Regulatory Radar

Motor vehicle manufacturers and importers supplying passenger or light goods vehicles in Australia may wish to review their current repair information access offers, including pricing structures, equipment requirements and the range of access periods provided, against the reasonable commercial terms and fair market price requirements of the Motor Vehicle Service and Repair Information Sharing Scheme. Given the ACCC has now acted against several manufacturers over similar issues, compliant systems and pricing are worth confirming before a vehicle range reaches the Australian market, rather than after repairer complaints prompt an investigation.

Businesses with material exposure to domestic air travel or freight costs, including those negotiating corporate travel arrangements or logistics contracts, may wish to note the ACCC's continued interest in airfare movements, capacity reductions and fuel cost pass-through when assessing future pricing and contract terms with airlines. Given the current monitoring direction applies until December 2026, it would also be worth watching whether the government extends or adjusts that direction, since any change could affect the frequency and detail of future ACCC reporting on domestic airline pricing and competition.

For real estate agencies, the practical contract questions include whether current listing commitments reflect the changes and how any downgrade flexibility operates within the applicable advertising package. Minimum listing requirements, tier commitments and variation provisions may influence both cost and the ability to use alternative services. The undertaking does not itself describe every agency’s individual contract or establish a universal right to end an agreement without consequence.

Venues, broadcasters, retailers and other businesses that play music in the course of their operations can continue to obtain licences through APRA's existing collective licensing model, which remains authorised until 3 October 2031. Businesses with concerns about licence fees, royalty distribution or transparency in APRA's arrangements may wish to engage with the consultation and review processes that APRA is now required to maintain under the revised conditions, including use of the alternative dispute resolution scheme where a specific dispute arises.

Retailers selling online may wish to review customer-facing communications, including template emails used to respond to refund or exchange requests, to check they do not suggest that consumer guarantee remedies are discretionary, limited to store credit, or conditional on goods being unopened or unused. It may also be worth confirming that any warranty against defects published on the website contains the wording the Australian Consumer Law requires, making clear that the warranty operates in addition to, and does not limit, a consumer's statutory rights.

Businesses considering acquisitions in markets with a strong local or regional presence, such as car dealership networks, may want to assess overlap at the level of the specific area in which both parties operate, rather than only at a national or state level, since that is where the ACCC's competition concern arose in this matter. Where an acquisition could increase concentration in a particular locality, it may be worth considering early whether a structural remedy, such as divestment of overlapping sites, could address the ACCC's concerns and support a faster clearance.

Businesses planning acquisitions in concentrated Australian markets may wish to factor a possible divestiture remedy into deal timing and pricing from an early stage, rather than assuming the ACCC's review will result only in unconditional clearance or prohibition. Where an overlap exists between merging parties in a market with few competitors, it may be worth identifying which assets or brands could realistically be divested to an ACCC-approved purchaser if a competition concern is raised during review.

Businesses offering subscription or membership services with automatic renewal could review whether their advertised pricing displays the single minimum total price a consumer will pay, rather than only a monthly instalment figure, and whether any additional fees for monthly payment are disclosed alongside the headline price. It may be worth checking that statements about free access, minimum membership terms and cancellation rights match what is actually offered and reflect any restrictions in the terms and conditions. Renewal terms, including any price increase on renewal, could usefully be disclosed clearly at the point of sign up rather than only in lengthy terms documents.

Vehicle manufacturers and other data providers under the Motor Vehicle Service and Repair Information Sharing Scheme may wish to review how repair and diagnostic information is currently offered to independent repairers, including the terms, format, hardware requirements and timeframes for access, against the fair and reasonable commercial terms standard set by the scheme. More broadly, any business subject to a mandated information sharing obligation under sector specific legislation may find it useful to check that access terms offered to third parties match those offered to related or preferred channels, given the ACCC's stated willingness to pursue court action as a first enforcement response.

Businesses contemplating an acquisition could build a threshold assessment into the earliest stages of deal planning, using the published legislative instruments and ACCC guidance to determine whether Australian revenue or global transaction value tests are met. Where a transaction may qualify for a notification waiver or an exemption, it may be worth identifying this early given that approval or a waiver must be obtained before completion. Legal teams advising on mergers and acquisitions could also monitor further updates to the FAQs, since the ACCC has indicated the document will continue to be revised as the regime beds down.

Businesses that depend on regional mobile coverage for operations, including logistics, agriculture and field services, may wish to consider making a submission once the ACCC releases its discussion paper, since the inquiry is specifically seeking views on whether current coverage and competition arrangements are adequate. Telecommunications carriers and infrastructure owners with existing network-sharing arrangements may also want to track the inquiry closely given its potential effect on commercial access terms.

Energy retailers and other businesses that market plans using savings, loyalty or discount language could review whether their plan names and marketing claims are substantiated by an actual comparison against the relevant alternative plan, particularly where a plan's name itself implies an ongoing saving. Businesses could check that bills and account communications do not repeat a savings claim that is not being delivered in practice, and that any plan described as providing an ongoing lower rate is monitored over time to confirm that remains true as other plans or pricing change. This matter was resolved by voluntary refunds and commitments rather than a court finding of contravention.

Businesses operating a trial, introductory or low headline price that converts to an ongoing subscription may wish to review how the full ongoing price, billing frequency and any renewal terms are disclosed to a consumer before they commit to sign up, given the scale of penalty imposed here for a 2 dollar to 45 to 75 dollar a month conversion that was not adequately disclosed upfront. It may also be worth checking that no marketing material, including automated chat tools, implies affiliation with or approval by a government agency or ombudsman unless that affiliation genuinely exists.

Businesses that trade Murray-Darling Basin water entitlements, or act as intermediaries facilitating such trades, may wish to review how market-sensitive information is identified and handled internally, given that insider trading now extends to decisions not to trade as well as to trading itself. Water brokers already subject to the intermediaries code and trust accounting obligations may find it useful to confirm that existing compliance frameworks also address the new manipulation and insider trading prohibitions specifically.