Some Do’s and Don’ts of chairing or attending a meeting of competitors

The ACCC recognises that there are times when competitors may find themselves at a meeting to discuss and address industry concerns. Meetings of competitors are not unlawful in themselves but certain collusive behaviour between competitors occurring at such meetings may contravene the Competition and Consumer Act.

The following is a non exhaustive practical checklist for organisers and attendees of such meetings.

Do ensure strict performance in areas of

Planning/chairing the meeting

• Plan your meeting agenda;
• Seek appropriate legal advice on all questions relating to competition and consumer law issues;
• Limit meeting discussions to agenda items;
• Communicate expectations at the start of meeting.

Record keeping

• Have an agenda and minutes which accurately reflect the matters which occur;
• Ensure agendas, minutes and other important documents are reviewed by appropriate staff or legal representatives, in advance of distribution;
• Fully describe the purposes and authorities of task groups and work groups.

Vigilance

• Protest at any discussion or meeting activities which appear to violate this checklist; ask for those activities to be stopped so that appropriate checks can be made with legal representatives; disassociate yourself from any such discussion or activities and leave any meeting in which they continue.
• Be aware that your exposure to risk does not end when your meeting ends.

Do not engage in or appear to engage in discussion or exchange of information not in harmony with the Competition and Consumer Act, for example on

Prices, including:  

• Individual company prices, price changes, price differentials, mark-ups, discounts, allowances, credit terms.

Production, including:

• Plans for individual companies concerning the design, production, distribution or marketing of particular products, including proposed territories or customers;
• Changes in industry production, capacity or inventories.

Transportation rates:

• Rates or rate policies for individual shipments, including basing point systems, zone prices, freight equalisation.

Market procedures, including:

• Company bids on contracts for particular products or services;
• Company procedures for responding to bid invitations;
• Matters relating to actual or potential individual suppliers or customers that might have the effect of excluding them from any market or influencing the business conduct of others towards them;
• Blacklist or boycott customers or suppliers.

The ACCC has an immunity policy for corporations and individuals who have been involved in a cartel but then report their involvement to the ACCC.

The policy provides immunity from litigation and penalty for those who assist with cartel investigations.

Cartel behaviour can include;

• fixing prices so there is no competition and buyers have no choice
• allocating customers, suppliers or territories to remove competitors
• rigging bids so that cartel members can rotate winning jobs at inflated rates
• controlling the output or limiting the amount of goods and services available to buyers so they have no choice but to pay higher prices

For more details view

• Immunity from cartel proceedings