22 February 2007

Government Amendments to the Trade Practices Act 1974 ACCC Representative Actions Under the Secondary Boycott Provisions

Note

Joint media release with
Minister for Small Business & Tourism

The Government has announced that it will be introducing legislation to strengthen the secondary boycott provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (TPA). 

The legislation will amend section 87 of the TPA to enable the ACCC to bring representative actions on behalf of persons who have suffered, or are likely to suffer, loss or damage as a result of a breach of sections 45D and 45E of the TPA. 

  • Allowing the ACCC to take representative action in relation to the secondary boycott provisions will assist small businesses in recouping losses suffered as a result of illegal boycott conduct. 
  • The amendments will also place the secondary boycott provisions in the same position as other provisions in Parts IV, IVA, IVB V and VC of the TPA, for which the ACCC can bring representative actions.

These amendments are part of the Government’s TPA reform agenda, which began with the passage of the Trade Practices Legislation Amendment Act (No. 1) 2006 (the Dawson Bill) in October 2006.  The Dawson Bill introduced wide-ranging reforms to merger laws, a new collective bargaining regime for small business, and increased penalties for contraventions of the TPA. 

The Government has also been consulting on a separate Bill to strengthen the misuse of market power and unconscionable conduct provisions of the TPA.  The Government will introduce these amendments into Parliament in the near future in a separate Bill.