The ACCC today welcomed the introduction of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Mergers and Acquisitions Reform) Bill 2024 into the Australian Parliament, which if passed through the Parliament will provide the ACCC with fit for purpose tools targeted at identifying and preventing anti-competitive mergers.
"This marks a significant milestone in the process of reforming Australia's merger laws," ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.
If passed by the Parliament, the new legislation will represent a major change for the ACCC, business and the Australian community. In anticipation of the new legislation coming into effect, the ACCC has today issued a statement of goals to outline its approach to implementing the new regime and to reduce uncertainty during the transition.
"The ACCC is committed to the successful implementation of these reforms, if passed by parliament, to ensure that transactions that may adversely affect competition are subject to adequate scrutiny based on the risks raised, and to provide a more efficient and transparent process for businesses and for the wider community," Ms Cass-Gottlieb said.
This contrasts to the current situation where only a small proportion of the estimated 1,000 - 1,500 mergers that occur each year are notified to the ACCC and around 93 per cent of those that are voluntarily notified are assessed on a confidential basis.
"Part of making these reforms a success will be ensuring businesses have clarity on their obligations, the timeframes they can expect, and other key aspects of the process," Ms Cass-Gottlieb said.
"Our statement of goals is the first step in signalling how we will implement these reforms and outlines what merger parties and stakeholders, including customers and suppliers to merger parties, should expect."
The new system will provide for greater transparency of the mergers the ACCC is reviewing and the reasons on which decisions are based. This will enable the wider community, including consumers and small businesses, to comment on mergers relevant to them.
It will also result in a more efficient and faster process and more certain timelines for businesses seeking clearance, with new obligations on the ACCC to complete decisions within legislated timeframes.
The ACCC expects about 80 per cent of mergers will be cleared within 15 to 20 business days.
Under the new regime, the ACCC will enhance its economic and data analysis to further drive and inform its decision making.
"The ACCC will take a risk-based approach, with resources prioritised to acquisitions more likely to harm the community," Ms Cass-Gottlieb said.
Subject to the passage of the legislation, the new regime will come into effect from 1 January 2026 but will also allow for merger parties to start using the new merger regime on a voluntary basis from 1 July 2025.
The ACCC will consult on and publish guidelines on the transition period to ensure stakeholders are well informed about the options available to them during this period and have open channels available for merger parties to seek guidance.
The ACCC has also previously announced it will renew and expand its Performance Consultative Committee to advise on the ACCC's merger review functions as well as the broad range of the ACCC's responsibilities.
The committee will consist of a range of stakeholders including consumer, business, and legal representatives.
Background:
Reforms to Australia's existing merger laws were announced by the Treasurer in April 2024. The Treasurer's announcement was welcomed by the ACCC.
The ACCC first released proposed merger reforms at the Law Council in 2021. ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb commenced her term in 2022 and has continued to advocate for merger reform including at the National Press Club in April 2023.
The ACCC's submissions to the Treasury Competition Review, which includes detailed analysis and argues the case for reform can be found here: https://www.accc.gov.au/inquiries-and-consultations/accc-submissions-to-external-consultations#toc-mergers-
