Commonwealth act

Competition and Consumer Act 2010

In ForceCTH

Jurisdiction

Commonwealth

Act Number

51 of 1974

Collection

act

Plain English Summary

10/10 complexity

The Competition and Consumer Act 2010 is Australia's main law promoting fair competition in markets and protecting consumers from unfair or harmful business practices.

What it does: It bans anti-competitive behaviour such as cartels (businesses secretly agreeing to fix prices or divide markets – see s.45AD for the definition of cartel provisions, with offences in ss.45AF–45AK), misuse of market power (s.46), exclusive dealing (s.47), and mergers or acquisitions that would substantially lessen competition (s.50). It includes the Australian Consumer Law (Schedule 2, applied by Part XI), which protects consumers from misleading advertising, unfair contract terms, unsafe products, and poor service. The Act also regulates access to essential services like electricity or gas networks (Part IIIA), sets up bodies like the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC – Part II) and the Australian Energy Regulator (Part IIIAA), and includes special rules for industries such as franchising (Part IVB), news media bargaining with digital platforms (Part IVBA), gas markets (Part IVBB), and preventing scams.

Who it affects: It mainly applies to businesses (corporations, as defined in s.4), but extends to individuals in some cases (s.6). Consumers benefit from the protections. Government bodies (Commonwealth, states, territories) are covered when they carry on business (). Local councils are included only for their business activities ().

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Deep Dive

1,402 words · generated 24/04/2026

What it does

The Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (the Act) is the principal Commonwealth statute governing competition policy and consumer protection in Australia. Its object, stated in s.2, is "to enhance the welfare of Australians through the promotion of competition and fair trading and provision for consumer protection". This is achieved through a multi-layered structure set out in the compilation (No. 162, as at 1 January 2026).

Chapter 1 (Preliminary) contains the short title (s.1), objects, application provisions (the Act binds the Crown in right of the Commonwealth and States/Territories only so far as they carry on business – ss.2A–2C), and an extensive interpretation section (s.4). Over 100 defined terms are supplied, including "corporation" (limited to foreign, trading or financial corporations or holding companies under s.51(xx) of the Constitution), "market" (s.4E – a market in Australia for goods or services and substitutes), and "competition" (expressly including import competition). Application is extended extraterritorially to conduct outside Australia by Australian-incorporated bodies, citizens or residents (s.5), and to non-corporations in trade or commerce among the States or with the Commonwealth (s.6).

The Act establishes key institutions. Part II creates the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC – s.6A), a non-corporate Commonwealth entity for finance-law purposes. Its functions include enforcement, information dissemination, law reform, and research (s.28). It must comply with Ministerial directions and Parliamentary requirements (). Part IIA establishes the National Competition Council, which advises on access regimes and declarations (). Part III constitutes the Australian Competition Tribunal (formerly the Trade Practices Tribunal), which reviews ACCC decisions on authorisations, notifications, and access disputes (). Part IIIAA creates the Australian Energy Regulator (AER), with functions under Commonwealth and applied State/Territory energy laws ().

Current sections

Direct links to the current provisions in Competition and Consumer Act 2010.

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.