The ACCC has granted interim authorisation to a group of car rental operators at Cairns Airport (the Applicants), to enable the Applicants to engage in the initial stages of collective negotiations with Cairns Airport.
Interim authorisation extends to potentially agreeing to ‘holdover’ existing agreements but does not extend to the Applicants entering into any new agreements with Cairns airport.
Interim authorisation commences immediately and protects the Applicants from legal action under the relevant provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 while the ACCC assesses the substantive application for authorisation. The ACCC may review the interim authorisation at any time and its interim authorisation decision should not be taken to be indicative of the ACCC’s final decision.
More information about the ACCC’s interim decision is available on the public registers at: Car rental operators at Cairns Airport.