The Guidelines relating to deferral of arbitrations and backdating of determinations under Part IIIA of the Trade Practices Act 1974 were published following a consultation process.
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To ensure that the development of guidance on unfair contract terms assists stakeholders to understand the requirements and obligations on business under the new laws, the ACCC and the ASIC and state and territory consumer protection agencies invited stakeholder comment on the draft guide.
The ACCC encouraged interested parties to consider providing comments on the guidance, including recommendations that would better assist stakeholders understand the new obligations on business under...More
The ACCC has prepared its thirteenth report to the Australian Senate on anti-competitive and other practices by health funds and providers in relation to private health insurance.
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The Australian Egg Corporation has withdrawn its certified trade mark (CTM) application and as a result the ACCC’s consideration of this application has ceased.
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The Australian Poultry Industry Association (APIA) has withdrawn its certified trade mark (CTM) application and as a result, the ACCC’s consideration of this application has ceased.
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The ACCC has prepared its fourteenth report to the Australian Senate on anti-competitive and other practices by health funds and providers in relation to private health insurance.
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The ACCC has published a consultation paper seeking stakeholders’ comments as part of the review into the policies and procedures relating to the identification of the listed Points of Interconnect (POIs) to the NBN.
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The ACCC released a paper setting out its proposed changes to the guideline for quality of service monitoring applying at Brisbane, Melbourne (Tullamarine), Perth and Sydney (Kingsford Smith) airports.
Interested parties were invited to make written submissions to the proposals contained in this paper and any other matters relating to the ACCC's review of quality of service monitoring.
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On 26 March 2013, Emerald (formerly ABA) lodged a proposed access undertaking for its port terminal services with the ACCC for assessment under section 44ZZA of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.
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The ACCC released its draft decision on the SAU and a consultation paper on a Notice to Vary the SAU.
The draft decision took into account information provided to the ACCC by NBN Co and stakeholders that lodged submissions with the ACCC on the 18 December 2012 SAU. In its draft decision, the ACCC states that it is not satisfied that the SAU has met the statutory criteria under section 152CBD.
The consultation paper outlined proposed amendments to the SAU which would facilitate NBN Co's...More
We are seeking your feedback on our new Service Charter.
The ACCC Service Charter sets out the standard of service external stakeholders may expect from us and the steps they may take if these standards are not met. It underpins the work we do and informs our external stakeholders how we respond to inquiries and handle complaints. It applies to general correspondence sent directly to us, contact made via our Infocentre, as well as complaints about us. Your feedback will help inform us...More
The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission has issued draft revised Authorisation Guidelines 2013 for public comment.
The revised Authorisation Guidelines are designed to be a reliable, clear and comprehensive guide to explain the authorisation process in the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and the analytical framework applied by the ACCC in assessing applications, including public benefit and detriment.
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On 10 May 2013, Telstra wrote to the ACCC proposing a variation to the SSU in relation to the determination of reference prices for future declared services. Telstra proposed this variation in response to a concern raised by the Competitive Carriers Coalition.
Interested parties are invited to provide feedback on Telstra’s proposed variations.
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On 27 May 2013, the ACCC commenced an inquiry into whether to extend, vary or revoke the domestic mobile terminating access service (MTAS) declaration, or whether to make a new declaration.
The ACCC has issued a discussion paper inviting submissions on whether continued declaration of the MTAS will promote the long-term interests of end users.
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The Hunter Valley Access Undertaking (HVAU) accepted by the ACCC on 29 June 2011 requires the Australian Rail Track Corporation to submit documentation for the purposes of an annual compliance assessment conducted by the ACCC. These requirements are contained in section 4.10 and Schedule G to the HVAU.
On 24 May 2013 ARTC submitted annual compliance documentation relating to the 2012 calendar year.
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The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission has issued draft Merger Review Process Guidelines 2013 (Process Guidelines) for public comment.
The ACCC publishes Process Guidelines to provide businesses and legal practitioners with guidance on the ACCC’s approach to informal reviews of mergers and acquisitions pursuant to section 50 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.
The informal review process enables merger parties to seek the ACCC’s view on whether an acquisition is...More
On 11 July 2013 the ACCC commenced an inquiry into the domestic transmission capacity service (DTCS) and whether to extend, vary or revoke the DTCS declaration or make a new declaration.
Interested parties were invited to make submisions.
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On 11 July 2013, the ACCC commenced a combined public inquiry into the declaration of the fixed line services. These services are the:
unconditioned local loop service
line sharing service
public switched telephone network originating access
public switched telephone network terminating access
wholesale line rental
local carriage service
This declaration inquiry is part of the overall review of the fixed line services known as the fixed...More
The ACCC has received an application to register a certification trade mark (CTM) number 1265568 lodged by Australian Organic Ltd, formerly Biological Farmers of Australia (Australian Organic).
The ACCC anticipates issuing an initial assessment in this matter in November. Parties will have the opportunity to respond to the ACCC’s initial assessment prior to a final decision.
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The ACCC is considering the implementation of a monitoring and reporting program in relation to the performance of broadband internet services in Australia, subject to securing financial support.
A broadband performance monitoring and reporting program would involve testing data transfer rates and other quality of service metrics for broadband services. The ACCC would then compile the resulting data and publicly release reports discussing the results.
The purpose of this consultation is...More
The ACCC is consulted on its 15th annual report to the Senate on private health insurance.
This year the ACCC focused on a discrete issue affecting the private health insurance industry. We examined the practice by some insurers and their intermediaries of using end of financial-year or “tax time” advertising as a tool to encourage consumers to sign up to a fund, or to transfer between funds, in order to “beat the yearly premium increase” or to “avoid crunch time”.
The...More
On 3 September 2013, the ACCC commenced a public consultation process in relation to Viterra’s proposed extension and variation to its 2011 Port Terminal Services Access Undertaking. The ACCC invites public submissions on the application, which are due by 20 September 2013.
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Mobile apps are often available to download free in online stores, but sometime require significant in-app purchases to maximise the experience of the app. In-app purchases may include paying to use an ad-free version of the app, buying extra lives in a game, or paying to access extra content.
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The ACCC conducts an annual review of its Compliance and Enforcement Policy to ensure that its activities are focussed on the current issues affecting Australian consumers and markets.
Stakeholder consultation is an important part of the annual review. This survey provides you an opportunity to give your views on the current policy. Your feedback will assist the ACCC to focus its resources on the areas of most importance.
The survey
The first part of the survey asks for some...More
The ACCC published a revised Compliance and Enforcement Policy in early 2013. It outlines that cartel conduct will always be assessed as a priority, irrespective of the sector of the economy in which the activity occurs
Domestic and international experience has demonstrated that an effective immunity policy encourages self-reporting of cartel conduct by participants.
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