Competition & Trade Practices
10. Breaches of Competition Law
Authors: Staff Legal Eagle
Firm / Chambers:
Last updated: 11 Jul 2015
- The Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) gives the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) broad powers to investigate suspected breaches of its competition provisions. If you or your company are suspected of breach the ACCC’s first step in investigation is usually to invite anyone associated with the suspected breach to participate in a voluntary interview.
- The ACCC also has the power to make an individual or a company:
- attend hearings and answer questions;
- disclose information; and
- provide documents.
- The ACCC also has the power to obtain warrants for seizures and to organise 'dawn raids'. Telecommunication records of calls and faxes can also be accessed by the ACCC and any information obtained can be shared extensively with competition agencies around the world.
- The ACCC does not rely solely on its powers of investigation to gain awareness of a potential breach of the competition laws. It can also respond to information provided to it through the following avenues:
- complaints lodged with the ACCC by:
- customers;
- employees;
- consumers;
- competitors; or
- consumer associations; and
- the ACCC also regularly reviews advertisements in the media for any indication of potential competition law breaches.
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