The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued a draft approval to a code of conduct for showmen after the Showmen's Guild of Australasia lodged an application for authorisation* for its code of conduct. The code would cover all guild members.
The code sets out standards of conduct for people providing sideshow entertainment. The ACCC considers that there are public benefits from a self-regulatory scheme for showmen, particularly in relation to safety requirements within Sideshow Alley.
However, the code also contains certain anticompetitive provisions such as those providing priority ground allocation to guild members at shows where the guild organises aspects of the sideshow area. The ACCC considers that, subject to a number of proposed conditions, these rules will assist in the provision of safe, accessible and organised show entertainment, particularly in rural and regional communities.
The proposed conditions are designed to reduce the potentially anticompetitive nature of some of the code's provisions. Other conditions are also proposed to enhance the net public benefit by improving the procedures for dealing with complaints by consumers and market participants.
The authorisation the ACCC proposes to grant is for five years.
Before the release of the ACCC's final determination, the guild and interested parties can request a public conference to discuss the operation and effect of the draft determination.
*The ACCC has the function, through the authorisation process, of adjudicating on certain anti-competitive practices that would otherwise breach the Trade Practices Act 1974. Authorisation provides immunity from court action, and is granted where the ACCC is satisfied that the practice delivers offsetting public benefits. Applications for authorisation are considered on a case-by-case basis. The onus is on the applicant to demonstrate that there is public benefit arising from the conduct and that the public benefit outweighs any public detriment. Authorisation, once granted, does not compel parties to participate in the proposed arrangements.