Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

Australian regulators say they must find new ways to investigate and enforce against corporate wrongdoing and consumer harms as generative AI use increases.

The US Federal Trade Commission has banned non-compete clauses, and in Australia the federal government is reviewing their use. Are changes coming for Australian employees and competition law?

The rapid development of AI, and the push to avoid failures of the past through expedited regulation, may also speed up efforts to pin down legal definitions of the ecosystems in which Big Tech operates.

The government's pre-budget merger and foreign investment updates weren't necessarily designed to work together, but lawyers say they could help speed up deal approvals.

With its $120 million settlement with Qantas, Gina Cass-Gottlieb's ACCC has avoided a drawn out lawsuit, secured a payout for consumers and, she says, set a new industry standard for flight cancellations.

Australia's banks are solid, with the economy resilient, bad debts under control and margin pressure easing. But investors are increasingly asking how these unexciting fundamentals support over-valued shares.

Senators also said flaws in existing corporate and consumer laws meant they failed to prevent consumers from buying products based on questionable sustainability claims.

The government's merger reform paper is out and competition lawyers aren't loving it. Plus, the latest in the Wollemi v Wollemi dispute.

Corporate Australia is getting older and less competitive. Labor wants to make it more dynamic by emboldening startups to compete with big businesses, rather than be acquired by them.

There are concerns that the ACCC's proposals for the merger review process could make things even more difficult for companies seeking a quick sale due to financial distress.

Delays to long awaited crypto regulation have sparked concerns Australia is falling behind other countries as major banks such as NAB pull back from activities in the sector.

Digital wallets are a hot front for competition and legal action. Mastercard is the latest issuer to fire a shot, announcing an upgraded online payment product it says will tackle about 90% of payment card fraud.

The ACCC has just one cartel case before the courts. It lays bare one of the most complex areas of competition law and how dinners and emails can become collusion risks.

Epic Games' 16-week court battle against Apple and Google is finally under way. If the Fortnite maker is successful, it could fast-track EU-like rules for tech companies in Australia.

A civil cartel dispute working its way through the Federal Court has unveiled tensions in an industry supplying technology to Santos and Shell-linked gas projects.

Depending on who you talk to, open banking in Australia is on the point of acceleration or the pause in its rollout is a welcome chance to improve data quality.

Amid a cacophony of noise over Meta's decision to walk away from funding the news media in Australia, one calm voice has prevailed.

Video game developers and app-store market places will face new consumer-law scrutiny over pricing in the coming year, as the ACCC awaits new competition powers.

The competition regulator is set to leverage its expertise in data analytics which was honed during the digital platforms inquiry as well as the experience of New Zealand in its review of supermarket pricing.

The introduction of the Consumer Data Right three years ago aimed to give consumers power over their data and help negotiate better banking and energy deals. Is momentum finally building?

The Albanese government wants to tackle scams with mandatory codes of conduct for banks, telcos and digital platforms. In a new written submission, Meta is calling instead for an industry-led code.

Reaction to the approval of ANZ's deal to buy Suncorp has been polarised with the market split between short and long term gratification (or disappointment).

ANZ's win today before the Australian Competition Tribunal looked like a washout for the ACCC in its theories of competitive harm, but in some ways, the regulator couldn't lose.

ANZ had two chances to overturn an ACCC rejection of its bid for Suncorp Bank. It only needed one, with the Competition Tribunal waving the bid through.