| ACCC lifts competition notice on Telstra |
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| by Stuart Corner | |
| Friday, 02 March 2007 | |
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The ACCC argued that Telstra had taken advantage of its market power in a way that was detrimental to competition in retail markets for telecommunications services - in breach of the Trade Practices Act. The ACCC was not able to order Telstra to cease the offending conduct, but the issue of the notice enabled it, and other parties, to take Telstra to court and if the conduct set out in the notice is proven to have impeded competition, the court can impose fines of up to $3 million per day for a year following issue of the notice. However the ACCC would face a considerable challenge, and cost in mounting a successful court action. Telstra detailed the risk of fines in its T3 prospectus, but expressed the view that a court would not impose the maximum penalty and also indicated that it would challenge the validity of the notice. "We have...claimed that the competition notice should be set aside for uncertainty and that the ACCC did not accord us procedural fairness by failing to properly consult with us prior to the issue of the notice. The ACCC argues that it has complied with all of its duties of procedural fairness and natural justice." |
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