Imagine you’re at home, staring at your laundry basket, wondering how you’re supposed to get through another week. Then you notice a new washer-dryer in your living room—one that promises to save you money on energy bills. But when you read the fine print, you realize it’s not just a washer and a dryer combined. It’s a trick. The appliance’s energy efficiency ratings are so misleading that you’ll spend more time waiting for your clothes to dry than you would on a decent cup of coffee. That’s not just a problem—it’s a pattern. And it’s not just happening in your laundry room. It’s happening in stadiums, concert halls, and even your local shopping centre, where ticket prices and energy labels are being manipulated to squeeze every last dollar out of you. Welcome to Australia’s Shonky Awards, a yearly expose that turns the spotlight on how big business exploits loopholes in energy ratings and dynamic pricing to leave consumers worse off than they should be. The winners, announced this year, didn’t just name names—they named the rot at the heart of how we interact with the products and services we rely on every day.
