Lawyers warned cartels on watchdog’s hit list

ACCC chairman Rod Sims has warned in-house counsel and commercial lawyers in private practice that cartel prosecution is among the regulator’s top enforcement priorities, reported in an article in lawyersweekly.com.au.

Sims told attendees of the International Bar Association’s (IBA) ninth Competition Mid-Year Conference held in Sydney from 21-22 March 2013, that the ACCC is currently conducting more than 10 in-depth cartel investigations. He also nominated anti-competitive agreements and misuse of market power as two other focus areas of the competition watchdog.

This relates back to new provisions in the Australian Consumer Law in the Competition and Consumer Act Schedule 2.

“There are some forms of conduct that are so detrimental to consumer welfare and the competitive process that we will always assess them as a priority,” he said.

While Sims admitted that court actions taken by the ACCC have generally targeted alleged cartel activity across international borders, he warned that some of the current investigations are confined to local conduct. He pointed to the ACCC’s cartel immunity policy, which offers immunity to the first to disclose and cooperate, as the lead source of information for cartel investigations, attracting more than 100 approaches since its introduction in 2005.

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