The Australian Parliament passed the Treasury Laws Amendment (Mergers and Acquisitions Reform) Bill 2024 without any amendments on 28 November 2024, marking a new chapter for merger control in Australia.
The merger laws are slated to come into effect on 1 January 2026 and will constitute a significant departure from the existing voluntary regime. Companies will need to take account of these changes for their acquisition strategies (including planning and execution) for both local and multi-jurisdictional deals over the next 12 months.

Proposed changes to Australia’s merger control regime were introduced to Parliament last month following extensive public consultation.
As a key element of the reforms, the new legislation will enable the ACCC to request that the Treasurer designate certain sectors of the economy where all mergers, acquisitions or other transactions would require approval from the ACCC, regardless of transaction size.
Comments made by the ACCC and the Treasury over the course of the reform consultation process indicate that the ACCC will use its increased powers under the new regime to examine transactions in the pathology and oncology-radiology sectors.

Proposed changes to Australia’s merger control regime were introduced to Parliament last month following extensive public consultation.
As a key element of the reforms, the new legislation will enable the ACCC to request that the Treasurer designate certain sectors of the economy where all mergers, acquisitions or other transactions would require approval from the ACCC, regardless of transaction size.
Comments made by the ACCC and the Treasury over the course of the reform consultation process indicate that the ACCC will use its increased powers under the new regime to examine transactions in the pathology and oncology-radiology sectors.

On 10 October 2024, the Federal Government introduced the Treasury Laws Amendment (Mergers and Acquisitions Reform) Bill 2024 (“Bill”) to Parliament. The Bill will amend the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (“CCA”) to implement a mandatory and suspensory merger control regime in place of the former voluntary regime.
The Bill has been introduced following extensive public consultation, resulting in a number of important changes to the proposal set out in the earlier exposure draft.

On 30 August 2024, the Australian Treasury released a consultation paper on the proposed monetary and market share thresholds that will trigger a requirement to notify an acquisition to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) under the Federal Government’s proposed new mandatory merger control regime. It is proposed that transactions which meet either of the thresholds must be notified to, and approved by, the ACCC, with penalties imposed for any failure to notify or for implementation of a notifiable merger without prior notification to the ACCC. The closing date for submissions is 20 September 2024.

On 10 April 2024, the Treasurer Dr Jim Chalmers MP announced a major change to Australia’s merger control regime with the introduction of a new single mandatory, suspensory merger control system. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will be the key decision maker and given stronger powers to examine transactions, including serial acquisitions and mergers by businesses with substantial market power. The notification thresholds remain a critical unknown piece and will be subject to further consultation.

On 7 March 2024, the Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Gina Cass-Gottlieb, announced the ACCC’s compliance and enforcement priorities for 2024/25 and the market studies and advocacy work that the ACCC would continue this year.
Ms. Cass-Gottlieb identified a range of industry sectors, as well as specific competition and consumer law issues that will be the focus of the ACCC’s compliance and enforcement activities for 2024/25. Many of these areas continue from last year.

With the rapid rise of environmental consciousness in Australia and abroad, consumer-facing businesses are increasingly making claims about the environmental qualities of their products, services and business operations. While the ACCC has had guidance on the practice of “greenwashing” for some time, policing of environmental and sustainability claims has been a core area of focus for the ACCC in the last 12 months.

From 9 November 2023, the unfair terms regime will change so that significant penalties may apply for breaches of the UCT regime. As a result, businesses need to look again at their standard terms for unfair terms risks.

On 7 March 2023, the Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Gina Cass-Gottlieb, announced the ACCC’s compliance and enforcement priorities for 2023/24 and the market studies and advocacy work that the ACCC would continue this year. Ms. Cass-Gottlieb identified a range of industry sectors, as well as specific competition and consumer law issues that will be the focus of the ACCC’s compliance and enforcement activities for 2023/24. Many of these areas continue from last year.