An identically constituted Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia has twice found against the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in significant price-fixing appeals.
In the process, the Court emphasises the importance of sound economic analysis to competition law, to the end that even price-fixing’s deemed contravention of the Trade Practices Act still requires a competition analysis.
In Flight Centre v ACCC, in a salutary lesson about market definition, the Court found the travel agent did not compete with airlines in any relevant market. Similarly, in ACCC v ANZ, the Court found mortgage brokers did not compete with the bank in the pleaded market. And in as salutary a lesson of statutory construction, in ANZ, the Court also held even agreement on the amount of payments to customers was not price-fixing as defined. Continue reading “Court takes ACCC back to basics on price fixing”