The first full year of Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb’s leadership of the ACCC has seen a refinement in emphasis on legal issues and a renewed focus on competition and consumer issues that have previously been explored by the ACCC. The ACCC has continued to emphasise the need to protect consumers from exploitation in the context of the cost of living pressures and, at the same time, has continued to argue for significant legislative change where it feels that existing laws and procedures are not resulting in the enforcement outcomes it is seeking.

In this report, we analyse the key themes, trends and developments in Australian competition, consumer and regulatory law in 2023 and explore what’s ahead for 2024, including:

• A shift in the ACCC’s approach to assessing mergers and pursuing enforcement outcomes.
• Major law reforms on the agenda, including the proposed merger reforms, unfair trading practices regime and designated complaints mechanism.
• A significant focus by the ACCC is on consumer protection, particularly in the context of pricing practices, scams, greenwashing and unfair contract terms.

What’s in store for 2024? Download the full report below to find out more.