Federal government releases its response to the Harper Competition Policy Review

On 24 November 2015, the government released its response to the Competition Policy Review chaired by Professor Ian Harper (Harper Review).¹ The response is largely supportive and recognises the potential for significant productivity and profitability gains arising from improvements to our national competition law and policy.

Of the Harper Review's 56 recommendations, the government supports 44 in full or in part and "remains open to" the remaining 12 recommendations subject to further review and consultation.

Arguably the 12 recommendations in relation to which decisions have been deferred represent some of the more controversial and politically sensitive recommendations in the report. They include, the proposed introduction of an "effects test" for misuse of market power (section 46 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA)), the question of the interaction between intellectual property rights and competition law, the creation of a separate access regulator