Posts tagged "competition law"

The government is currently consulting on moves to strengthen competition laws, with big company mergers and acquisitions in the firing line.

Company has admitted to engaging in resale price maintenance and has submitted a court-enforceable undertaking to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission.

Australia's competition watchdog has welcomed new legislation outlawing unfair contract terms, a long-awaited move advocates and lawmakers say is vital to stop large companies from exploiting the small businesses which supply them with goods and services.

On Tuesday, the ACCC attended the standing committee for economics for a review of the commission’s 2021 annual report. Here are four key takeaways from the session.

The ACCC has a decidedly mixed record in its criminal cartel cases, with the latest being the Vietnamese money case that saw charges dropped against the only defendant who challenged the proceedings.

The ACCC will closely investigate the ANZ's $4.9 billion takeover of Queensland-based Suncorp Bank, but will ultimately clear the deal because it doesn’t substantially lessen competition, says John Durie.

The ACCC is concerned Bunnings’s proposed acquisition of Adelaide Tools could lead to a lack of competition in the hardware market.

The Morrison government will consider whether to outlaw unfair contracts for small businesses next year, over a year after its initial announcement.

In a busy week for government, unfair insurance contracts are on the agenda, alongside measures to restrict cash payments.

The government will not hold a consultation on whether to outlaw unfair contracts until "late-2019", as renewed calls surface to get on with it.

Labor will make unfair contract terms illegal if it wins the next election — its latest move to strengthen its small-business platform.

An ACCC blitz has prompted Visy, Cleanaway and Suez to change their contract terms, over concern several clauses may have been unfair.