The Government has today passed the Treasury Laws Amendment (Mergers and Acquisitions Reform) Bill 2024 through the Senate.
These reforms are the largest shakeup of Australia’s merger settings in half a century and a big part of a new wave of competition policy which is all about making our economy more dynamic and productive.
This Bill delivers a merger regime that is faster, stronger, simpler, more targeted and more transparent.
Most mergers have genuine benefits and are an important feature of any healthy, open economy but some can cause serious harm to competition.
The new regime will more efficiently and effectively target mergers that are anti‑competitive, while allowing mergers that are pro‑competitive to proceed faster.
Under the new regime, there will be a mandatory notification system for mergers above certain thresholds and the ACCC will be the decision maker on approvals.
The new system will come into effect from 1 January 2026, with businesses able to make voluntary notifications under the new regime from 1 July 2025.
Our economic strategy is relief, repair, and reform. We’ve made big progress on cost‑of‑living relief and budget repair and these changes to merger settings are another big step on reform as well.
This is one of the 11 Treasury bills that passed the Senate this week and show we can maintain a primary focus on inflation and the cost of living while we keep the reform wheels turning.