Part VIIA enables the ACCC to examine the prices of selected goods and services in the Australian economy.
The ACCC’s functions under this Part are:
to hold price inquiries in relation to the supply of goods or services, and to report the findings to the responsible Commonwealth minister
to examine proposed price rises when, for example, the minister has declared the relevant goods or services to be ‘notified’ goods or services and has declared the supplier to be subject to this provision
to monitor the prices, costs and profits of an industry or business under the direction of the minister and to report the results to the minister.
These functions were originally provided for by the Prices Surveillance Act 1983, which was repealed in 2003.
The minister determines the subject of an ACCC inquiry. The ACCC has to give widespread and reasonable notice of the inquiry and serve individual notices on any organisations specially identified in the minister’s directions.
These inquiries may relate to the supply of goods or services by a particular person. If so, the person’s ability to increase the prices of those goods or services during a particular period is restricted.
A report of the ACCC’s findings and recommendations is submitted to the minister and a copy is sent to any notified organisation on the same day. Any notified organisation has to advise the ACCC of its proposed prices within 14 days of receiving a copy of the report. Failure to do so would constitute an offence. The ACCC has to make public those prices within another 14 days.
Price notifications
The minister determines which organisations, and which goods or services should be subjected to prices surveillance. These are formally ‘declared’.
A declared organisation cannot raise the price of a declared product beyond its peak price of the previous 12 months unless it fulfils the requirements of the Act. To do so would constitute an offence.
The declared organisation has to notify the ACCC of a proposed price rise and the terms and conditions of supply. The prohibition on supply ceases if:
the ACCC advises it does not object to the proposed increase
the declared organisation agrees to implement a lower price specified by the ACCC
the prescribed period—initially 21 days—expires.
The ACCC has the option of recommending an inquiry—and an extension of the prohibition on a price rise—to the minister if the outcome of the prices surveillance procedure is perceived to be unsatisfactory.
The ACCC maintains a public register of surveillance matters showing price notifications, the ACCC’s deliberations, the outcome and the reasons for the outcome.
The ACCC can monitor the prices, costs and profits of an industry or business. The minister determines which industries or businesses are monitored and how often the ACCC should report. The report is submitted to the minister and copies are sent to the monitored organisations on the same day. Inquiry and monitoring reports are to be made available to the public as soon as possible after they have been submitted to the minister.
