ACCC Telecommunications (Infringement Notices) Guidelines 2024

The instrument rests on a handful of governing legal and operational concepts. First, the statutory authority: the Guidelines are made under subsection 572M(5) of the Telecommunications Act and are the document to be taken into account for the exercise of the infringement notice powers in Part 31B (Guidelines, Authority; Introduction). Second, the decision maker: an "Authorised Infringement Notice Officer" is the Chairperson of the ACCC or staff appointed under section 572L of the Telecommunications Act (Definitions and interpretation). The Guidelines therefore formalise both centralised and delegated decision-making within the ACCC.

Third, the substantive scope: infringement notices are available only for alleged contraventions of specified civil penalty provisions in Part 8 of the Telecommunications Act, listed in the Guidelines by their statutory subsections (including subsections 142C(2) and (4), 143(2) and (5), 143A(1) or (2) related requirements, 151ZD(1) and (2), 151ZF(1), (4), (5), 151ZG(2)-(4), 151ZA(3)-(4), 151ZB(1),(3),(5), 151ZH(1),(2),(2A),(3) and 151ZI(1),(2)) (Infringement notice provisions in the Telecommunications Act). The Guidelines also permit, in certain circumstances, notices for contraventions of s 68 or s 101 to the extent those conditions or rules relate to the listed Part 8 provisions.

Fourth, procedural time limits: an infringement notice must be given within 12 months of the alleged contravention (Infringement notice provisions). Once given, the recipient typically has 28 days to pay; the authorised officer may specify a longer compliance period and recipients may request an extension, with the Guidelines encouraging requests no later than two weeks before the due date (Form and Process). Separately, the ACCC may withdraw a notice within 28 days of giving it; withdrawal requests must be in writing, made within that 28-day period, and should include reasons and any supporting material (Form and Process).

Fifth, legal effects: payment in full within the compliance period discharges liability for that alleged contravention and bars the ACCC from bringing Part 31 proceedings for the same alleged contravention, provided the notice is not withdrawn (Effect of payment). Conversely, there is no obligation to pay; non-payment leaves the ACCC free to commence Part 31 proceedings, and infringement notice penalties are set at amounts lower than the maximum civil penalties the court could impose (Effect of non-payment).

Sixth, publication: the ACCC usually will not publish merely that an infringement notice was given, nor will it generally publicise that the recipient did not pay. However, the ACCC will publicise paid infringement notices and maintain a register on its website listing paid notices, and it is likely to issue a media release describing the alleged matters and that payment was made (Publication).

Seventh, enforcement discretion: the Guidelines list factors that authorised officers will consider when deciding whether to issue a notice , nature and seriousness of conduct, duration and whether ongoing, impact and harm, corporate culture of compliance, and educational or deterrence needs , and give positive and negative examples for when notices are more or less likely to be used. The Guidelines also state an officer will generally only consider issuing a notice where the ACCC is likely to seek a court-based resolution if the recipient elects not to pay (The ACCC’s approach). That combination of factors governs the de facto gatekeeping standard the ACCC will apply.

Finally, limits on ACCC discretion in practice: the Guidelines acknowledge statutory constraints such as the penalty amount being determined by section 572G of the Telecommunications Act, which the ACCC cannot alter (Form and Process; Withdrawal of an infringement notice). The Guidelines also refer to statutory interpretive provisions governing references to other instruments (References to other instruments).

These Guidelines affect three distinct groups directly, and several others indirectly. First, potential recipients: carriers, carriage service providers and other persons who operate in the telecommunications sector and who might be alleged to have contravened the listed civil penalty provisions in Part 8 of the Telecommunications Act are directly within scope (Infringement notice provisions). The specific statutory references include wholesale-only obligations, functional separation undertakings, non-discrimination obligations, publication obligations and anti-avoidance provisions; those who hold licences or have given undertakings under the Act are the primary subjects of enforcement.

Second, the ACCC as regulator: the Guidelines formalise how ACCC staff exercise delegated infringement notice powers. The Authorised Infringement Notice Officer role is limited to the Chairperson or staff appointed under section 572L, placing the decision in the hands of senior ACCC officials or their delegates (Definitions and interpretation). The ACCC will maintain administrative records including a public register of paid notices and will decide on extensions, withdrawals and publication (Form and Process; Publication).

Third, affected third parties and the market: recipients who pay will have their payment published on the ACCC’s register and may be the subject of a media release. That creates an institutionalised reputational channel that affects market perceptions without the need for court adjudication (Publication). The Guidelines state the ACCC will publicise payments to provide educative and deterrent effect.

Indirectly affected parties include competitors and customers. Competitors may use the register and media releases as a signal of enforcement activity; customers and end-users may see a public record that an entity paid an infringement notice but will not necessarily see the full litigation record because the Guidelines state the ACCC will not ordinarily publicise mere issuance or non-payment (Publication). The Guidelines themselves note that they are intended to be consistent with the objects of the Telecommunications Act, which include promoting long-term interests of end-users, industry efficiency and availability of affordable carriage services (Introduction). That ties enforcement practice to broad policy objectives and affects how ACCC balances remedial outcomes against deterrence.

Finally, legal advisers and compliance officers are affected because the Guidelines prescribe procedural steps and timelines for requesting extensions and withdrawals, and because payment has a specific legal effect , discharging liability under Part 31 while triggering publication , which must be factored into legal advice and commercial decision-making (Form and Process; Effect of an infringement notice; Publication). The Guidelines thus change incentives for strategic choices: whether to pay and remove litigation risk but accept a published record, or contest through litigation with the possibility of larger penalties but no compulsory publication of payment if a notice is issued and not paid.

The Guidelines set out a mixture of duties and rights for both the ACCC and recipients, some created by the Telecommunications Act itself and some clarified in administrative terms.

Duties and obligations of the ACCC and authorised officers

• Exercise of discretion consistent with stated factors: authorised infringement notice officers are to consider the objects of the Telecommunications Act and specified discretionary factors (nature, duration, impact, corporate culture, need for education/deterrence) when deciding whether to give a notice (The ACCC’s approach). The Guidelines list examples of circumstances making a notice more or less appropriate to inform that discretion.
• Prepare and include prescribed content in a notice: an infringement notice must state the recipient’s name, the date of the notice, brief details of the alleged contravention (including date and specific civil penalty provision), penalty units and the amount, payment instructions, the right to request a longer payment period, that payment will preclude Part 31 proceedings, the authorised officer’s name and contact details, and the fact that the officer may withdraw the notice within 28 days and must refund if already paid (Form and Process: Content of an infringement notice).
• Time limits for issuance and withdrawal: the ACCC must give a notice within 12 months of the alleged contravention, and may withdraw a notice only within 28 days of giving it (Infringement notice provisions; Withdrawal of an infringement notice).
• Refund obligation if withdrawing a paid notice: if a notice is withdrawn after payment, the ACCC must refund the paid penalty (Withdrawal of an infringement notice; Effect of withdrawal).
• Publication obligations and practice: the ACCC will maintain a register of paid notices and ordinarily will publish paid notices, and may issue media releases; conversely the ACCC will not ordinarily publish the mere fact a person has been given a notice or that the person did not pay (Publication).

Rights and options for recipients

• No legal obligation to pay: the Guidelines explicitly state there is no legal obligation to pay an infringement notice (Effect of non-payment).
• Option to pay to resolve matter: if the recipient pays in full within the compliance period and the notice is not withdrawn, the ACCC may not bring Part 31 proceedings in respect of that alleged contravention and liability for that contravention is discharged (Effect of payment).
• Right to request longer payment period: recipients may request an extended compliance period; the Guidelines set out recommended timing and information to support such requests and encourage requests no later than two weeks before the payment due date (Form and Process: Request for a longer period).
• Right to request withdrawal: recipients may request that the ACCC withdraw a notice within the 28-day withdrawal period, and such requests must be in writing, include reasons and may include supporting material (Form and Process: Withdrawal of an infringement notice).
• Access to information and contact point: each infringement notice must contain the contact details of the person to whom enquiries may be directed, enabling recipients to make requests for extension or withdrawal and to communicate with the ACCC (Form and Process: Content).

Constraints on both parties and evidentiary points

• The ACCC must have reasonable grounds to believe the person contravened the relevant provision before issuing a notice (Infringement notice provisions).
• Penalty amounts are fixed by the Telecommunications Act (section 572G) and the ACCC cannot alter the statutory penalty amount in an infringement notice (Form and Process: Withdrawal of an infringement notice).
• The 12-month time bar for issuing a notice limits the ACCC’s window for using this enforcement tool (Infringement notice provisions).

These duties and rights establish a trade-off: recipients can pay to secure finality under Part 31 but face publicisation of payment; alternatively, they can decline payment and face possible court proceedings with potentially higher penalties but no statutory requirement of publication of non-payment under these Guidelines. The Guidelines also impose procedural duties on both parties for extensions and withdrawals, and require the ACCC to apply a stated set of discretionary factors when deciding whether to use the infringement notice mechanism.

The Guidelines explain the enforcement mechanics tied to infringement notice penalties and the ACCC’s enforcement choices, within the legal architecture of the Telecommunications Act.

Penalty quantum and statutory limit

• The Guidelines explain that the penalty amounts that may be set in an infringement notice are those determined by section 572G of the Telecommunications Act, and the ACCC cannot alter that amount (Form and Process: Withdrawal of an infringement notice). The Guidelines note that infringement notice penalties are lower than the maximum civil penalties a court could impose under the relevant civil penalty provisions of the Act (Effect of non-payment). The Guidelines do not set specific penalty dollar amounts themselves but refer to the statutory provision that does.

Legal effect of payment and non-payment

• Payment in full within the compliance period discharges the recipient’s liability for the alleged contravention and, provided the notice is not withdrawn, the ACCC may not bring proceedings under Part 31 against the person for that alleged contravention (Effect of payment). That creates an administratively final resolution for the particular headline contravention covered by the notice.
• There is no obligation to pay an infringement notice. If a recipient does not pay, the ACCC may commence proceedings for the imposition of a pecuniary penalty under Part 31 of the Telecommunications Act (Effect of non-payment). The Guidelines do not prescribe thresholds that automatically lead to litigation; rather they describe factors an officer will weigh before issuing a notice, including whether the ACCC would pursue court action as a likely alternative.

Procedural enforcement steps and timing

• An authorised infringement notice officer may give multiple notices relating to separate alleged contraventions, where appropriate; in deciding whether to give multiple notices, officers will consider systemic non-compliance, multi-jurisdictional contraventions, and deterrence needs (The ACCC’s approach). The Guidelines require that a notice be given within 12 months from the date of the alleged contravention (Infringement notice provisions).
• The usual compliance period is 28 days. The authorised officer may set a longer period in the notice and recipients can request an extension; the Guidelines recommend such requests be made no later than two weeks before the payment due date (Form and Process: Request for a longer period).

Withdrawal, refund and subsequent action

• The ACCC may withdraw an infringement notice within 28 days of giving it. Withdrawal requests must be made in writing within that period and include reasons and any supporting materials (Form and Process: Withdrawal of an infringement notice). If an infringement notice is withdrawn after payment, the ACCC must refund the penalty paid (Effect of withdrawal).
• If the ACCC withdraws a notice, it will consider on a case-by-case basis whether further action is appropriate, which may include instituting civil penalty proceedings with respect to the matters that were the subject of the notice (Effect of withdrawal).

Publication as an enforcement instrument

• The Guidelines set an explicit publication policy: the ACCC will not ordinarily publish that an infringement notice has been given nor that a person did not pay. The ACCC will, however, publish details of paid infringement notices on a register and is likely to issue a media release describing the alleged matters and that payment has been made (Publication). The Guidelines link this publication practice to educative and deterrent aims.

Key enforcement discretion

• The Guidelines state the ACCC will generally only consider issuing an infringement notice where it is likely to seek a court-based resolution should the recipient not pay. This indicates that issuing a notice is intended to be an alternative to litigation where litigation would otherwise be pursued, rather than an alternative to enforcement action generally (The ACCC’s approach).

In sum, the enforcement regime created by the Guidelines establishes a lower-penalty, faster administrative resolution route that discharges liability under Part 31 if accepted, preserves litigation as the fall-back option, and uses publication of paid notices as a deliberate part of the ACCC’s educative and deterrent strategy. The Guidelines also set procedural protections for recipients through extension and withdrawal mechanisms, while requiring the ACCC to consider statutory objects and specific discretionary factors before issuing notices.

The Guidelines are an instrument under the Telecommunications Act 1997 and explicitly connect to other legislative texts and interpretive schemes. They are intended to be read in light of the Telecommunications Act and general interpretive provisions governing legislative instruments.

Statutory anchoring and interpretive framework

• The Guidelines are made under subsection 572M(5) of the Telecommunications Act and are explicitly stated to be the guidelines in force for the purposes of subsections 572M(4) and (6) (Authority; Introduction). The Guidelines also note that expressions used in the Guidelines and the Telecommunications Act have the same meaning unless a contrary intention appears, referencing the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 via subsection 13(1) of the Legislation Act 2003 (Definitions and interpretation; Note). This establishes that the Guidelines operate within the statutory definitions and interpretive conventions that apply to Commonwealth instruments.

Interplay with the Telecommunications Act enforcement architecture

• The Guidelines operate alongside Part 31B of the Telecommunications Act and interact directly with Part 8 civil penalty provisions by restricting the availability of infringement notices to those specified sections in Part 8 (Infringement notice provisions in the Telecommunications Act). They also refer to the operation of section 572G of the Telecommunications Act for penalty amounts, which the ACCC cannot alter (Form and Process).
• Payment of an infringement notice prevents the ACCC from bringing proceedings under Part 31 of the Telecommunications Act for that alleged contravention, and discharges the recipient’s liability for that alleged contravention under that Part (Effect of payment). The Guidelines do not state that payment prevents the institution of proceedings under different statutory regimes; they are expressly about Part 31 consequences. The text therefore creates a limited statutory interplay: administrative finality within Part 31, but leaving open other legal regimes unless otherwise provided by law.

References to other instruments

• The Guidelines state that references to other Acts or legislative instruments are references to those instruments as in force from time to time, and references to other kinds of instruments are references to them as in force from time to time (References to other instruments). The Guidelines also direct practitioners to section 589 of the Telecommunications Act for references to Commonwealth Acts. This framing means the Guidelines should be read with the current version of the Telecommunications Act and related legislation in force.

Publication, transparency and other procedural laws

• The publication practice the Guidelines establish interacts with administrative expectations of transparency for enforcement agencies. The ACCC says it will maintain a register of paid infringement notices and ordinarily publish payer identity, notice number, date paid and relevant section of legislation, and will likely issue a media release describing alleged matters and payment (Publication). The Guidelines do not assert any privative effect that would shield such publication from other statutory constraints; they are an ACCC policy on information release.

Limits and gaps in cross-law interactions

• The Guidelines do not address directly whether payment or the ACCC’s decision-making under these Guidelines affects civil remedies, private rights, or other regulatory regimes (for example, civil proceedings in other jurisdictions or actions under other Commonwealth laws). The only statutory effect recorded in the Guidelines is the bar on Part 31 proceedings in respect of the alleged contravention and discharge of liability for that contravention under Part 31 (Effect of payment). Practitioners should therefore not assume that payment under an ACCC-issued infringement notice has any automatic legal consequence beyond the specific Part 31 bar and refund mechanics described in the Guidelines.

Practical interaction risks

• Because the Guidelines create a public register of paid notices, acts of payment under the Guidelines will interact de facto with commercial, contractual and reputational frameworks that are governed by other bodies of law (contract law, market disclosure obligations, sector-specific regulatory requirements). The Guidelines require the ACCC to publish basic details of paid notices and contemplate media releases, which can have effects beyond the immediate Part 31 legal outcome. The Guidelines do not, however, provide any legal immunities or covenants covering consequences in other legal contexts.

In short, the Guidelines are an ACCC administrative instrument that operates within the statutory framework of the Telecommunications Act, creates a procedural pathway with specific Part 31 effects, references and must be read with other Commonwealth legislation as in force, and leaves open the question of consequences under other laws beyond Part 31. The Guidelines document the ACCC’s chosen intersection point between administrative enforcement and court-based civil penalties within telecommunications regulation.

The Guidelines themselves contain only minimal historical metadata. They are titled "ACCC Telecommunications (Infringement Notices) Guidelines 2024" and are dated 28 August 2024, signed by the ACCC Chairperson and a Commissioner (front matter). The "Commencement" clause states the Guidelines commence at the start of the day after the day they are registered on the Federal Register of Legislation (Commencement). No prior versions, schedules of amendments, or transitional arrangements appear within the text provided.

Statutory relationship to subsequent amendment

• The Guidelines state explicitly that references to other Acts or instruments are to those instruments as in force from time to time, which means any future amendments to the Telecommunications Act or other legislative instruments will affect how the Guidelines operate insofar as the Guidelines refer to those provisions (References to other instruments). The Guidelines do not themselves prescribe a process for amendment; as a legislative instrument made under subsection 572M(5) of the Telecommunications Act, they are subject to the usual disallowance, registration and amendment mechanisms applicable to Commonwealth legislative instruments. The Guidelines note that Commonwealth Acts and legislative instruments are registered on the Federal Register of Legislation (References to other instruments: Note 2).

Practical points for practitioners

• Because the Guidelines refer to statutory subsections and are to be read alongside the Telecommunications Act and other instruments as in force from time to time, any practitioner must check the current version of the Act (including any post-2024 amendments) when applying the Guidelines. The Guidelines themselves do not list amendment entries or a version history table. They state they are the Guidelines in force for the purposes of subsections 572M(4) and (6) (Authority).

Absence of recorded amendments in the document

• The text provided contains no subsequent amendment entries and no historical notes within the instrument recording earlier iterations. That means, as presented, the 28 August 2024 instrument is the controlling version. If changes are later made to either the Telecommunications Act provisions that the Guidelines reference or to the Guidelines themselves, those changes would be reflected on the Federal Register of Legislation as the authoritative repository, as the Guidelines themselves note (Commencement; References to other instruments: Note 2).

Summary

• The Guidelines are a newly issued instrument dated 28 August 2024, commencing on registration, with no internal amendment history recorded in the text provided. They are designed to be read in tandem with the Telecommunications Act as it may be amended over time, and practitioners should consult the Federal Register of Legislation for any subsequent amendments or replacement Guidelines.

The Guidelines do not record any litigation history. They are an administrative instrument explaining how the ACCC will exercise infringement notice powers under the Telecommunications Act and do not purport to set precedent or to summarise judicial decisions. The document does include a general statement that every ACCC enforcement matter dealt with through litigation or formal resolution is made public, but it contains no case citations, no description of past litigation, and no list of matters resolved by infringement notices or court proceedings (Publication).

What the Guidelines state about litigation and alternatives

• The ACCC’s stated approach is that an authorised infringement notice officer will generally only consider issuing an infringement notice where the ACCC is likely to seek a court-based resolution should the recipient choose not to pay (The ACCC’s approach). That statement informs how the ACCC positions infringement notices relative to litigation: infringement notices are intended as an alternative to litigation where litigation would be a realistic alternative, rather than as a diversion from no enforcement action.

Absence of cases or judicial interpretation in the Guidelines

• The instrument does not cite any judicial decisions interpreting the Telecommunications Act provisions in question, nor does it purport to summarise judicial views on infringement notices, the meaning of the Part 8 civil penalty provisions, or the limits of ACCC power. It also does not record any administrative appeals or judicial review decisions relating to the Guidelines themselves. The Guidelines are therefore purely administrative guidance as to ACCC enforcement practice, not a compendium of litigation outcomes.

Implications for practitioners

• Because no litigation history is recorded in the Guidelines, practitioners must rely on the statutory text and the administrative procedures laid out here, and should consult courts and tribunal decisions separately if they seek legal precedent on the operation of Part 31B or Part 8 provisions. The Guidelines indicate how the ACCC intends to exercise discretion, but they do not bind courts and do not set out an appeal or review mechanism specific to infringement notices beyond the statutory avenues that would apply to administrative decisions generally.

In short, the Guidelines provide procedural and policy direction for ACCC staff and for subjects of enforcement, but they contain no litigation history or judicial interpretation. For precedential or case-law questions, the Guidelines themselves point practitioners back to the Telecommunications Act and the public records of enforcement matters handled through litigation or formal resolution which the ACCC says it will make public.

The Guidelines contain several concrete procedural and legal features that may catch regulated entities or advisers by surprise if not attended to. These are specific, documentable risks and constraints that flow from the text.

12-month issuance window

• An infringement notice must be given within 12 months after the day on which the contravention is alleged to have taken place (Infringement notice provisions). That statutory time bar means alleged contraventions more than 12 months old are outside the infringement notice mechanism, though other enforcement avenues may still exist. Practitioners must track alleged contravention dates carefully.

Payment discharges liability under Part 31 only

• If a recipient pays, the ACCC may not bring proceedings under Part 31 for that alleged contravention and the recipient’s liability for that contravention is discharged (Effect of payment). The Guidelines do not state that payment affects proceedings under other legal regimes. Advice relying on payment to remove exposure under other statutory schemes would be unwarranted absent separate statutory language.

Publication of paid notices

• Paid notices will be published on an ACCC register listing the person who paid, the notice number, date paid and section of legislation, and the ACCC is likely to issue a media release describing the alleged matters and that payment has been made (Publication). Many recipients may assume that paying simply avoids court publicity; the Guidelines make payment itself a likely trigger for public notice.

No legal obligation to pay but strategic consequences

• The Guidelines explicitly say there is no legal obligation to pay an infringement notice (Effect of non-payment). That does not make payment costless: non-payment may lead to court proceedings where statutory maximum penalties are higher and where the ACCC says it will ordinarily have been prepared to litigate. Entities must weigh reputational effects of paying against the financial and risk exposure of possible litigation.

Fixed penalty amounts

• The penalty amount in an infringement notice is set under s 572G of the Telecommunications Act and the ACCC cannot reduce or change it (Form and Process: Withdrawal of an infringement notice). That limits bargaining flexibility for recipients seeking to negotiate penalty quantum with the ACCC.

Withdrawal window and timing constraints

• The ACCC may withdraw an infringement notice only within 28 days after giving it, and a request for withdrawal must be made in writing within that period and include reasons and supporting evidence (Form and Process: Withdrawal of an infringement notice). Because withdrawal must occur within a statutory 28-day window to be effective, recipients must act quickly if they wish to pursue that route. The Guidelines encourage making requests no later than two weeks before the end of the withdrawal period.

ACCC’s pre-issuance litigious posture

• The ACCC states that it will generally only consider issuing an infringement notice where it is likely to proceed to court if the recipient does not pay (The ACCC’s approach). Practically, that means the ACCC should have considered litigation as a fall-back before issuing a notice. For recipients, this signals that a notice is not necessarily a soft outcome but rather an administrative alternative in cases where litigation would otherwise be the next step.

Multiple notices and systemic exposure

• The authorised officer may give multiple infringement notices for separate alleged contraventions, and will consider factors such as systemic non-compliance and multi-jurisdictional contraventions when deciding (The ACCC’s approach). Entities with repeated or system-wide issues may therefore face multiple concurrent notices rather than a single consolidated notice.

No change to liability if notice withdrawn and paid

• If the ACCC withdraws a notice after payment, the ACCC will refund the penalty but may nonetheless consider instituting civil penalty proceedings regarding the same matters (Effect of withdrawal). Payment followed by withdrawal therefore does not guarantee that further enforcement will not follow.

Procedural formality requirements

• Requests for extensions and withdrawal must be directed to the contact officer specified in the notice and should include particular factual material: intent to pay, reasons for inability to pay, and anticipated ability to comply within an extended period for extension requests; reasons and any evidence for withdrawal requests (Form and Process). Failure to follow these formality expectations could forfeit an opportunity to obtain an extension or withdrawal.

Limited scope of covered provisions

• The infringement notice mechanism as described in the Guidelines is available for a specified list of Part 8 provisions and, in some circumstances, for s 68 and s 101 insofar as they relate to those provisions (Infringement notice provisions). Alleged contraventions outside that set are not covered by these Guidelines.

Timing for extension requests

• The Guidelines recommend making extension requests no later than two weeks before the payment due date to allow the authorised officer sufficient time to consider the request (Form and Process: Request for a longer period). Last-minute requests may not be considered in time.

In short, the main practical surprises are that payment creates an administrative finality under Part 31 while also triggering public disclosure; the penalty is fixed by statute so there is limited room for compromise on quantum; the ACCC will generally only issue a notice where it would otherwise pursue litigation; and time windows for issuance, payment, withdrawal and extension requests are short, requiring prompt action.

If you are the recipient of an ACCC infringement notice issued under these Guidelines, or you advise an entity at risk, the Guidelines set out concrete, time-sensitive steps and a small menu of procedural options. Below are action points derived from the text.

Immediate triage on receipt

• Identify the alleged contravention and the statutory provision cited in the notice. The notice must set out brief details of the alleged contravention and the civil penalty provision allegedly contravened (Form and Process: Content of an infringement notice). Confirm the date of the alleged contravention to check the 12-month issuance window under the Act.

Note deadlines and contact point

• Record the compliance period stated on the notice (typically 28 days) and the deadline for payment. Note also the 28-day withdrawal window from the date the notice was given. The notice should contain the authorised officer’s name and contact details; use that contact as the first point for extension or withdrawal requests (Form and Process).

Consider legal and commercial trade-offs

• Payment discharges liability under Part 31 and prevents ACCC Part 31 proceedings in respect of that alleged contravention but will ordinarily result in publication on the ACCC register and may be the subject of a media release (Effect of payment; Publication). Weigh the financial cost of the infringement notice penalty (set by s 572G) against the prospect of court proceedings with higher maximum penalties and the reputational effect of publication.

If considering payment

• Ensure payment is tendered in full within the compliance period specified. The Guidelines make clear that payment in full and within the period, and where the notice is not withdrawn, will discharge liability under Part 31 (Effect of payment). Confirm payment instructions in the notice to ensure funds are correctly directed and to avoid technical non-payment issues.

If seeking an extension

• Request a longer period for payment in writing, directed to the contact officer specified in the notice. Explain whether you intend to pay, why you cannot pay within the current compliance period, and why you expect to be able to comply if the compliance period is extended (Form and Process: Request for a longer period). Make the request no later than two weeks before the payment due date to allow time for consideration.

If seeking withdrawal

• Make a written request for withdrawal within the 28-day withdrawal period. The request must be in writing, include reasons for withdrawal, and may include any additional evidence or information that may assist the authorised infringement notice officer (Form and Process: Withdrawal of an infringement notice). The Guidelines recommend making this request no later than two weeks before the end of the withdrawal period to allow time for ACCC consideration.

Prepare for litigation if not paying

• If you choose not to pay, expect that the ACCC may commence Part 31 proceedings. The Guidelines state the ACCC will generally only issue a notice where it is prepared to move to court if the recipient does not pay (The ACCC’s approach). Prepare evidentiary and legal positions accordingly, including potential defences and factual arguments regarding seriousness, duration, impact and corporate compliance culture,factors the ACCC will have considered in issuing the notice.

Documentation and evidence

• For any extension or withdrawal request, assemble documentary evidence supporting the factual explanations (cashflow evidence if inability to pay; legal submissions if disputing the alleged contravention; compliance program documents if arguing corporate culture). Submit these materials with the written request to the contact officer.

Consider communications strategy

• Because paid notices will be published and may be the subject of a media release, develop a communications plan in advance of deciding to pay. If the entity pays, be ready for publication of basic details on the ACCC register and potential media inquiries. If the entity does not pay and litigation ensues, factor in the ACCC’s statement that it will make public enforcement matters dealt with through litigation or formal resolution (Publication).

Check statutory limits and definitions

• Verify that the alleged contravention falls within the specific Part 8 provisions listed in the Guidelines, and if the alleged contravention is older than 12 months, confirm whether the ACCC is within its statutory period for issuing a notice (Infringement notice provisions). Also note that penalty amounts are statutory (s 572G) and not subject to ACCC negotiation under these Guidelines (Form and Process).

Engage advisers early

• Given the short and specific timelines in the Guidelines, engage legal and financial advisers promptly to assess the merits of paying, negotiating for an extension, seeking withdrawal, or preparing to litigate. The Guidelines’ procedural prescriptions mean time is of the essence.

Record-keeping

• Keep detailed records of all communications with the ACCC, all documents submitted in support of extension or withdrawal requests, and proof of payment if paid. This will be important both for demonstrating compliance with the Guidelines’ formality requirements and for any subsequent proceedings should the matter progress.

In short, compliance requires prompt calendaring of statutory and administrative deadlines, clear written requests when seeking extensions or withdrawals with supporting evidence, a deliberate assessment of the trade-off between payment and litigation, and a communications plan anticipating publication if payment is made. The Guidelines make clear that quick, accurate, evidence-based administrative interaction with the ACCC is the intended route for resolving most infringement notice matters.