Australia's consumer watchdog has launched legal action against the Australian arm of Woolworths, and its main rival Coles. 

The ACCC's accusing the supermarket giants of breaching consumer law by misleading consumers, raising prices by 15% at times before dropping the price as part of a promotion. 

The watchdog claims the price of hundreds of products were affected. 

Australia Correspondent Donna Demaio told Ryan Bridge the ACCC is taking both retailers to federal court in separate cases and will be seeking significant penalties.  

She said they’ll also be aiming to impose community service orders on both Woolworths and Coles, which means they’ll have to fund a registered charity to deliver meals to Australians in need. 

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