{"id":"F2020L01103","name":"Competition and Consumer (Price Inquiry— Perishable Agricultural Goods) Direction 2020","slug":"competition-and-consumer-price-inquiry-perishable-agricultural-goods-direction-2020","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":440592,"registerId":"F2020L01103-fast-fetch-1775956162471","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Competition and Consumer (Price Inquiry— Perishable Agricultural Goods) Direction 2020","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\ntitle: 200812-LI-TSY_46_465-Agricultural goods.master\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nCompetition and Consumer (Price Inquiry—Perishable Agricultural Goods) Direction 2020\n\nI, Josh Frydenberg, Treasurer, give the following direction to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.\n\nDated 28 August 2020\n\n \n\nJosh Frydenberg\n\nTreasurer\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n1  Name \n\n2  Commencement\n\n3  Authority\n\n4  Definitions\n\nPart 2—Price inquiry into supply of perishable agricultural goods\n\n5  Commission to hold an inquiry\n\n6  Directions on matters to be taken into consideration in the inquiry\n\n7  Directions as to holding of the inquiry\n\n8  Inquiry is to be held partly in private\n\n9  Period for completing the inquiry\n\n \n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Competition and Consumer (Price Inquiry— Perishable Agricultural Goods) Direction 2020.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this instrument Immediately after this instrument is registered.\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.\n\n4  Definitions\n\nNote: Expressions have the same meaning in this instrument as in the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 as in force from time to time—see paragraph 13(1)(b) of the Legislation Act 2003.\n\n  In this instrument:\n\nAustralian law means a law of the Commonwealth, a State, or a Territory (whether written or unwritten).\n\nexempt supply has the meaning given by subsection 95A(1) of the Act.\n\ngoods has the meaning given by subsection 95A(1) of the Act.\n\ninquiry has the meaning given by subsection 95A(1) of the Act.\n\nperishable agricultural goods means goods and services described in subsection 5(2).\n\nservices has the meaning given by subsection 95A(1) of the Act.\n\nState or Territory authority has the meaning given by subsection 95A(1) of the Act.\n\nsupply has the meaning given by subsection 95A(1) of the Act.\n\nthe Act means the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.\n\nPart 2—Price inquiry into supply of perishable agricultural goods\n\n \n\n5  Commission to hold an inquiry\n\n (1) Under subsection 95H(1) of the Act, the Commission is required to hold an inquiry into the markets for the supply of perishable agricultural goods. The inquiry is not to extend to any of the following:\n\n (a) the supply of a good or service by a State or Territory authority;\n\n (b) the supply of a good or service that is an exempt supply;\n\n (c) reviewing the operation of any Australian law (other than the Act or an instrument made under the Act);\n\n (d) reviewing the operation or scope of the Competition and Consumer (Industry Codes—Horticulture) Regulations 2017;\n\n (e) reviewing the operation of any program funded by the Commonwealth, or any policy of the Commonwealth (other than policies relating to competition and consumer protection);\n\n (f) reviewing the Commonwealth policy that there is to be no regulation of prices in the markets for the supply of perishable agricultural goods.\n\n (2) For the purposes of subsection 95J(1) of the Act, the inquiry is to be held in relation to goods and services of the following descriptions:\n\n (a) animal meat products containing, in whole or in part, meat from any one of the following:\n\n (i) pig;\n\n (ii) bovine;\n\n (iii) sheep;\n\n (iv) chicken;\n\n (v) fish;\n\n (vi) shellfish;\n\n (b) plants, fungi, or their products or parts (including seeds, spores, bulbs and similar things);\n\n (c) dairy products; and\n\n (d) eggs of a domestic hen.\n\n (3) Under subsection 95J(2) of the Act, the inquiry is not to be held in relation to the supply of goods and services by a particular person or persons.\n\n6  Directions on matters to be taken into consideration in the inquiry\n\n  Under subsection 95J(6) of the Act, the Commission is directed to take into consideration all of the following matters in holding the inquiry:\n\n (a) the relative power held by different suppliers in the markets for the supply of perishable agricultural goods, with particular regard to:\n\n (i) the concentration of power in the markets amongst and between suppliers of perishable agricultural goods at each level of the domestic supply chain; and\n\n (ii) the bargaining power of the suppliers in the markets, whether an imbalance in power exists between suppliers at different levels of the domestic supply chain, and whether that imbalance leads to a harmful outcome for participants in the markets (including through the behaviour of suppliers or through the pricing and other terms and conditions suppliers offer to other suppliers); and\n\n (iii) the nature of the relationships between the various suppliers in the markets; and\n\n (iv) the allocation of risk between the suppliers in the markets; and\n\n (v) the operation of the Act, or an instrument made under the Act, on the matters covered by subparagraphs (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv); and\n\n (b) the practices and behaviours of suppliers in the markets for the supply of perishable agricultural goods and the effect those practices and behaviours may have on consumers and the broader economy; and\n\n (c) the effectiveness of the Competition and Consumer (Industry Codes—Dairy) Regulations 2019, with particular regard to:\n\n (i) whether the regulations adequately address issues arising from different levels of power in the markets between suppliers (throughout the supply chain) of goods and services described in paragraph 5(2)(c); and\n\n (ii) whether the regulations adequately address issues arising in each of the markets covered by the regulations; and\n\n (iii) costs of producing dairy milk in each relevant geographical region in Australia, the productivity of producing milk in each of those regions, and the extent to which those matters are properly taken into account by other suppliers in the markets; and\n\n (iv) level of supply of dairy milk and whether current supply levels adversely affect the bargaining power of suppliers; and\n\n (v) the interaction of the Competition and Consumer (Industry Codes—Dairy) Regulations 2019 and other regulations made for the purposes of subsection 51AE(1) of the Act on suppliers and the supply of dairy products; and\n\n (d) the Commonwealth policy mentioned in paragraph 5(1)(f).\n\n7  Directions as to holding of the inquiry\n\n  Under subsection 95J(6) of the Act, the Commission is directed to do all of the following in holding the inquiry:\n\n (a) assess whether there are any imbalances in power of the various suppliers in the markets for the supply of perishable agricultural goods and whether any identified imbalance leads to a harmful outcome for participants in the markets;\n\n (b) recommend options to enhance competition in the markets for the supply of perishable agricultural goods, including:\n\n (i) in relation to dairy products—options to amend the Competition and Consumer (Industry Codes—Dairy) Regulations 2019 to improve competition by addressing any harmful behaviour of suppliers possessing a greater degree of power in the markets anywhere in the supply chain; and\n\n (ii) in relation to other goods and services the subject of this inquiry—options to better leverage existing regulatory arrangements to improve competition by addressing any harmful behaviour of suppliers possessing a greater degree of power in the markets anywhere in the supply chain;\n\n (c) for each recommended option, the potential impact of the option on suppliers (at each level of the markets), consumers, the broader economy, and ability of Australian suppliers to compete in global markets for the supply of perishable agricultural goods.\n\n8  Inquiry is to be held partly in private\n\n  Under subsection 95R(1) of the Act, the Commission is directed to hold the inquiry in private to the extent necessary to receive and consider written submissions provided to the Commission in confidence.\n\n9  Period for completing the inquiry\n\n  For the purposes of subsection 95K(1) of the Act, the inquiry is to be completed, and a report on the matter of inquiry given to the Treasurer, by no later than 30 November 2020.\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Direction does not amend the Act but sets the inquiry’s scope and limits: it defines covered goods (s5(2)), excludes certain supplies and review subjects (s5(1)), and directs the ACCC which matters to investigate (s6) and what options to recommend (s7). It therefore specifies, rather than changes, the legal scope of the ACCC’s inquiry."},"complexity_factors":["Relies on multiple cross‑references to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (definitions and inquiry powers) which requires legal interpretation.","Specific exclusions and limits on scope (s5(1)) narrow the inquiry while requiring the ACCC to assess interactions with existing regulations (s6(c)(v)).","Detailed list of matters to be considered (s6) and directed tasks (s7) require economic analysis across supply‑chain levels and regions (notably dairy cost and productivity matters).","Prohibition on targeting particular persons (s5(3)) adds procedural constraints to evidence gathering.","Confidential handling of submissions (s8) creates procedural and evidentiary complexity for disclosures and report drafting.","Compressed statutory deadline (report due 30 Nov 2020, s9) increases operational and analytic time pressure on the ACCC."],"plain_english_summary":"This Direction requires the ACCC to carry out a time‑limited price inquiry into markets for perishable agricultural goods (meat, plants/fungi, dairy and hen eggs), excluding supplies by State/Territory authorities and exempt supplies, and to deliver a report to the Treasurer by 30 November 2020 (s5, s9). The ACCC must examine market power, bargaining relationships, supplier behaviours and the dairy industry code, may recommend options including regulatory amendments, and will take confidential submissions in private (s6–s8), imposing compliance and reporting demands on market participants."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a specific, time-bound ministerial direction for a single inquiry. It has not grown beyond its original purpose; it is precisely targeted at investigating perishable agricultural goods supply chains with defined exclusions and a clear deadline. The scope is actually narrower than the general powers under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, being deliberately limited to exclude price regulation, other laws, and government programs."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument: only 9 sections across 2 Parts","Minimal defined terms: 8 definitions, mostly referencing external legislation (Competition and Consumer Act 2010)","Heavy reliance on external statutory framework: numerous references to sections 95A, 95H, 95J, 95K, 95R of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010","Clear structural logic: preliminary provisions, then substantive directions, then procedural requirements","Limited conditional logic: primarily exclusionary provisions in section 5(1) listing what the inquiry cannot cover","No nested exceptions or complex cross-referencing within the instrument itself","Straightforward command structure: 'the Commission is directed to...' and 'the Commission is required to...'"],"plain_english_summary":"The Treasurer has ordered the ACCC to urgently investigate how meat, seafood, plants, dairy and eggs are bought and sold, focusing on whether large processors/retailers can exploit bargaining power over farmers and others in the supply chain. The inquiry, with a November 30, 2020 deadline, must review market concentration, risk allocation and competition laws, assess the Dairy Industry Code, and recommend measures to boost competition (without imposing direct price controls). It affects producers, processors, retailers and consumers."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/competition-and-consumer-price-inquiry-perishable-agricultural-goods-direction-2020","history":"/api/acts/competition-and-consumer-price-inquiry-perishable-agricultural-goods-direction-2020/history","analysis":"/api/acts/competition-and-consumer-price-inquiry-perishable-agricultural-goods-direction-2020/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/competition-and-consumer-price-inquiry-perishable-agricultural-goods-direction-2020/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/competition-and-consumer-price-inquiry-perishable-agricultural-goods-direction-2020/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/competition-and-consumer-price-inquiry-perishable-agricultural-goods-direction-2020/documents"}}