Tools down: First resale price maintenance application authorised

Louise Olsen

Australian Journal of Competition and Consumer Law

Louise Olsen, ‘Tools down: First resale price maintenance application authorised’ (2015) 23 AJCCL 45

Introduction

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) recently authorised resale price maintenance for the first time. This is particularly interesting in light of the strong support it expressed for a per se prohibition of resale price maintenance over an effects-based test in its recent submissions to the national Competition Policy Review Panel.

This article considers the circumstances in which the ACCC is likely to authorise resale price maintenance, by comparing the recent resale price maintenance decision regarding Tooltechnic Systems (Aust) Pty Ltd against an earlier decision rejecting similar conduct proposed by Narta International Pty Ltd. In particular, these decisions highlight the tension between providing better retail services for products and the possibility of reduced competition on price, the importance of internet pricing, and the likely impact of market position.

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