The ACCC has issued final determinations granting conditional authorisation to enable private and public hospital operators, along with government health authorities in each Australian state and territory to work with each other in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ACCC may grant authorisation which provides businesses with legal protection for arrangements that may otherwise risk breaching competition law but are not harmful to competition and/or are likely to result in overall public benefit. The ACCC considers that maintaining competition in the long term will be critical to benefit both consumers and the economy. The ACCC considers that the proposed conduct is likely to deliver public benefit by helping to ensure an efficient and effective allocation of hospital resources during the pandemic.
The ACCC has granted conditional authorisation until 30 September 2021. The conditions will allow the ACCC to monitor the authorised conduct.
Further information about the ACCC’s decisions in relation to Victoria, Queensland, NSW, ACT, SA, WA, NT and Tasmania is available on the ACCC’s public register.