The former head of the ACCC is today calling for an easing of secondary boycott prohibitions in competition law, in the final report of the price gouging inquiry he conducted for the ACTU.
The ACCC has flagged its willingness to examine no-poaching clauses in employment contracts and to reconsider the long-standing shielding of IR arrangements from competition laws.
The Productivity Commission says a review of the Albanese Government's new multi-employer bargaining measures should consider amending the Competition and Consumer Act so the ACCC can play a role.
The Albanese Government has asked the ACCC and Treasury for advice on the effects of non-compete clauses in employment contracts and any action warranted in response.
The ACCC has confirmed that it paid $1.265 million in legal costs to the CFMMEU over a criminal cartel case which collapsed at the committal stage last year.
The MUA claims the competition regulator has failed to show a causal link between waterfront productivity and the content of enterprise agreements negotiated between the union and major stevedores.
The ACCC's recent heightened focus on the building industry might be bearing fruit, after the Federal Court found this week that the CFMMEU induced and had knowing involvement in major construction company J Hutchinson's unlawful boycott of a non-union waterproofing subcontractor, the Federal Court has ruled.
Employsure has revealed that the ACCC rejected a $3.3 million offer to settle its false advertising prosecution that led to the Federal Court awarding the IR advisor costs of almost $900,000 but then hitting it with a $1 million penalty.