Cartel immunity policy strengthened, whistleblowing tool launched

The ACCC has strengthened its cartel immunity and cooperation policy to enhance its transparency and clarify its scope.

The updated immunity policy, which has been informed by experience gathered during key criminal investigations, will come into effect on 1 October 2019.

It will continue to cover cartel conduct such as price-fixing, market sharing, bid rigging and customer allocation, and will clarify that the policy does not cover anti-competitive concerted practices.

“Cartels increase prices, reduce choice and harm Australian consumers, and it is our priority to ensure that serious cartels continue to be detected and that the individuals responsible are prosecuted,” said ACCC Chair Rod Sims.

The immunity policy offers the first party to report a cartel an avenue to avoid potential jail time and substantial fines.

“The immunity policy is one of our key strategies for detecting and dismantling cartels. We have been able to undertake numerous in-depth cartel investigations as a result of immunity applications under our policy.”

“This policy, pro-active ACCC intelligence gathering and whistleblower reports, have resulted in multi-million dollar penalties against cartel members,” Mr Sims said.

Under the revised policy, applicants seeking immunity will now be asked to enter into a cooperation agreement early in the immunity process, which will clearly set out the steps required for conditional civil and criminal immunity under the policy. The policy will also clarify a number of issues related to eligibility for immunity, the level of cooperation required, how information is used and confidentiality.

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