The Australian Parliament passed the Treasury Laws Amendment (Mergers and Acquisitions Reform) Bill 2024 without any amendments on 28 November 2024, marking a new chapter for merger control in Australia.
The merger laws are slated to come into effect on 1 January 2026 and will constitute a significant departure from the existing voluntary regime. Companies will need to take account of these changes for their acquisition strategies (including planning and execution) for both local and multi-jurisdictional deals over the next 12 months.

The ACCC commenced Federal Court proceedings on 23 September against Coles and Woolworths alleging that the two major supermarkets have misled consumers by using their “Down Down” and “Prices Dropped” pricing claims in cases where the prices were actually higher than, or the same as, the previous regular price.

On 30 August 2024, the Australian Treasury released a consultation paper on the proposed monetary and market share thresholds that will trigger a requirement to notify an acquisition to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) under the Federal Government’s proposed new mandatory merger control regime. It is proposed that transactions which meet either of the thresholds must be notified to, and approved by, the ACCC, with penalties imposed for any failure to notify or for implementation of a notifiable merger without prior notification to the ACCC. The closing date for submissions is 20 September 2024.