Lawmakers want to crack down on a technology pricing regime costing Australians twice as much as foreign consumers.
International price discrimination is plaguing the Australian market for IT hardware, software, and applications including games, music and education tools, a lower house committee reported on Monday.
Committee chair Nick Champion said their 12-month inquiry found consumers were "clearly perplexed, frustrated and angered by the experience of paying higher prices for IT products than consumers in comparable countries".
Many IT products are more expensive in Australia because of regional pricing strategies implemented by major vendors and copyright holders, he said.
In the United States an iTunes customer pays on average US$1.29 to download a single song, while the same purchase in Australia carries a A$2.19 price tag.
Australians are paying 10-15 per cent more than US customers for Apple's iPad, iMac and Macbook products, and up to 80 per cent more for Dell laptop and desktop items.
In the most extreme cases, shoppers Down Under were found to be facing a 100 per cent price premium.
Mr Champion said the price divide was having a significant impact on Australian life and revealed a raft of recommendations to combat the "Australia tax".
The committee suggests targeting, even banning, the online practice of "geo-blocking" which creates markets based on geographical location, and does not allow Australian consumers to purchase products at the prices on offer in other countries.
Further measures include making changes to the Copyright Act and Competition and Consumer Act, and educating Australians about where to find cheaper products online.
Consumer group Choice welcomed the report findings and called for swift bipartisan support to address the issue.
The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network said the pricing disparity has proven particularly challenging for people living with a disability, citing screen-reading assistance software which costs $1095 in the US and $1420 in Australia.
Apple and Microsoft, whose executives were called to give evidence during the inquiry, declined to comment on Monday's report when contacted by AAP.
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