A Mildura-based healthcare company and its boss have been committed to stand trial in the first criminal cartel case brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission against an Australian business.
News Corp has called on the ACCC to break up Google, saying the “very serious” step was needed to prevent the search giant from abusing its market power.
National taxi company Black & White Cabs has failed in its bid for a court-ordered injunction forcing Regent Taxis to supply booking and dispatch services to its Gold Coast fleet while the cab companies litigate a case alleging Regent is abusing its market dominance in the region.
DLA Piper has reached an agreement with a second barrister who alleged the firm refused to pay him until its client settled the bill, according to court documents.
Most of the country’s major financial institutions have still not conducted a systemic review of their fees-for-no-service failures, according to ASIC, which called the delays “unreasonable”.
A surgeon who was considering opening a health clinic in Coffs Harbour, NSW recorded one of the meetings central to the competition watchdog’s action against Ramsay Health, in which alleged anti-competitive threats were made by a CEO of two Ramsay units, a court has heard.
AFT Pharmaceuticals has agreed to a court order temporarily restraining it from distributing point of sale material containing updated claims that its painkiller Maxigesic is more effective than other over-the-counter medications.
The ACCC’s chairman Rod Sims has fired a warning shot across the bows of Australia’s gas suppliers, saying high prices had put businesses at risk and urging them to do more to rectify the situation themselves.
Westpac has followed ASIC’s lead, launching a separate appeal to a ruling that it provided financial advice but not personal advice as part of a campaign encouraging customers to roll over external superannuation accounts.
Google has criticised the ACCC’s proposals for stricter oversight of digital platforms, saying the regulator has not identified any problems that couldn’t be addressed with its current powers, a concern echoed by US-based competition and industry groups, which warned the proposals could harm competition.