Proposed Legislation to Introduce Formal Merger Clearance Process

Significant changes to the merger clearance and authorisation processes in Australia are proposed under legislation recently introduced into Parliament. The Trade Practices Legislation Bill 2004 (Cth) (Bill) proposes the introduction of a voluntary new regime for formal merger clearance, and amendments to the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) (Act) to allow firms to apply directly to the Australian Competition Tribunal (Tribunal) to seek authorisation of anti-competitive mergers. Firms will still be able to access the long-standing informal clearance process, although it is unclear how this process will operate alongside the new formal process.