Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda

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COMPETITION AND CONSUMER AMENDMENT BILL (NO. 1) 2011

                                        2010-2011



        THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA



                           HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES




      COMPETITION AND CONSUMER AMENDMENT BILL (NO. 1) 2011



              SUPPLEMENTARY EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM


                   Amendments Moved on Behalf of the Government
                          (Circulated by the authority of the
        Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, the Hon David Bradbury MP)

These amendments provide that certain disclosures made in relation to corporate
workouts will be explicitly exempt from the private disclosure of pricing information
prohibition.

It is a contravention of the private disclosure of pricing information prohibition for a
corporation to privately disclose, directly or indirectly to a competitor, information that
relates to a price for, or a discount, allowance, rebate or credit in relation to, goods or
services acquired or to be acquired, or supplied or to be supplied (pricing information),
by the corporation in a market in which it competes with that competitor.

These amendments will amend the Competition and Consumer Amendment Bill (No.
1) 2011 to:

·     provide for an explicit exception from the private disclosure of pricing
      information prohibition for a disclosure that is for the purpose of considering
      whether to take measures to return a borrower to solvency, or to avoid or reduce
      the risk of the borrower becoming insolvent [Schedule 1, item 2, subsection 44ZZZ(5)];
      and
·     make corresponding amendments to the Schedule version of Part IV (Schedule 1
      of the CC Act) which contains the Competition Code, which applies to all
      persons in the States and Territories by virtue of application legislation in those
      jurisdictions. [Schedule 1, item 17, subsection 44ZZZ(5) of Schedule 1]