Competition & Consumer

The Trade Practices Act has been described as the new exocet for business, but maintaining a competitive edge is all about the most efficient deployment. Our firm offers some of the most experienced practitioners in this tense and often sensitive area. We aim to keep the ACCC away from your door, deal with problems safely and quickly if they arise, and advise on tactics to keep your competitors honest.

Staying ahead of the game

The Trade Practices Act now has a major impact on the way companies go about their daily business. The ACCC has never been more active. The scope of the Act is ever expanding. Knowledgeable consumers and organisations are lodging a record number of complaints, and the penalties for breaching the Act are severe. But fines are not the only price –brands, reputations and your customer loyalty are often at stake.

With a full understanding of the law, however, not only can you keep your own house in order, but you can stay ahead of your competitors, and effectively defend your position should a surprise attack be mounted.

Some of the best in the business

Many of our lawyers have worked on the other side of the Trade Practices fence. Some within government –others as fulltime ACCC prosecutors. No wonder our team has a comprehensive knowledge and exceptional understanding of competition and consumer law from all perspectives.

Having assisted governments in drafting regulatory frameworks for the introduction of competitive markets, and worked with them to develop codes of conduct and consumer protection regulatory frameworks, we also appreciate the big picture as well as the finer points of the law.

If the ACCC comes knocking

Should you ever find the ACCC on your doorstep, we can provide guidance on what action to take and how best to respond to its demands. Early resolution of issues is critical and we waste no time in steering you through the process. Both in high level negotiations with Commissioners and in dealing with the ACCC ’s investigators and lawyers, we stay with you every step of the way – and if matters escalate, you can rely on our substantial experience in defending clients against prosecution.

In addition to the legal issues, adverse public relations can be an extra hazard, potentially causing damage to reputations and brand value. Managing a PR crisis can cost more than any legal proceedings. Whether you are fighting or making a claim, we can advise rapidly on all the legal aspects of your crisis management plan – media relations, customer relations, and any other communications to internal or external stakeholders.

Our services

Competition and restrictive trade practices

• price fixing
• predatory pricing
• refusal to supply
• distribution arrangements
• joint ventures
• ACCC notifications and authorisations

Consumer protection

• misleading or deceptive conduct
• safeguarding brands
• advertising and promotions clearance
• sponsorships and endorsements

Unconscionable conduct

• B2B and B2C negotiations
• commercial leasing
• franchising

Utilities

• Part IIIA access declarations
• access undertakings and disputes in the rail, electricity, gas and telecommunications industries
• representation before the Australian Competition Tribunal

Trade practices compliance

• designing and implementing AS3806 compliance programs
• ecomply on-line compliance tool

Product liability

• voluntary and mandatory recalls
• supply and distribution agreements

Mergers & acquisitions

• market definition and concentration analysis
• informal ACCC clearances
• representation before ACCC
• applications for and opposition to ACCC authorisations

• Legal update: The criminalisation of cartels – One step closer

  Legislation for the criminalisation of cartels is set to be introduced into Federal Parliament prior to the end of the year with the Government releasing an exposure draft of proposed amendments to the Trade Practices Act 1974 (TPA).

  30 Oct 08 Nick McHugh , Belinda Harvey

• Newsletter: Competition and Consumer Law Update - October 2008

  Welcome to the October edition of the Competition & Consumer Law Update. In our October 2008 edition, we: Review the Government’s discussion paper on “creeping acquisitions”, released on 1 September 2008; Discuss proposals to provide the ACCC with significant new enforcement powers, which will allow it to issue ‘infringement notices’ without first obtaining an order from the Court as it is currently required to do; Summarise the outcomes of the ACCC’s successful appeal in the Baxter Healthcare case and the implications arising from that case of offering “bundled” tenders, particularly to government purchasing authorities; Review the key findings from the ACCC’s inquiry into the grocery sector; and provide a stock take on the use – or non-use as is the case – of the collective bargaining notification process that can be used by small businesses to obtain legal immunity from breaches of the Trade Practices Act, since the notification process was introduced in January 2007.

  1 Oct 08 Emma Parmenter , Andrew Bell and Claire Forster

• Legal update: Proposed national consumer credit regulation and unfair contract terms legislation recommended in Australia

  Two reports released by the Australian Government are likely to impact on the consumer credit industry in Australia.

  6 Jun 08 Alison Deitz

• Newsletter: Competition and Consumer Law Update - June 2008

  Developments in the competition and consumer law field have continued at a fast pace both in Australia and overseas since our last Competition and Consumer Law Update.

  30 May 08 Calum Henderson, Nick McHugh , Andrew Beck, Claire Forster, Belinda Harvey, Natalie Trezise and Jonathan Wilkinson

• Restrictive Trade Practices Laws: where are we now and where are we going to?

  The competition provisions in Part IV of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (TPA) have been subjected to a period of sustained review and amendment since 2002. The process of change is far from settled.

  1 May 08 Richard Lewis , Andrew Bell

• Legal Update: Franchising Code of Conduct - recent update to Trade Practices Regulation

  The Trade Practices (Industry Codes - Franchising) Regulations 1998, more commonly known as the Franchising Code of Conduct, was updated this month.

  14 Mar 08 Stephen Giles

• Legal update: ACCC releases new draft merger guidelines

  The ACCC recently published its 2008 Draft Merger Guidelines for consultation. These guidelines are intended to provide an explanation of the framework the ACCC will apply when considering whether a merger or a proposed merger could substantially lessen competition in a market. Guidelines such as these issued by the ACCC from time to time, provide a useful overview of polices and procedures applied by the ACCC when reviewing proposed mergers.

  4 Mar 08 Jyoti Singh and Chris Mitchell

• Deacons in the press: Lessons from the Visy case

  An article by Deacons partner Nick McHugh and Special Counsel Professor Warren Pengilley was published in Keeping Good Companies, the Journal of the Chartered Secretaries Australia Ltd, February 2008 Vol 60 No 1, on the ACCC case against Visy Industries on the matter of price fixing.

  18 Feb 08 Nick McHugh , Mary-Anne Webb

• Legal update: ACCC seeks submissions to assist its inquiry into Australian grocery prices

  As foreshadowed in our recent Competition and Consumer Law Update, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has now released its Issues Paper dated 11 February 2008 (Issues Paper) inquiring into the competitiveness of the Australian grocery market.

  18 Feb 08 Andrew Bell and Claire Forster

• Newsletter: Competition and Consumer Law Update - February 2008

  For our first edition in 2008 of the Competition and Consumer Law Update, there have already been major developments in the competition and consumer law field.

  1 Feb 08 Susanna Taylor , Andrew Bell and Claire Forster