Private competition law enforcement in Australia – an emerging opportunity

Introduction

Whilst private enforcement action has been available to the victims of competition law infringements since the mid 1970s, Australia's competition law landscape has traditionally been dominated by public enforcement proceedings.

However, major changes to Australia's competition laws may be on the horizon with a raft of reforms under review by the Australian Government, including changes which ought to see an emergence of private enforcement in Australia.

In this article, we look at some examples of private enforcement action in Australia, identify some of the potential barriers to private enforcement and explore some of the proposed reforms.

Private competition law enforcement landscape