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ARTICLE · 06 JUNE 2012

No going back: Price signalling in the banking sector illegal from 6 June 2012

Norton Rose Fulbright Australia
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It would be advantageous to prohibit any information disclosures that dilute competitive rivalry in the marketplace.

AustraliaAntitrust/Competition Law
Nick McHugh
Nick McHugh
Claire Forster
Claire Forster
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Pursuant to the Competition and Consumer Amendment Regulation 2012 (Regulation), made on 24 May 2012, pricing and other competitively sensitive disclosures made by Australian banking businesses have now been officially singled out as requiring exceptional scrutiny.

The price signalling amendments to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Act) and Regulation come into effect on 6 June 2012. Meanwhile, other industries remain unaffected.

The Regulation ( which is unchanged from the draft that we reported on in February 2012), requires a "banking business", as defined in the Banking Act 1959, to comply with the price signalling prohibitions contained in a new Division 1A of Part IV of the Act. This means that subject to certain exceptions, banking businesses must not:

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