Merger Control Law in Australia and New Zealand
Thursday 13th February 1pm-4pm (Sydney time)
Organised by LIDC Australia and New Zealand
Register here
The International League of Competition Law (LIDC) is a long-standing international association, which was created in 1930. The LIDC focuses on the study of competition law, intellectual property law and unfair competition law. The LIDC is constituted by 19 National Groups, now including Australia and New Zealand.
The e-conference, chaired by Dr Alex Bruce, will examine important recent developments Merger Control Law in Australia and New Zealand.
With the Treasury Laws Amendment (Mergers and Acquisitions Reform) Bill 2024 passing both houses of Parliament and receiving the Royal Assent, the Australian merger control regime is joining other well-established competition law regimes by replacing its current, primarily voluntary, regime with a mandatory and suspensory administrative merger regime. Notification under the new regime will be possible from 1 July 2025 and required after 1 January 2026.
The new law brings about the biggest change in Australian merger control law for 30 years!
Developments in Australian merger control law will be watched closely in New Zealand. While legislative reform is not on the horizon, the New Zealand Commerce Commission formally declined to grant clearance to two mergers in the space of 3 months in 2024, the first such declines since 2017.
Program:
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Opening Remarks: Dr Barbora Jedlickova (President of LIDC Australia & New Zealand)
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Session 1 |
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Speaker: Marcus Bezzi (Chief Advisor, Competition Taskforce, The Treasury, Australian Government) Commentator: Professor Julie Clarke (Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne) |
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Session 2 |
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Speaker: Jacqueline Downes (Partner, Practice Group Leader, Competition, Consumer & Regulatory, Allens) Commentator: TBC |
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Session 3 |
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Speaker: Dr Mark Berry (Barrister, former Chair New Zealand Commerce Commission) Commentator: Professor Chris Noonan (Auckland Law School, University of Auckland) |
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Closing Remarks: Zoltán Barakonyi (President of LIDC) |
The e-conference, hosted in cooperation with the Centre for Public, International and Comparative Law (CPICL) at the University of Queensland TC Beirne School of Law, will take place online at 1-4pm (Sydney time) on Thursday 13 February 2024. Registration closes on Monday 10 February.
If you have any questions regarding the e-conference please contact:
Dr Alex Bruce | Secretary, LIDC Australia and New Zealand
E: alex.bruce@uq.edu.au