The ACCC has launched Federal Court proceedings against technology company Swift Networks Pty Ltd (Swift) for alleged bid rigging and price fixing when tendering to supply equipment and services to five Pilbara mining village sites.
The ACCC alleges that on five occasions in 2019, Swift made an agreement with a competitor, DXC Connect Pty Ltd and DXC Technology Australia Pty Ltd (together DXC), to rig bids and fix prices for the supply of technology infrastructure at mining camps in WA's Pilbara region.
Technology infrastructure includes IT, communications, and audio-visual entertainment infrastructure and associated services for providing internet and media services such as free-to-air or subscription television to mining villages
The tenders were for projects located at Rio Tinto Limited's Gudai-Darri, West Angelas and Yandicoogina, Western Turner Syncline, and Peninsula Palms sites, and at Fortescue Metals Group Limited's Japal Village Iron Bridge site. For these five projects, it is alleged Swift and DXC agreed that one of them would submit a higher price than the other in response to a request for bids.
Since late 2017, Swift and DXC sometimes engaged each other as sub-contractors for projects involving the supply of Technology Instructure to mining sites in the Pilbara. However, in the case of the five projects, the ACCC alleges Swift and DXC acted beyond the scope of any sub-contracting relationship.
"Bid rigging and price fixing drive up prices for businesses and harms the economy, which is why cartel conduct is a serious breach of our competition laws," ACCC Commissioner Liza Carver said.
"This case is a reminder to all businesses, large or small, that they must exercise caution when they are dealing with competitors to ensure that these discussions do not lead to anti-competitive arrangements, including cartel conduct."
The ACCC is seeking declarations, penalties, costs and other orders.
Background
Swift is a specialist technology company delivering technology infrastructure, entertainment and communications to the mining and resources, aged care, and hospitality industries.
DXC is a global information technology services provider across a range of industries. It supplies "technology infrastructure" in the mining sector in Western Australia.
Note
Bid rigging, also known as collusive tendering, happens when suppliers discuss and agree among themselves who should win a tender, and at what price.
Price fixing happens when competitors agree on pricing instead of competing against each other.
More information about different types of cartel conduct can be found on the ACCC's website at Cartels.
The ACCC investigates cartel conduct and can take civil cartel proceedings in the Federal Court or refer serious cartel conduct to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP).
The ACCC works to detect cartels including through education programs, proactive intelligence gathering and data assessment and working with overseas counterparts to identify cartels that operate on a global level.
The ACCC also manages an immunity program that enables past or present cartel members to confess their actions and cooperate with investigations in exchange for immunity from civil cartel proceedings brought by the ACCC and criminal cartel charges laid by the CDPP.
Anyone who thinks they may be involved in cartel conduct is urged to call the ACCC Cartel Immunity Hotline on (02) 9230 3894. More information about the immunity process is available on the ACCC website at Cartels.
You can also report cartel conduct by using the anonymous cartel portal.
