Inside Track: Competition and Consumer Law - In the media, practice and regulation, cases and legislation

• Published date: 22 June 2020
• Subject Matter: Anti-trust/Competition Law, Consumer Protection, Antitrust, EU Competition , Trade Regulation & Practices, Consumer Trading & Unfair Trading
• Law Firm: Holding Redlich

In the media

Case against Ramsay Health Care dismissed
The Federal Court has dismissed the ACCC's case against Ramsay Health Care Australia Pty Ltd (Ramsay) for alleged misuse of market power and exclusive dealing. Whilst the Court found that Ramsay had a substantial degree of market power in the supply of private in-patient surgery services to surgeons in Coffs Harbour, the Court did not find there was sufficient evidence Ramsay made the alleged threats to surgeons (12 March 2020). More...

BAR Group pays penalty for alleged misleading advertising
B.A.R Group Pty Ltd (BAR Group) has paid a penalty of $12,600 after the ACCC issued an infringement notice for allegedly misleading consumers about the running power of a portable generator. The ACCC alleges that BAR Group's representation was false or misleading, in breach of the Australian Consumer Law. (11 March 202). More...

Ad tech and ad agency services inquiry kicks off
The ACCC is calling for feedback and information about the digital advertising technology supply chain and advertising agency services in Australia. Views are sought from all companies who buy digital display advertising (10 March 2020). More...

TWU urges Aldi to improve supply chain safety following court appearance
The Transport Workers' Union claims Aldi failed in its bid to silence truck drivers and unionists from speaking out about safety after the retail giant lost the Federal Court case. Aldi Australia has also responded with "We feel vindicated with [the] judgement, as it has clearly been stated by the court that the TWU's conduct has been misleading and deceptive" (10 March 2020). More...

Bushfire crisis highlights gaps in fundraising laws that government refuses to fix: Coalition for Fundraising Reform
"During the bushfires, it wasn't the states and territories ensuring that fundraisers weren't engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct, it was the ACCC. The reality is that the ACCC, working with the ACNC, is the best placed body in Australia to ensure integrity in charitable fundraising. Also, the Australian Consumer Law has a readymade mechanism for the ACCC to work with the states and territories." (06 March 2020). More...

Private health insurance premiums rise despite growing exclusions
For the first time, the majority of hospital treatment policies held by Australians now contain exclusions, the latest ACCC annual report into the private health insurance industry has found. More than 57 per cent of policies held by Australians contain exclusions, up from about 44 per cent in the previous year (02 February 2020). More...

Australians spent $24.5bn on private health in 2018-19
This is despite receiving $20.7 billion in benefits, according to the ACCC's health insurance report released indicating premium-to-benefits discrepancy is narrowing, thanks to new standards implemented in 2019. The consumer commission is currently undertaking enforcement action relating to 'misleading and deceptive' conduct regarding consumer data in the health sector (02 March 2020). More...

Proposal to set minimum prices on welding equipment raises competition concerns
The ACCC has announced it plans to revoke a resale price maintenance (RPM) notification lodged by Weldclass, which would have prevented retailers selling certain machines at a discount. (28 February 2020). More...

Issues in agricultural machinery markets to be examined
Agricultural machinery: After-sales markets identifies a number of initial concerns relating to competition and fair trading issues, which the ACCC is seeking more information about. Most modern agricultural machinery has extensive data collection capabilities, but manufacturer policies on data ownership and management may raise privacy and competition issues (28 February 2020). More...

Practice and Regulation

Report to the Australian Senate on anti-competitive and other practices by health insurers and...