Undertaking date
Undertaking type
Company or individual details
- BP Australia, Caltex Australia Petroleum, Woolworths, 7-Eleven Stores, Informed Sources (Australia)
Undertaking
On 22 December 2015, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission accepted court enforceable undertakings from:
- BP Australia Pty Ltd (BP);
- Caltex Australia Petroleum Pry Ltd (Caltex);
- Woolworths Ltd (Woolworths);
- 7-Eleven Stores Pty Ltd (7-Eleven); and
- Informed Sources (Australia) Pty Ltd (Informed Sources).
The undertakings require that Informed Sources will not supply a petrol price information exchange service unless it makes available at the same time the retail petrol price information that it provides to petrol retailers to:
- Australian consumers; and
- third party information service providers, consumer organisations, motorist organisations, research organisations and regulatory agencies carrying on business or operating in Australia, on reasonable commercial terms.
The undertakings for BP, Caltex, Woolworths and 7-Eleven require that they will not enter into or give effect to any price information exchange service unless the petrol price information each receives is made available to consumers and third party organisations at the same time.
The Federal Court also ordered, by consent, that the proceedings against BP, Caltex, Woolworths, 7-Eleven and Informed Sources be discontinued with no order as to cost and it noted the undertakings.
On 19 August 2014, the ACCC instituted proceedings in the Federal Court against Informed Sources and five petrol retailers (BP, Caltex, Woolworths, 7-Eleven and Eureka Operations Pty Ltd trading as Coles Express (Coles Express)).
The ACCC alleged that the information sharing arrangements between Informed Sources and the petrol retailers, through a service provided by Informed Sources, has the effect or likely effect of substantially lessening competition in markets for the sale of petrol in Melbourne in contravention of section 45(2) of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-takes-action-against-informed-sources-and-petrol-retailers-for-price-information-sharing
On 16 December 2015, the ACCC accepted a court enforceable undertaking from Coles Express in which Coles Express agreed to terminate its agreement with Informed Sources at the expiration of its current contract and to not enter into a similar petrol price information exchange service for the next five years. As a result, the ACCC consented to orders by the Federal Court that the proceedings be discontinued against it. http://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-and-coles-express-resolve-petrol-price-information-sharing-proceedings.
On 19 August 2014 the ACCC also accepted a court enforceable undertaking from Mobil Oil Australia Pty Ltd (Mobil), in which Mobil agreed that it would not subscribe to the price information exchange service. The ACCC did not join Mobil to the proceedings after taking into account the undertaking it provided and that Mobil ceased subscribing to the Informed Sources service in October 2010. https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/mobil-undertakes-to-not-subscribe-to-petrol-price-information-sharing-services.