The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) works to enhance the welfare of Australians by promoting competition, fair trading and regulating national infrastructure.
This report highlights the range of activities engaged in by the ACCC to achieve its purpose in the April to June 2019 quarter, including:
- enforcing competition laws in relation to cartel conduct, anti-competitive agreements, misuse of market power, and mergers that substantially lessen competition
- protecting consumers from unfair business practices and unsafe products
- regulating national services, infrastructure and markets with limited competition or natural monopoly characteristics
- studying, monitoring and reporting on competition and consumer issues in specific markets and industries, and
- advocacy and collaboration to promote competition and fair trading.
Key enforcement outcomes for the quarter were:
- Penalties of $19 million against PT Garuda. Litigation was long-running (close to a decade) and brings total penalties of the ACCC’s air cargo cartel case to $132.5 million against 14 airlines.
- Criminal cartel charges laid against money transfer business Vina Money Transfer Pty Ltd and five individuals for allegedly fixing the Australian dollar/Vietnamese dong exchange rate they charged customers.
- Commencement of eight proceedings for alleged breaches of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) including against Jump Loops Pty Ltd for alleged false, misleading or deceptive statements about Jump Swim School franchises.
- $2.3 million in penalties against Birubi Art Pty Ltd for making false or misleading representations that its products were authentic Aboriginal art.
Two significant merger decisions were made during the quarter. On 8 May 2019 the ACCC announced its decision to oppose the proposed merger between TPG Telecom Limited and Vodafone Hutchison Australia Pty Ltd. On 9 May 2019 the ACCC announced that it would not oppose GSK’s proposed acquisition of Pfizer’s consumer healthcare business in Australia.
The ACCC continues to monitor and oversee compliance with the compulsory Takata airbag recall. We released comprehensive state-by-state data detailing the progress of the Takata recall in May 2019 and will continue to update the data on a quarterly basis.
The ACCC undertook surveillance across 272 retail outlets to gauge the effectiveness of, and compliance with, particular safety regulations. As a result of this proactive surveillance program, four products across the following product categories were recalled by their respective suppliers due to non-compliance: trolley jacks, nightwear for children and treadmills.
The ACCC completed an 18 month investigation into quad bike safety and recommended the government implement a mandatory safety standard under the ACL. Consultation on the draft safety standard closed on 10 June 2019. The ACCC will report to the government on stakeholder comments.
On advice from the ACCC, the Minister issued a Safety Warning Notice on the safety risks of button batteries, which was published on 30 March 2019. The ACCC has now established a Button Battery Task Force which will advance the government’s consideration of regulatory intervention to address the safety risks, particularly to young children.
The ACCC released a number of publications during the quarter, including the following:
- the fifth performance report for the Measuring Broadband Australia program
- a new report on internet activity in Australia
- guidance for NBN fixed wireless customers who experience broadband performance issues
- the ACCC water monitoring report 2017-18
- a quarterly report for the March 2019 quarter on the Australian petroleum market
- Wine grape market study interim report
- East Coast Gas Inquiry interim report.
The ACCC delivered a campaign with ACL regulators to raise awareness among NDIS providers and participants about consumer rights and the new NDIS Commission.
The ACCC engaged with international counterparts on a range of product safety, consumer, competition and regulatory matters, including entering into a new Memorandum of Cooperation with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigations.