Competing fairly

Industry associations

Industry associations play an important role in providing a collective voice for individual businesses within an industry. However, associations and their members (regardless of size) must be mindful of their obligations under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (the Act).

Companies behaving badly?

ACCC Chair Rod Sims delivered the Giblin Lecture in Tasmania today, and shared his observations on company behaviour that drives breaches of Australia’s competition and consumer laws.

“Few companies behave badly often, but rather many engage in occasional significant instances of bad behaviour, which remains unacceptable.”

“It is often said that companies succeed by looking after the needs of their customers. I have been surprised over very many years, however, at the way in which many businesses often do precisely the opposite.”

Commercial construction unit

The ACCC is currently prioritising anti-competitive conduct in commercial construction markets and has established a Commercial Construction Unit (CCU) focussed on the construction sector.

Forums

A forum for journalists was held on 15 August and a stakeholder forum was held on 16 August in Sydney. The ACCC also hosted two public forums in May to discuss the impacts of digital platforms for consumers and advertisers (including small businesses).

Submissions

The ACCC released an issues paper on 26 February 2018 seeking feedback on matters relevant to the inquiry. Submissions to the issues paper closed on 3 April 2018.