National Competition Council: Overview of National Competition Policy

January 2007 sees several amendments to Australia's Trade Practices Act come into effect.

The revisions are fully detailed in new guidelines issued by Australia's Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

Trade Practices Act 1974 - There was a major review of the competition provisions of the Trade Practices Act, 1974. The Government's response to this review was announced on 16 April 2003, and legislation to give effect to this response is currently being drafted. The legislation is yet to be finalised.

Prices Surveillance Act 1983 - Recently Repealed

Australian Reform 1995

Review of Sections 51(2) and 51(3) of the Trade Practices Act 1974

The Dawson Report

Preliminaries

Contents

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Preface

Summary

Part 1 Overview

Chapter 1

Part 2 Mergers

Chapter 2

Part 3 Market Conduct

Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9

Part 4 Penalties

Chapter 10

Part 5 Administration

Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13

Appendices

Appendix ATerms of Reference

Appendix B List of Submissions

Commonwealth Government Response to the Review of the
Competition Provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974

ACCC Merger Guidelines 2008 (draft)

Merger guidelines 1999 (will be replaced by Merger Guidelines 2008 once finalised)

ACCC Merger Review Process Guidelines 2006 (supplements the Merger Guidelines 1999)

ACCC Guide to collective bargaining notifications

ACCC Formal merger review process guidelines 2007

Guidelines relating to deferral of arbitrations and backdating of determinations under Part IIIA of the Trade Practices Act 1974
Published: 21st December 2006

ACCC Guidelines for excluding information from the public register for authorisation and notification processes

Guide to exclusive dealing notifications

Forms for lodging applications for authorisation and notifications

Co-operation Agreements and Treaties

Agreement Between Australia and Chinese Taipei

MOU Between ACCC and Commerce Commission of Fiji Islands

Co-operation Arrangement Between ACCC and The Fair Trade Commission of Korea

Arrangement Between Government of Australia and European Commission on Consumer Policy and Protection

MOU between Australia and New Zealand on Harmonisation of Business Law

Australia New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement

The Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Agreement (TTMRA)

Agreement between Australia and Papua New Guinea

ACCC / NZ Commerce Commission / Canadian Competition Bureau

ACCC / Taiwan Fair Trade Commission / NZ Commerce Commission

ACCC / US FTC Agreement on Consumer Protection Enforcement Assistance

United States / Australia Agreement on Antitrust Enforcement Assistance

Agreement between Australia, New Zealand and United Kingdom

Agreement Between the Federal Trade Commission of the United States of America and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission On the Mutual Enforcement Assistance in Consumer Protection Matters

Agreement Between the Bureau of Consumer Protection of the Federal Trade Commission and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission Concerning Consumer Sentinel Network Confidentiality

Competition and Co-ordination Arrangement Between Chinese Taipei and Australia

ACCC - Ongoing cases

Anti-competitive practices

Unconscionable conduct

Consumer protection

Product safety

Recent Australian Competition Tribunal Decisions as of 4 December 2006

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
Media Releases

National Competition Council
Media Releases

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

ACCC Annual Report 2005-2006

ACCC Annual Report 2003-2004

ACCC Annual Report 2002-2003

OECD

Competition Law and Policy in 2004-2005

Competition Law and Policy in 2003-2004

Competition Law and Policy in 2002-2003

Competition Law and Policy in 2001-2002

Policy Brief: Economic Survey of Australia, 2006

Economic Survey of Australia 2006: Long-term structural challenges

Economic Policy Reforms: Going for Growth 2006: Progress in Responding
to the 2005 Policy Priorities

Product market competition and economic performance in Australia, 20-Oct-2005

Economic Survey of Australia 2004: Executive summary

Review of the National Competition Policy Reforms by the Productivity Commission

Review of National Competition Policy by the Council of Australian Goverments

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

Publications


The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

Speeches

Regulatory Developments in The New Millenium

The Role and Functions of The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

More Speeches

National Competition Council

Speeches

Assessments

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

ACCC News Releases

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)
International Liaison
470 Northbourne Ave
Dickson ACT 2602
AUSTRALIA

P.O. Box 1119
Dickenson ACT 2602
AUSTRALIA

Tel: (612) 6243 1111/1123
Fax: (612) 6243 1199/1122

National Competition Council (Policy Body involved in the access regime)
Level 9 / 128 Exhibition Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Postal address: GPO Box 250B
Melbourne VIC 3001
Tel: + 03 9285 7474
Fax: +03 9285 7477
Email:info@ncc.gov.au

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

National Competition Council (Policy Body involved in the access regime)

Consumer Credit (Amendment) Act 2006 (amends Consumer Credit Act 1999)

Fair Trading Decree (Amendment) Act 2005

The Commerce Act 1998

Fair Trading Decree 1992

Fair Trading Amendment Act, 1998

Consumer Credit Act 1999

No information available

No information available

No information available

Consumer Council of Fiji (CCF)
243 Waimanu Road
Private Mail Bag
Suva
Fiji
Tel: +679 300 792/+679 305 478/+679 305 864
Fax: +679 300 115
E-mail: consumer@is.com.fj

Ministry of Commerce, Business Development and Investment
Naibati House, 9 Goodenough Street, Suva.
Postal Address:
PO Box 2131, Government Buildings, Suva. Fiji
Tel: (679) 3305411
Fax: (679) 3301741

Ministry of Commerce, Business Development and Investment

Commerce Commission

No information available

Ministry of Commerce, Industry & Tourism
Postal Address:P.O. Box 510 Betio,
Tarawa
Kiribati
Phone: + 686 26158
Fax: + 686 26233
E-mail: commerce@tskl.net.ki

Ministry for Commerce, Industry & Employment
Postal Address
PO Box 69 Bairiki, Tarawa
Kiribati
Phone: + 686 21 097
Fax: +686 21 452

The principal source of New Zealand competition law is the Commerce Act 1986. The purpose of this Act is to promote competition in markets for the long-term benefit of New Zealand consumers. It sets out to achieve this through legislation that facilitates the efficient operation of markets. In particular, it:
- prohibits the establishment or operation of business arrangements which substantially lessen competition;
- prohibits firms from taking advantage of a substantial degree of market power for anti-competitive purposes;
- provides for the scrutiny of mergers and takeovers to prevent a substantial lessening of competition; and,
- provides for price control in markets where there is an absence of competition.

The Commerce Act was amended in 2001 in order to update the legislation. A key change was the lowering of the merger threshold from one of 'dominance' to that of 'substantially lessening competition'. Although there has been a general trend toward avoiding industry-specific regulations in favour of general rules applying across all sectors (particularly those set out in the Commerce Act) more sector-specific regulations have been introduced through the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act 2001, the Telecommunications Act 2001 and the Electricity Industry Reform Act 1998. While the Commerce Act focuses on general prohibitions on arrangements or practices that have an anti-competitive purpose or effect, the Fair Trading Act 1986 protects consumers and ethical traders through provisions relating to deceptive conduct, unfair practices, and standards for safety and consumer information.

Public enforcement of competition law is the responsibility of the Commerce Commission, which may initiate an investigation into an alleged breach of the Commerce Act either following a complaint or as a result of its own surveillance activities. The Commission also has responsibility for enforcing the sector specific regulations for dairy, telecommunications and electricity. The Commission has recently noted that its first strategic priority is to maximise the effectiveness of its enforcement activity in relation to anticompetitive, false, and misleading behaviour. A particular focus for the Commission is the investigation of hardcore cartels. In 2004 the Commission introduced a Leniency Policy specifically to tackle cartel behaviour, under which the first member of a cartel to report to the Commission and co-operate with subsequent enforcement activity will gain immunity from prosecution.

Legislation
(Legal Acts-Regulations-Resolutions)

The Commerce Act 1986

On 03 September 2009, the Commerce Commission released a draft leniency policy: In the process of revising the existing leniency policy on cartels, the Commerce Commission of New Zealand has released a draft policy with two significant revisions. The first is the introduction of a marker system that identifies the order in which applicants have sought conditional immunity for their participation in a cartel and provides a place-holder to the first applicant while the applicant compiles evidence. The second is Amnesty Plus, which allows an applicant, who is otherwise not eligible for immunity for a particular cartel, to reduce the penalty for involvement in that cartel by informing the Commission of another separate cartel. (Source: NERA Global Antitrust Weekly, Issue 554, 29 August - 04 September 2009). Commerce Commission Press Release, 03/09/09

Changes to the regulatory control provisions of the New Zealand Commerce Act 1986 were announced in the beginning of 2008. Under the new regime the two parts of the Act, Part 4 and 4A, will be combined in a single framework, which will provide for alternative forms of regulation in addition to conventional price control including:

- Information disclosure;

- A negotiation and arbitration regime; and

- A "default/customised price path" regime, which replaces the threshold regime.

The legislation effecting these changes were introduced before Parliament during 2008. (Source: Practical Law Company)

Commerce Amendment Act (No 2) 2001
Commerce Amendment Act (No. 2) 1990
Commerce Amendment Act 1990
Commerce Amendment Act 1994
Commerce Amendment Act 1996

Commerce Amendment Act 2001
Commerce (Clearance Validation) Amendment Act 2001

Dairy Industry Restructuring Act 2001
Dairy Industry Restructuring Amendment Act 2005

Electricity Industry Reform Act 1998
Electricity Industry Reform Amendment Act 2001
Electricity Industry Reform Amendment Act 2004

Telecommunications Act 2001
Telecommunications Amendment Act 2005

The Fair Trading Act 1986

Fair Trading Amendment Act 1994
Fair Trading Amendment Act 1997
Fair Trading Amendment Act 1999
Fair Trading Amendment Act 2000
Fair Trading Amendment Act 2001
Fair Trading Amendment Act 2003
Fair Trading Amendment Act (No 2) 2003

IBA's Antitrust Committee Leniency Working Group Submission to the New Zealand Commerce Commission on Revised Draft Leniency Policy, November 2009

Commerce Commission Guides

Mergers and acquisitions Guidelines

Commerce Commission Leniency Policy

Commerce Commission Co-operation Policy

Anti-competitive Practices Under Part II of the Commerce Act

Pamphlets and Guidelines

The Commission publishes a wide range of pamphlets and more detailed guidelines about the Commerce and Fair Trading Acts. Click here to view a full list of these publications and place orders for them online.

Commerce Act Application Forms

Application for Business Acquisition Clearance (s66)

Application for Business Acquisition Authorisation (s67)

Application for Authorisation of Restrictive Trade Practices (s58) Co-operation

New Zealand has agreements with a number of countries.

Australia

The relationship with Australia is New Zealand's most significant bilateral link. It is underpinned by geographical proximity, historical linkages, shared outlook, similar social structures and an extensive overlap in economic and security interests. Key agreements in place include:

The Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Agreement (ANZCERTA)

The Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Agreement (TTMRA)

The Memorandum of Understanding on Harmonisation of Business Law

Cooperation Agreement between the ACCC and the Commerce Commission

For more information on bilateral links with Australia please see the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and click on Relations with New Zealand, Bilateral linkages.

Australia & Canada
The Commerce Commission has entered into a tripartite co-operation arrangement with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Canadian Competition Bureau. The objective of the arrangement is to promote co-operation and co-ordination among the three agencies in relation to the application of the competition and consumer laws that they enforce. The agencies will share information as allowed by existing privacy and confidentiality laws, co-ordinate enforcement activities where appropriate and avoid any conflict in enforcement action.

Cooperation Agreement between Commissioner of Competition (Canada), ACCC and CC - October 2000

Taipei
Bilateral agreement between Chinese Taipei & New Zealand

United Kingdom

Co-operation Agreement between Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, OFT, ACCC and CC - October 2003

International Co-operation
As a Member of the OECD New Zealand complies with the 1986 Recommendations on international co-operation relating to the notification of investigations or proceeding to other Member countries if their interest may be affected. The criteria are whether an investigation or proceeding relates to the conduct of a person resident or carrying business in another member country, or whether the conduct is likely to have an effect on competition in a market in another member country.

Public Registers (These links list applications registered by the Commission. Links to the analysis involved once the final decision has been made are also included on these pages)

Applications for Business Acquisition Clearances (s66)
Applications for Business Acquisition Authorisations (s67)
Applications for Authorisation of Restrictive Trade Practices (s58)
Electricity Industry Reform Act-Exemptions

Commerce Commission Recent Judgments

Recent decisions
Decision 602 - Carter Holt Harvey Limited - Business clearance application.
Decision 599 - Goodman Fielder Limited - Business clearance application.
Decision 584 - GE Fleet New Zealand/Custom Fleet (NZ) Limited - Business Acquisition Clearance application.
Decision 583 - Visy Plastics (NZ) Limited/Vertex Group Holdings Limited & Alto Plastics Limited - Business Acquisition Clearance application.
Decision 580 - New Zealand Rugby Football Union Incorporate - Anti-Competitive Practices Authorisation application.
Decision 577 - Portacom New Zealand Limited/Rhino Portable Buildings Limited - Clearance application.
Decision 511 - Qantas Airways/Air New Zealand - Business Acquisition Authorisation and Anti-Competitive Practice Authorisation.

Commerce Commission Annual Plans
Commerce Commission Annual Reports
Commerce Commission Strategic Plan 2004-2009

A quarterly publication called Communique , that provides an update on the Commission's activities across all its regulatory control and enforcement functions, and analysis of significant issues at the heart of the Commission's work.

Commerce Commission Publications

Commerce Commission Speeches

OECD Report: New Zealand: Competition Law and Policy in 2004-2005

OECD Report: New Zealand: Competition Law and Policy in 2003-2004

A Best Practice Review of the New Zealand Merger Regime, Alan Lear, August 2007

Creeping Acquisitions - the way forward, September 2008

Media Releases since 1994 (Commerce Commission)

New Zealand Commerce Commission

Chair, Paula Rebstock;
General Manager, Geoff Thorn
Website: www.comcom.govt.nz
e mail: contact@comcom.govt.nz
44-52 The Terrace
PO Box 2351
Wellington
New Zealand
Tel: + 64 4 924 3600
Fax:+ 64 4 924 3700

Ministry of Economic Development Regulatory and Competition Policy Branch

Responsible Minister Hon Lianne Dalziel;
Chief Executive Officer Geoff Dangerfield
Postal Address:
33 Bowen Street
PO Box 1473
Wellington
New Zealand
Ph: +64 4 472 0030
Fax: +64 4 473 4638
Queries on the Ministry E mail to: info@med.govt.nz
Website: www.med.govt.nz
Comments on the Website: webmaster@med.govt.nz

Ministry of Consumer Affairs - This Ministry deals with issues on the Fair Trading Act rather than Competition Policy.

Responsible Minister: Judith Tizard;
General Manager, Elizabeth Mac Pherson
Postal address: PO Box 1473 Wellington New Zealand
Phone + 64 4 474 2750
Fax + 64 4 473 9400
e mail: mcainfo@mca.govt.nz
website: www.consumer-ministry.govt.nz

New Zealand Commerce Commission

Ministry of Economic Development

Business Law and Policy, Regulatory and Competition Policy Branch

Ministry of Consumer Affairs

The Independent Consumer and Competition Commission Act 2002 establishes the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission. In all, the Act consists of 10 Parts and it is the primaryl legislation on consumer protection and competition in Papua and New Guinea. The Act deals with the establishment and the role of the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission, competitive market conduct, entities, goods, services, contracts, codes, rules and consumer protection. The Act aims to promote competition and fair trading, and also control and regulate prices of certain goods and services and the overall protection of consumers’ interest. by

1. The Independent Consumer and Competition Commision Act, 2002
2. Prices Regulation Act
3. Trade Measurement Act

• Complaint/Inquiry Form
• Authorization Application Form
• Clearance Application Form
• Restrictive Trade Practices Application Form
  

Co-operation and Co-ordination Agreement between the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and Papua New Guinea Consumer Affairs Council, November,1999

OECD: Competition Policy and the Informal Economy, Contribution from Papua New Guinea

ICCC Corporate Plan and Priorities 2008-2010

New competition and utility regulation laws for PNG

Competition and Regulatory Policy Reforms in Papua New Guinea

ICCC publications / speeches

ICCC News

Port Moresby (Head Office)
1st Floor, Garden City, Angau Drive
P O Box 6394
BOROKO
National Capital District
Telephone: (675) 325 2144
Facsimile: (675) 325 3980
Email: info@iccc.gov.pg