Principles and approaches underlying this policy

The ACCC exercises its enforcement powers independently in the public interest with integrity and professionalism and without fear, favour or bias.

The ACCC’s enforcement response is proportionate to the conduct and resulting harm, and the implementation of the ACCC’s enforcement policy is governed by the following guiding principles:

• Transparency—this has two aspects:
  
• the ACCC’s decision-making takes place within rigorous corporate governance processes and is able to be reviewed by a range of agencies, including the Commonwealth Ombudsman and the courts
  
• the ACCC does not do private deals—every enforcement matter that is dealt with through litigation or formal resolution is made public.
  
• Confidentiality—in general, investigations are conducted confidentially and the ACCC does not comment on matters it may or may not be investigating. 
  
• Timeliness—the investigative process and the resolution of enforcement matters are conducted as efficiently as possible to avoid costly delays and business uncertainty. 
  
• Consistency—the ACCC does not make ad hoc decisions; it sets its focus clearly to give business certainty about its actions. 
  
• Fairness—the ACCC seeks to strike the right balance between voluntary compliance and enforcement while responding to many competing interests.