Treasury has released the exposure draft of Treasury Laws Amendment Bill 2024: Acquisitions which will amend the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 to reform Australia’s merger rules and processes.

The exposure draft sets out the framework of a new system including:

• notification and timelines
• definition of acquisitions
• test to be applied for considering competition impacts and substantial public benefits
• procedural safeguards.

The legal framework for the new system will commence on 1 January 2026, subject to its passage through Parliament.

The changes are intended to give the ACCC stronger powers to identify and scrutinise transactions that pose a risk to competition, consumers and the economy at the same time as making it easier for the majority of mergers to be approved quickly, so the ACCC can focus on the minority that give rise to competition concerns.

In particular, the changes will clarify that a substantial lessening of competition can result from creating, strengthening or entrenching substantial market power.

Treasury will consult on the regulations, which will cover notification thresholds, fees, and the ACCC’s public register and associated transparency safeguards later this year.

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