ACCC chairman Rod Sims said introducing industry-specific legislation may form part of its advice when it delivers its report to the Treasurer in September 2022.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said it is considering whether sector-specific regulation is necessary to help it address the competition and consumer concerns in digital platform markets, as part of its ongoing Digital Platform Services Inquiry. “Although the ACCC’s existing powers under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 allow us to take some enforcement action against digital platforms, we are considering whether up front regulation may be needed in addition to enforcement under the existing CCA provisions to address the competition and consumer concerns our digital platforms inquiries have identified,” ACCC chairman Rod Sims said on Friday, during his speech at the annual UniSA and ACCC Competition Law and Economics Workshop. He outlined that introducing sector-specific regulation would not be entirely new, noting that Australia introduced industry-specific legislation to the telecommunications sector in relation to competition and access functions, as an example.
