court's judgment".

What changes for operators

Australia's rules tighten anyway. Parliament passed the unfair trading practices bill on 2 July 2026, with effect from 1 July 2027. According to DLA Piper, it requires subscription sellers to set out costs, renewal terms and how to cancel before sign-up, and to offer online cancellation where users can join online.

The UK is moving first. Its subscription rules are now due in January 2027, brought forward from spring. Firms must remind users before a trial ends and before contracts of 12 months or more renew, give a 14-day cooling-off window when a trial ends or a long contract renews, and let online customers cancel online.

In the US, the Eighth Circuit struck down the FTC's click-to-cancel rule in July 2025, and the agency reopened the question in March 2026. Case-by-case enforcement goes on: Match Group (MTCH) agreed to pay $14M in August 2025 and to offer simple cancellation to settle FTC charges.

The lesson is the same in all three markets. Show the renewal price, renewal date and total minimum cost beside the buy button. Do not call a tier free if users cannot talk to anyone, and make leaving as easy as joining.

Operators should treat the renewal screen, not the terms and conditions, as the place where the law will be tested.
  • Any discounted long plan that renews at full price needs the renewal price, date and term shown before payment, not left to the terms and conditions.
  • Watch which findings eharmony asks to appeal and whether leave is granted, because that will shape the size of any penalty and refunds.
  • Australia (1 July 2027) and the UK (January 2027) both bring in specific subscription rules, so operators selling in both should build one checkout that meets the stricter test.

Sources: ACCC: Court finds eHarmony engaged in misleading conduct in relation to automatic renewal and pricing of its subscriptions (25 August 2026); ACCC: ACCC court action against eHarmony for alleged misleading online dating membership statements (7 September 2023); ACCC: JustAnswer to pay $10m in penalties for misleading pricing representations and misleading affiliation claims (8 July 2026); Assistant Minister Andrew Leigh: Unfair trading tricks and traps to be banned (2 July 2026); GOV.UK: PM starts roll out of everyday fixes on the cost of living, ending rip-off discounts and subscription traps (9 August 2026); UK Parliament written statement HLWS1503: Subscription contracts regime (13 April 2026); Federal Register: FTC advance notice on the Negative Option Rule (13 March 2026); FTC: Match Group agrees to pay $14 million and stop deceptive advertising, cancellation and billing practices (August 2025); Australasian Lawyer: Federal Court declares eHarmony breached Australian Consumer Law (5 October 2026); Lawyerly: eHarmony flags appeal in ACCC case over subscription trap (1 October 2026); ABC News: Federal Court rules eHarmony misled consumers over free dating service subscriptions (25 August 2026); Reuters: Australia court finds dating site eHarmony misled users over subscription terms (syndicated copy, 25 August 2026); Clayton Utz: Subscription traps under the spotlight (7 September 2026); DLA Piper: Australia introduces new unfair trading practices laws (20 July 2026)