Competition Update - January 2012

Welcome to the first Competition Update for 2012. 

Federal Parliament had a busy end to last year, passing not only the carbon pricing bill but also bills to introduce new price signalling laws and to clarify the laws relating to merger control and unconscionable conduct.  The ACCC responded to the carbon pricing bill by publishing guidelines to assist businesses to avoid making misleading carbon-related price increase claims.  The price signalling laws will apply to certain disclosures of pricing and other sensitive information by banks from June 2012.

In this edition:

• Kate Fazio reminds manufacturers and suppliers of goods and services about their new obligations, which commenced on 1 January 2012, if they provide “warranties against defects”.
• Natasha Cox considers some of the implications of the Full Federal Court’s decision in the ACCC v Metcash case, in which the Court affirmed the trial judge’s decision that Metcash’s acquisition of Franklins would not breach section 50 of the Competition and Consumer Act.
• Ciska De Rijk and Katrina Gowans reflect on developments in the ACCC’s enforcement of the Australian Consumer Law during 2011.

In this issue, we also summarise recent competition law developments in Australia and globally.

We wish all our readers a happy new year.

Lisa Huett