Jessica Mandla, Author at Kluwer Competition Law Blog

Australia Greenwashing: Half-Yearly Review of ASIC and ACCC Prosecutions ─ and ACCC Position on Environmental Collaborations

Ayman Guirguis, Jessica Mandla, James Gray, Tess Kane, Jenna Yim (K&L Gates)/October 30, 2024October 30, 2024 /Leave a comment

In Brief The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) continue to be vigilant and seek significant penalties for alleged “greenwashing” (misleading environmental or sustainability claims). The ACCC has been vocal that greenwashing is an enforcement priority for some time and, in December 2023, issued guidance for businesses in…

Australia, Legislation, Merger Thresholds, Mergers

Australia Mandatory Merger Clearance: Government Decides on Thresholds

Ayman Guirguis, Jessica Mandla, James Gray, Tess Kane, Jenna Yim, Alyse McDermott (K&L Gates)/October 24, 2024October 24, 2024 /Leave a comment

In Brief On 10 October 2024, the Australian Government introduced a bill into Parliament for Australia to enact a mandatory and suspensory competition merger clearance regime. The regime will commence on 1 January 2026, although parties can voluntarily seek clearance under the new regime from 1 July 2025. The thresholds for mandatory merger clearance[1] are…

Australia, Competition law, Fines

The Australian Government Ramps up Penalties for Competition and Consumer Law Breaches – AU$50 Million or 30% Turnover for Companies and AU$2.5 Million for Individuals

Ayman Guirguis, Jessica Mandla, Mei Gong, James Gray (K&L Gates)/August 23, 2022August 23, 2022 /Leave a comment

In July, we outlined the new Government’s Competition and Consumer Law policy initiatives (click here). The Government has now moved forward with one of these initiatives, publishing for consultation a draft bill and related explanatory materials (click here), seeking very substantial increases to the maximum penalties for breaches of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010…

Australia, Competition Law 2021

Main Developments in Competition Law and Policy 2021 – Australia

Ayman Guirguis, Thomas Shaw, Mei Gong, Jessica Mandla (K&L Gates)/February 4, 2022February 3, 2022 /Leave a comment

2021 proved to be a significant year for competition and consumer law in Australia. This article outlines a number of the key developments as follows: The trend for record penalties continues (as exemplified by the record $153 million penalty ordered against vocational skills training company AIPE). The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) remains an…

Australia, Unfair competition

Unfair Contract Terms – Significant Broadening of Scope and Penalties for Breaches: Is your Business Prepared?

Ayman Guirguis, Thomas Shaw, Jessica Mandla, Mei Gong, Nam Nguyen (K&L Gates)/November 2, 2021November 2, 2021 /Leave a comment

The Australian Government has released the Exposure Draft legislation and Explanatory Materials for an anticipated suite of reforms to unfair contract terms (UCT) laws found in the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (ASIC Act). Treasury is now considering feedback on the exposure draft with a view to the…

Australia, Competition policy, Enforcement

Regulating the Economic Pie: Key Takeaways From the ACCC’s 2021 Enforcement Priorities

Ayman Guirguis, Jessica Mandla, Mei Gong (K&L Gates)/March 5, 2021March 5, 2021 /Leave a comment

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Chair, Rod Sims, has announced the ACCC’s 2021 compliance and enforcement policy and priorities. The focus of the ACCC’s 2021 priorities is reflective of its: continuation of its unfinished “to do” list in a COVID-19 interrupted 2020 enduring/ongoing priorities, such as the prosecution of cartel conduct (with two to…