Open AccessIt Ain't Necessarily So: Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Pfizer Australia Pty Ltd and the Reasons for Reforming s 36 of the Commerce Act
Author(s) -
Paul Scott
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
victoria university of wellington law review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1179-3082
pISSN - 1171-042X
DOI - 10.26686/vuwlr.v51i2.6571
Subject(s) - commission , competition (biology) , government (linguistics) , competition law , project commissioning , law , law reform , business , publishing , political science , economics , monopoly , ecology , linguistics , philosophy , market economy , biology
The Government has indicated it is going to amend s 36 of the Commerce Act 1986. Its reasons are that s 36 fails to capture sufficient anticompetitive conduct, is difficult and complex to apply and makes litigation unpredictable. The Government proposes a substantial lessening of competition test which it claims will capture more conduct, make analysis more straightforward and provide a source of Australian authority for New Zealand courts. This article uses an Australian Federal Court case, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Pfizer Australia Pty Ltd, to show that the claims for reform are overstated and in some cases incorrect. It argues the foundations of the case for reform of s 36 are wobbly and infirm.