TX Australia, a broadcast tower joint venture between Nine and Seven, has taken action against the ACCC alleging it does not have the authority to mediate an access dispute with Network 10.

The ABA received another conditional interim authorisation from the ACCC to co-operate providing relief packages for individuals and businesses that have been affected by COVID-19.

Speaking in a webcast with the AFR, ACCC Chair, Rod Sims, said that the ACCC was working with businesses to authorise cooperation to support the community during the current crisis, but that competition has a critical role to play post COVID-19.

The ACCC has announced it will not oppose the proposed acquisition of Jewel Fine Foods (in voluntary administration since April 2019) by Coles Group subsidiary, Chef Fresh Pty Ltd.

The ACCC has established a COVID-19 Taskforce which is speaking to business “about their obligations in relation to cancellations, refunds and suspension of services as a result of COVID-19,” among other things.

The ACCC has announced that it plans to revoke an RPM notification lodged by Stanley Black & Decker last October to set a minimum advertised price for Dewalt brand power tools.

Katharine Kemp has penned an opinion piece on the ACCC’s authorisation of supermarkets working together during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ACCC has granted interim authorisation to the Medical Technology Association of Australia to aid the supply of COVID-19 medial equipment. The authorisation allows medical technology companies to ‘work together to coordinate the supply and potential manufacture in Australia of ventilators, testing kits, personal protective equipment and other medical equipment needed to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.‘

The ACCC has granted swift interim authorisation to Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and Metcash (and other grocery retailers wishing to participate) to coordinate in order to ‘ensure consumers have reliable and fair access to groceries’ during the pandemic. The authorisation does not extend to agreement on retail prices.

The ACCC has provided interim authorisation to “allow the Australian Banking Association (ABA) and banks to work together to implement a small business relief package” which would allow for “deferral of principal and interest repayments for loans to small business … impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic”

The ACCC’s ad tech and ad agency services inquiry has commenced with the ACCC releasing an issues paper and seeking submissions from interested parties. Submissions are due by 21 April 2020.

The ACCC has announced it will not appeal the Federal Court’s decision that the proposed TPG/Vodafone merger would not substantially lessen competition, explaining that it had concluded it did not have grounds to appeal.

The ACCC has announced it plans to revoke a resale price maintenance (RPM) notification lodged by Weldclass, which would have prevented retailers selling certain machines at a discount.

The ACCC has released a discussion paper focusing on agriculture machinery aftermarkets.

The ACCC is seeking views on divestments offered by Asahi in relation to its proposed acquisition of Carlton United Breweries.

The ICN merger workshop was held Thursday 27-Friday 28 February in Melbourne.

ACCC Chair, Rod Sims, spoke at the gala dinner for the event on challenges confronting competition authorities in the changing market.

The ACCC has authorised Qantas, BP Australia and independent BP petrol stations to ‘collectively participate in the BP Rewards, Qantas Frequent Flyer and Qantas Business Reward programs for five years.’

The ACCC has announced it will not oppose the proposed acquisition of Orora Fibre by Australian Paper.

The ACCC is ‘seeking feedback on any competition issues associated with an upcoming spectrum allocation which will impact rollout of 5G services across the Australian economy.’

Bannerman lecture delivered this evening by Isabelle de Silva, President, French Competition Authority, ahead of the ICN Merger Workshop later this week.