Description

• Enacted by the Australian parliament in 1974 as the main law governing business competition, the TPA restricts specific business trade practices and provides protection to consumers. The act applies mainly to corporations though the Fair Trading Act, which regulates the business practices of individuals and closely resembles the Trade Practices Act.
  
  

Administration

• Four organizations administer the Trade Practices Act: the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the National Competition Council, the Australian Competition Tribunal and the Australian Energy Regulator. In addition, the Australian Competition Tribunal has the power to review decisions made by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
  
  

Consumer Protection

• The Trade Practices Act protects consumers by implying warranties, regulating product safety, setting standards, allowing private recovery for product liability, punishing misleading and deceptive business practices and outlawing unfair business practices such as pyramid schemes.
  
  

Prohibited & Restricted Business Practices

• The following trade practices are prohibited or restricted under the Trade Practices Act: price-fixing, set-price agreements, boycott agreements, exclusive dealings, competition-restrictive mergers and competition-restrictive acquisitions.
  
  

Remedies

• Both civil and criminal remedies can be administered as a result of a violation of the Trade Practices Act. The following civil remedies are available to individuals and corporations: pecuniary penalties, monetary damages, injunctions, divestiture, punitive orders, nonpunitive orders and disqualification.