The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is the chief competition regulator of the Government of Australia,located within the Department of the Treasury. It was established in 1995 with the amalgamation of the Australian Trade Practices Commission and the Prices Surveillance Authority to administer the Trade Practices Act 1974,which was renamed the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 on 1 January 2011. The ACCC's mandate is to protect consumer rights and business rights and obligations,to perform industry regulation and price monitoring,and to prevent illegal anti-competitive behaviour.
Craig Anthony Emerson is an Australian economist and former politician. A member of the Australian Labor Party,he served as the Australian House of Representatives Member for the Division of Rankin in Queensland from 1998 until 2013. Emerson also served as Minister for Trade and Competitiveness,Minister for Tertiary Education,Skills,Science and Research and Minister for Competition Policy,Small Business and Consumer Affairs in the Rudd and Gillard Governments.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) (1990–2005) was the Australian Government body through which Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders were formally involved in the processes of government affecting their lives,established under the Hawke government in 1990. A number of Indigenous programs and organisations fell under the overall umbrella of ATSIC.
iiNet Limited is an Australian internet service provider and telecommunications company that sells NBN plans,4G and 5G Home Wireless Internet and services on its ULTRA Broadband Cable,FTTB and VDSL2 networks. It also sells mobile phone sim-only plans using the Vodafone network.
The Treasurerof Australia,also known as the FederalTreasurer or more simply the Treasurer,is the minister of state of the Commonwealth of Australia charged with overseeing government revenue collection,federal expenditure and economic policy as the head of the Department of the Treasury. The current treasurer is Jim Chalmers,who was selected by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in May 2022 following the 2022 Australian federal election.
TPG is an Australian internet service provider that specialises in consumer and business internet services as well as mobile telephone services. As of August 2015,TPG is the second-largest internet service provider in Australia and is the largest mobile virtual network operator. As such,it has over 671,000 ADSL2+ subscribers,358,000 landline subscribers and 360,000 mobile subscribers,and owns the second-largest ADSL2+ network in Australia,consisting of 391 ADSL2+ DSLAMs. It also operates in New Zealand.
Margrethe Vestager is a Danish politician currently serving as Executive Vice President of the European Commission for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age since December 2019 and European Commissioner for Competition since 2014. Vestager is a member of the Danish Social Liberal Party,and of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE) on the European level.
The Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia. Prior to 1 January 2011,it was known as the Trade Practices Act 1974 (TPA). The Act is the legislative vehicle for competition law in Australia,and seeks to promote competition,fair trading as well as providing protection for consumers. It is administered by the Australian Competition &Consumer Commission (ACCC) and also gives some rights for private action. Schedule 2 of the CCA sets out the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). The Federal Court of Australia has the jurisdiction to determine private and public complaints made in regard to contraventions of the Act.
TPG Telecom Limited,formerly Vodafone Hutchison Australia and renamed following the merger with TPG,is an Australian telecommunications company. It is the second-largest telecommunications company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. TPG Telecom is the third-largest wireless carrier in Australia,with 5.8 million subscribers as of 2020.
Telstra Corporation Limited v The Commonwealth was an important case decided in the High Court of Australia on 6 March 2008.
The National Broadband Network (NBN) is an Australian national wholesale open-access data network. It includes wired and radio communication components rolled out and operated by NBN Co,a government-owned corporation. Internet service providers,known under NBN as retail service providers or RSPs,contract with NBN to access the data network and sell fixed Internet access to end users.
Aussie Broadband is an Australian-operated telecommunication company. It was formed in 2008 after the amalgamation of Wideband Networks and Westvic Broadband.
Vodafone Australia is an Australian telecommunications brand providing mobile and fixed broadband services. Vodafone’s mobile network covers more than 23 million Australians,and Vodafone has commenced the rollout of its 5G mobile network. Vodafone NBN fixed broadband services are available in capital cities and selected regional centres. Vodafone is the third-largest wireless carrier in Australia,with 5.8 million subscribers as of 2020.
Federal Trade Commission v. Meta Platforms,Inc. is an ongoing antitrust court case brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against Facebook parent company Meta Platforms. The lawsuit alleges that Meta has accumulated monopoly power via anti-competitive mergers,with the suit centering on the acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp.
The News Media Bargaining Code is a law designed to have large technology platforms that operate in Australia pay local news publishers for the news content made available or linked on their platforms. The law's definition of news is broad,including "content that reports,investigates or explains ... current issues or events of public significance for Australians at a local,regional or national level." Originating in April 2020,when the Australian Government asked the Australian Competition &Consumer Commission (ACCC) to begin drafting it,it achieved broad support in the Australian Parliament but staunch opposition from Facebook and Google. In response,on 18 February 2021,Facebook blocked Australian users from sharing or viewing news content on its platform. The Australian government strongly criticised the move,saying it demonstrated the "immense market power of these digital social giants". A few days later,Australia and Facebook came to an agreement on restoring news pages.
The Consumer Data Right is the name of a legislative,regulatory,and standards framework for consumer data portability in Australia. This framework has been created and introduced by the Australian Government,which is implementing the framework on a sector-by-sector basis.
Gina Cass-Gottlieb is an Australian attorney and government official. She is the current chair of the Australian Competition &Consumer Commission (ACCC),having ascended to the position on 21 March 2022.
Christina Cifuentes is an Australian expert in energy policy and markets,and was a board member of the Australian Energy Regulator,Australia's national energy market regulator,who was awarded an Order of Australia in the 2022 Queens Birthday Honours list,for her significant service to economic and energy sector regulation,and to consumer protection.
Danielle Wood is an Australian economist who is currently chair of the Productivity Commission. She commenced as chair in November 2023,and is the first woman to hold the role. Before her time as commission chair,she was CEO of the Grattan Institute from 2020 to 2023.
Open Web Advocacy (OWA) is an international not-for-profit digital rights group,consisting mostly of individual software engineers who are advocating for the future of the open web. The group was formed in 2021 by Alex Moore and James Moore to advocate for the future of the open web by providing regulators,legislators and policy makers the intricate technical details that they need to understand to address the major anti-competitive issues with big tech companies.
