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The ACCC recognises and strongly encourages cooperation by people and businesses with our compliance and enforcement activities under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 including the Australian Consumer Law (the Act).

We consider cooperation when deciding how to respond to misconduct.

The ACCC compliance and enforcement policy provides information about our compliance and enforcement functions, tools and strategies.

You must comply with a statutory notice, a mandatory reporting obligation, or any other legal requirement. Doing this is not the same as cooperation or voluntary self-reporting.

How to self-report

A person or business that has been involved in potentially unlawful conduct can cooperate with the ACCC by making a voluntarily self-report of their misconduct and continuing to cooperate through any subsequent investigation and action.

The ACCC strongly encourages self-reporting of misconduct. This positively influences the compliance or enforcement actions we may take, including deciding whether any such actions are needed.

To report conduct that may raise concerns under the Act that you or your business have been involved in, contact SelfReport@accc.gov.au. Please provide your contact details so that an ACCC officer can contact you to discuss your report.

How to cooperate

A person or business that has been involved in potentially unlawful conduct can cooperate with the ACCC. They can:

  • stop the misconduct immediately and change their practices so they comply with the Act in future
  • self-report any misconduct voluntarily
  • disclose all information relevant to the misconduct proactively, honestly and comprehensively
  • provide information to the ACCC without delay
  • take active steps to remedy any harm arising from the misconduct, such as providing refunds or compensation to impacted customers
  • choose to assist any ACCC investigation into the misconduct
  • provide evidence that can be used in court, without delay.

To cooperate with the ACCC in an existing investigation contact SelfReport@accc.gov.au to be directed to the appropriate ACCC case manager.

Benefits of cooperation

Cooperation with the ACCC is encouraged. It is relevant when we consider which compliance and enforcement tools or remedies to use to address misconduct.

The ACCC uses a range of tools and remedies to address misconduct. This includes business and consumer education, infringement notices, court enforceable undertakings, and/or taking court proceedings where we may seek penalties. The ACCC compliance and enforcement policy provides more information.

Cooperating with the ACCC can benefit a person or business in important ways. It can avoid the need for protracted and costly investigations or litigation by resolving competition and consumer issues more quickly.

Self-reporting of misconduct and cooperating with our investigation can help to show a willingness and effort to remedy misconduct and comply with the law.

We may still take compliance or enforcement action for self-reported misconduct or where a person or business has cooperated. In deciding which compliance or enforcement tool or remedy to use, we look at the entire context of the misconduct, including:

  • the circumstances in which the misconduct took place, including the extent of consumer or small business detriment or competitive harm
  • the size and market power of the business involved in the misconduct
  • whether the misconduct was deliberate
  • the period of time over which the misconduct took place, including whether it is ongoing
  • whether we only became aware of the misconduct from a self-report and may not have found out about it any other way
  • whether the person or business involved in the misconduct has provided full, frank and truthful disclosure to us
  • whether the person or business has cooperated fully with our investigation without delay. This can include providing evidence for court proceedings.

We will also consider the factors in our compliance and enforcement policy.

The courts are generally more lenient to people and businesses who cooperate with the ACCC.

Cooperation and penalties

Where the ACCC takes court proceedings, our guidelines on ACCC approach to penalties in competition and consumer law matters set out:

  • how cooperation by a person or business alleged to have contravened the Act will be considered when determining the penalty we’ll seek from the court
  • our approach when determining the penalties we consider appropriate to include in our submissions to the court.

There is no automatic right to a discount for cooperation, but in most cases cooperation will involve some reduction in the total penalty the ACCC will seek from the court.

Cartel conduct and cooperation

The ACCC immunity and cooperation policy for cartel conduct sets out our approach to immunity applications relating to cartel conduct. It outlines how we recognise cooperation by cartel participants.

This relates to cartel proceedings initiated by the ACCC or the Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.

Immunity is only available to the person or business that is the first eligible applicant to apply. Eligibility criteria include cooperation with the ACCC while applying for immunity and throughout our investigation and any resulting court proceedings.

You may still seek to cooperate with us under Section H of the policy if  you have been involved in cartel conduct but are not eligible for immunity. This may be because you:

  • are not the first to disclose the conduct, or
  • do not meet other eligibility criteria.

We provide extra information about the process in the ACCC immunity and cooperation policy: Frequently asked questions.

Further information

Contact us for more information about cooperation.