Last week, the High Court held that a party is unlikely to have engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct if it has made a misrepresentation that is otherwise compliant with a different, more...
Acquisitions by private equity firms have traditionally sailed below the competition regulator’s radar including because acquisitions have been for a new platform, with no competition issue or have...
Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific Pty Ltd (MBAuP) has been found not to have engaged in unconscionable conduct against its Australian dealers when it moved the dealers from long-running franchise...
BlueScope Steel (BlueScope) has been recently fined with a record-breaking $57.5 million and its former general manager with $575,000 for attempted cartel conduct to induce other suppliers to...
In its first review of a merger authorisation application since the current regime came into effect in 2017, the Australian Competition Tribunal (Tribunal) has upheld the Australian Competition and...
Reforms to the unfair contract terms regime in the Australian Consumer Law, and under the ASIC Act, commence on 9 November 2023.
From July 2024, small business and consumer advocacy groups will have the ability to ‘fast track’ competition and consumer law complaints for regulatory scrutiny, via a newly created dedicated...
‘No-poach’ or ‘non-compete’ clauses are used widely by Australian companies to prevent the leakage and misuse of employer’s information and loss of key client and supplier relationships. Companies...
Two large Australian retailers, The Reject Shop and Dusk are the first suppliers to be penalised under the world-first mandatory standards for button batteries (BBs), enforceable since June 2022.
Last week, Chair of the ACCC, Ms Gina Cass-Gottlieb announced the ACCC’s proposal for merger reform. The ACCC’s position is similar to the proposals introduced by former Chair Rod Sims in August...
We are pleased to share with you the 7th edition of our report on recent trends in complex informal merger clearance decisions made by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC).
Yesterday, the ACCC announced its compliance and enforcement priorities for 2023. In this article we discuss why the stakes are higher in 2023, the key areas of focus, what you need to know and...
Last week’s Federal Court decision in ACCC v Uber highlights the risks associated with taking a ‘set and forget’ approach to regulatory compliance, particularly when relying on automated processes,...
On 9 December 2022, the Commonwealth Government released exposure drafts of its proposed Competition and Consumer Amendment (Gas Market) Bill 2022 (Cth) (Exposure Bill) and Competition and Consumer...
The Government has passed legislation amending the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) to strengthen the unfair contract term (UCT) regime.
On November 10 2022, the maximum financial penalties for breaching Australia’s competition and consumer laws increased significantly - in some cases by five times the previous levels.
Against the backdrop of the deepening gas supply crisis on the east coast of Australia, in its 13th Gas Inquiry Interim Report of July 2022 (July 2022 Report), the ACCC has issued a stern warning...
Following a number of recent cases in which parties have incorrectly claimed legal professional privilege (LPP) over documents to be produced for regulatory proceedings or investigations, and...
The Federal Court recently held that submissions and internal documents provided by a party to the ACCC to support or oppose a transaction pursuant to the ACCC’s informal clearance process could be...
The New Zealand High Court recently held that competitors who agreed on keyword search terms for online search advertising engaged in cartel conduct in breach of competition law.
We are pleased to share with you the 6th edition of our report on recent trends in complex informal merger clearance decisions made by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC).
We detail the higher penalties for breaches of the Franchising Code
Yesterday, the ACCC announced its compliance and enforcement priorities for 2022.
What is happening? A 2018 federal review of the current unfair contract terms (or UCT) protections concluded that the regime was ‘ineffective in both operation and effect’, including in terms of...
On 1 December 2021, the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) announced the finalisation of the Voluntary Code of Conduct for the negotiation and development of Gas...