Home topics small-business-resources sales-and-advertising Advertising | Marketing Industry Sales and advertising Advertising | Marketing Penalties of Competition law, is your business at risk? Guest Author October 9, 2018 Australia’s legal system has transformed significantly in recent times, and with increasingly regulated working environments it’s essential that business owners are aware of potential legal risks. Competition law is defined as “a law that is intended to make sure there is fair competition between businesses, for example by making rules to control monopolies”. One of the largest lawsuits in Australian history amounted to a colossal AUD$37 million against packaging giant Visy who engaged in a four-year price-fixing scheme with Australian packaging rival Amcor. There have been several high-profile examples of price fixing in Australia and worldwide in recent times, but how will this affect businesses across Australia going forward? What are the potential consequences of price fixing? The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) was founded in 1995 to ‘promote competition and fair trading and regulate national infrastructure to make markets work for everyone’.Failure to understand or comply with business law can have severe consequences, and competition law is no exception. Not only can breaches involve severe fines, but in extreme cases, it can also mean a prison sentence for those involved. The Competition and Consumer Act 2010 was passed to enhance the welfare of Australians through the promotion of competition and fair trading and provision for consumer protection. The Australian government, the ACCC and the Australian watchdog have cracked down on