Law Council of Australia

Business Law Section

Consultation on ACCC service of documents—Exposure draft amendment

Submission Date: 30 September 2026

The Competition and Consumer Law Committee of the Business Law Section of the Law Council of Australia (the Committee) welcomes the opportunity to comment on Treasury’s exposure draft amendment to the Competition and Consumer  Amendment (Service of Documents) Regulations 2026 (the Draft Regulations).

The Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) (the Act) aims to enhance the welfare of Australians by promoting competition, ensuring fair trading and providing robust consumer protection. To enforce the Act and fulfil its statutory responsibilities, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (the ACCC) is empowered, among other things, to obtain information, documents and evidence through the issuance of compulsory notices under sections 95ZK and 155 of the Act.

To support this, the Competition and Consumer Regulations 2010 (Cth) (the Principal Regulations) prescribe methods for the valid service of documents or notices required or permitted to be served or given to a person in connection with matters under the Act. The Draft Regulations would amend the Principal Regulations to enhance the ACCC’s ability to gather information including by specifying some of the ways in which the ACCC may effectively serve documents or notices on persons in or outside Australia.

The Draft Regulations expand the ways in which the ACCC may effectively serve documents or notices on persons in or outside Australia. While this may provide improved clarity, the Committee is concerned that a number of the proposed amendments significantly expand the ACCC’s ability to serve notices outside Australia in ways that are not adequately justified or safeguarded, as set out in this submission.

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Last Updated on 07/10/2026

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