An investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has come under fire by the banks and directors targeted in a criminal case over alleged cartel conduct that claim the regulator “contaminated” key evidence and improperly used material supplied by ASIC.
Proposals by Australia’s banks to revise its code of conduct in line with the recommendations of the banking royal commission don’t go far enough, the consumer watchdog said Friday.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Committee has flagged preliminary competition concerns and called for public submissions on a proposed sale by US-based timberland investment manager Resource Management Service of its Tasmanian assets.
The competition watchdog has given Canadian dairy producer Saputo the green light to acquire Australian competitor Lion Dairy’s cheese processing plants, but has warned any further consolidation in the Tasmanian dairy sector would cause significant concern.
Lawyers for former Citigroup executive Stephen Roberts have complained that prosecutors have failed to provide a “shred of material” to explain his alleged involvement in a criminal cartel relating to ANZ’s $2.5 billion capital raising, as the defendants fight to grill Crown witnesses before trial.
The ACCC’s recommended changes to the merger review framework that would require regulators to weigh whether a proposed acquisiton involved a potential competitor was a message to judges to rethink how they approached merger cases, the head of the watchdog said Monday.
Volkswagen is nearing the end of the road in the dieselgate scandal in Australia, as the car company agrees to an in-principle resoltion of enforcement action by the ACCC while also finalising the details of the settlement of five class actions worth up to $127 million.
The ACCC has won a record $26.5 million penalty against defunct vocational trainer Empower Institute for “duping” disadvantaged customers into enrolling in courses they couldn’t afford with the promise of free laptops and cash.
National car repair franchise Ultra Tune is preparing negligence suits against its former lawyers and auditors, after the company on Friday won a $590,000 reduction in a $2.6 million penalty for breaches of the Franchising Code of Conduct.
The ACCC has issued final guidelines on how Australia’s competition laws will apply to intellectual property assignments and licences following the repeal of the ‘IP exemption’ from prohibitions on anti-competitive conduct which was contained in subsection 51(3) of the Competition and Consumer Act. As of September 13 the IP exemption no longer applies, however, certain worked examples remain undeveloped or unrealistic, such that uncertainties remain as to the ACCC’s likely approach in particular matters, writes Patrick Gay and Amalia Stone of Herbert Smith Freehills.