The Federal Court's decision in ACCC v
Uber1 reiterates that Australian Courts will
independently examine agreed penalties negotiated with regulators.
Courts will require detailed evidence to enable determination as to
whether agreed penalties are consistent with the nature of any
contravening conduct and harms to which the conduct may give
rise.
While in this matter the Court ultimately reduced the agreed
penalty for one category of contravening conduct by more than 50%,
parties to regulatory proceedings must recognise that agreed
penalties may be adjusted up or down by the
Courts. In practice, this decision is likely to mean that
negotiations with regulators will become more complex, and may
impose greater obligations on parties to provide more detailed
evidence or agreed facts to substantiate agreed penalties.
