Australia's new merger reforms: impact on real asset transactions

From 1 January 2026, Australia’s new mandatory merger notification regime took effect, representing the biggest change to merger regulation in decades. The reforms require parties to notify the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) before completing a broad range of transactions. Failure to notify applicable transactions renders a deal automatically void and may attract significant penalties, so understanding the new rules is essential. In this article we outline the key implications for real asset transactions.