Competition and Consumer Act 2010 - ATEM

Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)Misleading or Deceptive Conduct• Written documents or advertisements• Oral statements or representations– telephone conversations– formal & informal• A pattern of behaviour: implication and innuendo• Silence (in some cases)– omitting information– not correcting someone’s assumptions or impression• Inadvertent breaches– innocent mistakes– exaggerations– typographical errors & misprints

Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)Misleading or Deceptive Conduct• Disclaimers very rarely work• “Mere puffery” is generally OK• It doesn’t matter if correct information was availableelsewhere• The law protects the naïve and gullible (but not the“unusually stupid”)

Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)Anti-Competitive conduct – Cartel Conduct• Price fixing– An agreement between two or more business competitors about pricing• Market Sharing– An agreement between two business competitors not to compete in the samearea, or to otherwise allocate customers/territories– Graduate Australian Medical School Admission Test (GAMSAT) – effectivelycollusion between the universities to share “customers”. ACCC issued andauthorisation allowing this arrangement, because it considers it to be in thepublic interest.– Agreeing to share low-enrolment programs?• Bid Rigging– An agreement between two business competitors who will bid/tender for whatwork and at what price

Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)Anti-Competitive agreements – dealing with others• Exclusive Dealing– Making a condition of supply or acquisition that the other party abide by certainconditions– The University enters into an agreement with a software supplier agreeing toacquire a particular software application for use at the University, on conditionthat the supplier does not supply the software to other universities

Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)Questions?© University of Adelaide, 2012