Watch Out for Cartel Agreements
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What is a Cartel Agreement?
A cartel agreement is an agreement between competitors with the intention of hindering or restricting competition or creating false competition, also known as anti-competitive agreements.
There are four types of cartel agreements:
- Price Fixing
- Sharing markets
- Rigging bids
- Controlling output
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (‘ACCC’) is the authority who investigates cartel reports and attempts to educate the public about illegal cartel activity. The ACCC plans to double their efforts in 2023 and educate the community about the obligations of personnel at all levels of an organisation under the Competition and Consumer Act.
Possible penalties
Entering into a cartel agreement is illegal and can carry a penalty of prison time of up to 10 years or fines of up to $500,000.00 for each contravention.
What can you do?
Any member who has concerns about cartel conduct is urged to call MBA ACT Member Services team on (02) 6175 5900. Members can also report cartel activity anonymously via the ACCC’s Whispli Portal.
For more information about cartel agreements, see the ACCC website at Cartels | ACCC.
