Australian Competition and Consumer Commission - Penalties

Penalties

The ACCC is committed in bringing court actions against companies that breach the Competition and Consumer Act. Penalties for non-compliance of the CCA can be quite severe.

Companies that do not comply with the restrictive trade practices provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act may be fined by the Federal Court. There are three ways the maximum fine can be calculated. The maximum possible fine is the larger of A$10,000,000; or three times the value of the illegal benefit; or (if the value of the benefit cannot be ascertained) 10% of turnover for the preceding 12 months. Individuals may be fined up to $500,000

Companies that do not comply with the consumer protection provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act may be fined by the Federal Court, up to $1.1 M for companies and $220,000 for individuals.

The ACCC also has power to accept, on its on behalf, court enforceable undertakings under s87B of the Competition and Consumer Act. Such undertakings may include a wide range of remedies to the conduct.

A range of other remedies can be ordered by the court. For example, companies are frequently forced to publish retractions of false advertising claims in national newspapers and at their places of business. Companies found in breach of the Competition and Consumer Act are usually bound to implement a compliance program to ensure future compliance with the act.

Although the penalties permitted by the Competition and Consumer Act are quite severe, there has been a reluctance by the courts to impose the maximum penalty. There has been a move recently to make certain offences under competition law (such as price fixing or participation in a cartel) into criminal offences rather than purely civil breaches. It is generally thought that the possibility of being found guilty of a criminal offence—and the possibility of a custodial sentence for executives involved—will provide a much stronger deterrent to anti-competitive behaviour.