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Cut through complexity and navigate business critical engagement with regulators

Competition, consumer and regulation

Competition and consumer laws, globally and in Australia, are complex and constantly evolving. Regulators and policy makers are utilising existing laws and developing bespoke regulatory frameworks to deal with emerging issues in competition and consumer law including GenAI, digital platforms, the use of customer data and sustainability initiatives.

We simplify complex issues and partner with our clients to manage risk and navigate engagement with key regulators including Australia's national competition and consumer law regulator, the ACCC. Clients benefit from our team of experts with a proven record responding to business critical investigations and achieving clearance for high profile, high value or otherwise complex domestic and multi-jurisdictional transactions. We bring insights based on decades of expertise engaging with regulators including the ACCC and representing clients before courts and specialist tribunals.

How we can help

Navigating complex regulatory challenges

Clients value our expertise in managing business critical and reputationally sensitive competition and consumer law investigations, and our experience in guiding complex global and domestic transactions through the ACCC merger clearance regime. We have deep understanding of Australian competition and consumer laws and sector-specific regulatory regimes and extensive industry expertise. We know how the ACCC operates and have relationships with key decision makers.

We focus on providing practical, commercial solutions and partner with clients to:

  • Steer domestic and multi-jurisdictional transactions through Australia's merger control regime, including coordinating with global counsel, and aligning antitrust and FDI clearance reviews through an integrated offering with our FIRB practice
  • Assess and manage competition risk in commercial arrangements, including joint ventures and vertical supply arrangements
  • Respond to unexpected regulatory inquiries, including 'dawn raids'
  • Respond to and defend regulatory investigations including:
    • Immunity applications to the ACCC
    • Significant criminal and civil cartel investigations, including global investigations
    • Inquiries about possible misuse of market power and other anticompetitive arrangements
    • Potential breaches of the Australian Consumer Law, including misleading or deceptive conduct
  • Navigate broader regulatory risk including ACCC pricing inquiries and market studies
  • Test for and manage potential consumer law risks, including misrepresentations in marketing and advertising material, processes to manage customer complaints, product recall processes and compliance with the unfair contract terms regime
  • Engage with the ACCC through various formal processes including notification and authorisation for conduct that may otherwise breach Australian competition law
  • Provide tailored training and compliance programs to mitigate and manage competition and consumer law risk
  • Manage complex issues regarding access to essential services and bespoke access regimes

 

Knowledge and expertise

We are a leading firm which is consistently recognised for our competition / antitrust capabilities, including recognition as an 'Elite' competition practice Global Competition Review. We partner with our clients to help them navigate complexity and achieve their commercial goals.

  • Antitrust investigations
  • Consumer protection investigations
  • Merger control
Antitrust investigations

Our team is highly skilled in navigating Australian aspects of complex domestic and global antitrust investigations, referrals to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to alleged cartel conduct, negotiated administrative outcomes and formal ACCC enforcement action. This includes investigations and enforcement action regarding:

  • Cartel conduct, including price fixing, acquisition/supply restrictions bid rigging and market allocation
  • Misuse of market power (abuse of dominance)
  • Exclusive dealing, including bundling, tying and rebate arrangements
  • Concerted practices
  • Resale price maintenance

Consumer protection investigations

Consumer law represents a significant risk in Australia. Businesses risk substantial financial penalties equivalent to competition law breaches. Our team partners with clients to proactively manage consumer protection risks by developing consumer law compliant marketing & advertising content, contracts, policies and procedures. We also work with clients to respond to investigations and enforcement action by regulators including the ACCC covering a broad range of issues including:

  • Misleading or deceptive conduct, and false or misleading representations
  • Unfair contract terms
  • Unconscionable conduct
  • Statutory warranties under the consumer guarantees regime
  • Pricing related issues including the way in which pricing is displayed to consumers
  • Compliance reviews of marketing material, advertising, product brochures, websites and external communications
  • Product recalls, mandatory notification obligations and product safety standards

Merger control

MERGER CONTROL

Our experts regularly guide Australian and international clients through Australia's merger control regime, including the ACCC's informal clearance process as well as formal merger authorisation. We work with clients and, where appropriate, other experts including consulting economists, to achieve merger clearance. Where necessary, this includes formulating and negotiating remedies, and advocating for clients through review processes, including before Australia's specialist competition law review body, the Australian Competition Tribunal.

Recent examples of our experience

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Singtel Optus

Successfully acting for Optus to oppose a landmark regional mobile network sharing deal between Australia's largest mobile network operator, Telstra, and TPG. This included successfully advocating for the arrangement to be opposed by the ACCC and on appeal by the Australian Competition Tribunal.

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Stanwell

Successfully defending Stanwell in a class action alleging that Stanwell and CS Energy misused their market power in relation to bidding into the National Energy Market. This matter was the largest claim for misuse of market power ever filed in Australia and is the first class action brought in a competition law context without a preceding successful regulator action.

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Qantas

Securing authorisation from the ACCC for Qantas' global alliance with Emirates to enable continued coordination of air passenger and cargo transport, securing authorisation for Jetstar's pan-Asia strategy and advising on Qantas' acquisition of Trip-A-Deal.

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Merger control

Advising on Australian competition aspects of complex, high profile and high value transactions including Optus / TPG, Linfox Armaguard / Prosegur, Broadcom / VMware, Amazon / iRobot, Brookfield / Neoen, Cargotec / Konecranes, Bunge / Viterra, Facebook (Meta) / Kustomer, Siemens / Alstom, Viasat / Inmarsat, AT&T / Discovery / Warner, Thl / Apollo, among others.

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Complex investigations and litigation

Advising on complex competition litigation, including successfully acting (at trial and on appeal) for the NSW government in competition proceedings alleging that terms of a privatisation agreement regarding major NSW ports assets were anticompetitive. Acting in a range of confidential investigations in relation to potential instances of cartel conduct including for a senior executive charged in a prosecution against major investment banks, and in the first instance of 'gun jumping’ in Australia.

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Consumer law enforcement action

Advising clients, including Secure Parking, Kraft Heinz and Optus, in relation to proceedings brought by ACCC for Australian Consumer Law breaches.

Awards and recognition

Chambers

"MinterEllison's competition team benefits both from a deep bench and extensive regional network, supporting the representation of blue-chip multinationals on cross-border merger clearances and providing a popular, independent choice for referrals from international law firms without an Australian presence. The firm is acknowledged for its prowess handling regulatory investigations or cartel issues, as well as its experience managing infrastructure access questions and advising public sector bodies on regulatory legislation."

"They are organised, efficient and client-focused. They also have feet on the ground and excellent relationships with the authorities. Whenever we have to choose a firm here, they're always at the top of our list."

"The firm is very responsive, very quick to come back to us on things with really high-quality work and understands our business."

Legal 500

"The firm has a very strong competition practice, with key partners supported by a talented group of lawyers. The practice makes excellent use of legal technology (particularly in relation to document searching and production) and the technology services area is integrated into the legal practice so that it feels like one 'seamless’ service when those technologies are leveraged."

GCR

MinterEllison is recognised as an Elite firm by Global Competition Review and is proud to have been a winner at the GCR 2024 Awards, with Broadcom/VMware being recognised as the Merger Matter of the Year AMEA.

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Our thinking and experience

Lead contacts

Geoff Carter

Partner, Melbourne

Miranda Noble

Partner, Melbourne

Haydn Flack

Partner, Sydney

Katrina Groshinski

Chair, Partner, Sydney

Paul Schoff

Partner, Sydney

Kathryn Finlayson

Partner, Brisbane

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