Practice area
Competition & Consumer LawCompetition and consumer law (Commerce Act / Fair Trading Act)Antitrust and consumer protection
Define the intended work in Competition & Consumer Law (ACCC / ACL), confirm the applicable requirements and select a task to plan the necessary review.
Key facts
- Tasks covered
- 27
- Tasks with a step-by-step checklist
- 14
- Local differences
- 3 jurisdictions where this area changes
Jurisdiction
Tasks
GreenLawyer reviewYellowClose supervisionRedLawyer-led
| Task | How AI is used | Human involvement | What the lawyer must review |
|---|---|---|---|
| Build a misleading-conduct issues table from the campaign or statement | From the advertisement, website or representation, list candidate meanings, the audience, and the documents that support or undermine each meaning. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Build a misleading-conduct issues table under ACL ss 18 and 29 | From the advertisement, website or representation, list candidate meanings, the audience and the documents for and against each, against the ACL s 18 elements. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Screen an agreement for cartel or competitor-collaboration risk | Produce a checklist-style screen of the agreement or meeting notes against price, output, market-sharing and bid-rigging, with clause and email references. | RedLawyer-led |
|
| Screen an agreement for cartel conduct under CCA Part IV Division 1 | Screen the agreement or notes for price-fixing, output restriction, market allocation and bid-rigging (ss 45AF–45AJ) with references; flag JV and ACCC immunity questions. | RedLawyer-led |
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| Build an information-exchange and concerted-practices screen | From the correspondence and meeting notes, list information exchanged with competitors, the forum and any suggested responses, with document references. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Build an information-exchange screen under CCA s 45(1)(c) | From the correspondence and notes, list information exchanged with competitors, the forum and suggested responses, against the ACCC concerted-practices guidelines named. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Build a merger-notification threshold table from the deal facts | Map the transaction and financial facts the client has supplied to the threshold checklist the lawyer has selected, and list missing figures. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Build a merger-notification threshold table under CCA Part IVA | Map the deal and financial facts to the ACCC notification-threshold matrix, list missing figures, and draft the acquisition description for the ACCC portal. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Assess a New Zealand acquisition for Commerce Commission clearance | Extract New Zealand turnover, assets and overlap. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Build a competition-effects outline for an agreement, merger or unilateral-conduct file | Produce a structured outline (market, shares, theories of harm, counterfactual, documents to collect) from the papers the lawyer supplies. | RedLawyer-led |
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| Build a substantial-lessening-of-competition outline under the CCA | Draft an SLC outline (market, shares, theories of harm, counterfactual, documents to collect) from the papers, using CCA ss 45, 46 and 50 and the market studies named. | RedLawyer-led |
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| Audit a standard-form contract for one-sided terms | Flag clauses that may create a significant imbalance (unilateral variation, liability, termination, auto-renewal) and produce a suggested mark-up. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Audit a standard-form contract for unfair terms under ACL ss 23–28 | Flag clauses that may fail the three-limb UCT test (significant imbalance, not reasonably necessary, detriment) and produce a suggested mark-up with risk ratings. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Build an environmental-claims evidence table | Extract environmental claims from the pages or pack the lawyer names and list the evidence the client holds beside each claim. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Build an environmental-claims evidence table against ACCC greenwashing guidance | Extract carbon-neutral, recycled-content, offset and similar claims, with the client's evidence beside each, against ACL ss 18 and 29 and ACCC greenwashing guidance. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Check displayed pricing, subscriptions and cancellation flows | From the screenshots or site walk-through, list displayed prices, mandatory fees, subscription steps and cancellation paths with a note of what is not shown up-front. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Check displayed pricing and subscription flows under ACL ss 18, 29 and 48 | From the screenshots or walk-through, list displayed prices, mandatory fees, subscription steps and cancellation paths, flagging omissions against ACL ss 18, 29 and 48. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Screen supplier–distributor agreements for resale-price risk | Extract recommended, maximum and minimum price clauses and related incentives from the agreement into a table. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Screen supplier–distributor agreements for RPM under CCA s 48 | Extract recommended, maximum and minimum price clauses and related incentives from the agreement into a table against the per se RPM prohibition. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Screen exclusive-dealing and conditional-supply clauses | List exclusive, tying and third-line conditions from the agreement with clause references and a note of the notification or exemption path the lawyer has named. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Screen exclusive-dealing and third-line forcing clauses under CCA s 47 | List exclusive, tying and third-line conditions from the agreement with clause references and a note of the s 93 notification path. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Draft an enforceable undertaking from the commitments list | Produce a first-draft undertaking with commitments, reporting, audit and term from the lawyer's commitments list and published precedents the lawyer has selected. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Draft an enforceable undertaking under CCA s 87B | Draft an s 87B undertaking with commitments, reporting, audit and term from the lawyer's commitments list and the published ACCC undertakings selected. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Draft a competition authorisation or notification application | Structure the public-benefit and detriment narrative from the proposed conduct description and comparable published decisions the lawyer has named. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Draft a competition authorisation or notification for the ACCC | Structure the public-benefit and detriment narrative from the proposed conduct description and comparable ACCC Authorisation Register decisions the lawyer has named. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Map consumer-guarantee remedies for a goods or services dispute | From the transaction papers, list the candidate guarantees, the failure facts and the repair, replace, refund or compensation steps the statute provides. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Map consumer-guarantee remedies under ACL ss 51–64A | From the transaction papers, list the candidate statutory guarantees, the failure facts and the repair, replace, refund or compensation steps. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Draft a hold notice and a document-category list for a competition investigation | Produce a litigation-hold notice and a schedule of document categories from the regulator notice the lawyer supplies. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Draft a hold notice and document list for an ACCC s 155 investigation | Produce a litigation-hold notice and a schedule of document categories from the s 155 notice the lawyer supplies. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Extract competitor contacts and meeting notes into a clean-team log | From emails and diaries, list competitor contacts, attendees, topics and documents shared, flagged against the protocol the lawyer has named. | GreenLawyer review |
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| Compare a collaboration or JV paper with the no-poach and information-sharing rules | Extract hiring, pricing, customer-allocation and information-sharing clauses from the paper into a risk table. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Draft a competitor-complaint or regulator-approach letter from the evidence file | Produce a first-draft complaint or approach letter from the evidence table and the remedy the lawyer has named. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Review client marketing claims about AI for misleading conduct risk | List each AI-related claim with the substantiation the client holds. | YellowClose supervision | Assess ss 18 and 29 ACL risk. |
| Prepare a merger notification document index | Classify produced documents and flag likely-relevant board papers. | YellowClose supervision | Settle relevance and privilege. |
| Review marketing copy for misleading-claim risk under the ACL | Flag claims (green, price, origin, AI-capability) that need substantiation. | YellowClose supervision | Lawyer assesses each flag against ACL ss 18 and 29. |
| Summarise ACCC guidance relevant to a client's proposed conduct | Summarise the guidance and map it to the client's facts. | YellowClose supervision | Lawyer checks the guidance is current and applies it. |
| Build a document review protocol for an ACCC s 155 notice | Draft coding categories and use technology-assisted review for production. | YellowClose supervision | Lawyer supervises review; check privilege before production. |
| Advise a board on privilege risk when using AI tools on competition advice | Map where AI notes and summaries could waive privilege. | YellowClose supervision | Lawyer gives the advice. |
| Compare a draft consumer contract against the unfair contract terms regime | Flag terms likely to be unfair in a standard-form contract. | YellowClose supervision | Lawyer applies the law and penalties regime. |
| Review AI-capability claims in advertising | Flag claims needing substantiation. | YellowClose supervision | Lawyer applies the ACL. |
| Advise on algorithmic pricing and collusion risk | Map pricing-algorithm features against cartel law. | YellowClose supervision | Lawyer advises. |
| Summarise ACCC digital platform inquiry findings | Summarise findings. | GreenLawyer review | Verify. |
Firm-wide obligations
| Obligation | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Trust accounting & handling client money | Checks that apply across files. |
| Costs, billing & litigation funding | Checks that apply across files. |
| Client-facing & access-to-justice AI tools | Checks that apply across files. |
| Incoming evidence — deepfakes & synthetic documents | Checks that apply across files. |
| AI decision systems | Checks that apply across files. |
| Confidentiality & client information | Checks that apply across files. |
| AML/CTF — the practice as a reporting entity | Checks that apply across files. |
What changes in Australia
| Topic | What changes |
|---|---|
| Legal sources | Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) and the Australian Consumer Law (Sch 2), enforced mainly by the ACCC, with jurisdiction in the Federal Court and Federal Circuit and Family Court. |
| Penalties | Civil penalties doubled to $100 million per contravention from 28 March 2026. Cartel conduct is criminal and can mean prison. |
| Mergers | Mandatory, suspensory notification under Part IVA CCA from 1 January 2026 sets hard deadlines; a date or threshold error is immediately serious. |
| Analysis | Market definition, substantial lessening of competition and purpose/effect tests are fact-specific and stay with the lawyer. |
What changes in New Zealand
Known here as: Competition and consumer law (Commerce Act / Fair Trading Act)
| Topic | What changes |
|---|---|
| Regulator | The Commerce Commission enforces the Commerce Act 1986 and the Fair Trading Act 1986. |
| What changes | Voluntary clearance and a substantial-lessening-of-competition test. Not the ACCC mandatory regime from 1 January 2026. |
| Consumer law | Consumer guarantees, unfair contract terms and misleading conduct are FTA questions. Do not cite CCA s 50, ACL s 18 or an ACCC s 155 notice. |
| Limits on AI assistance |
|
- Commerce Commission: merging or acquiring a company · 2026-09-23
- Commerce Commission: laws we enforce · 2026-09-23
- Fair Trading Act 1986 · 2026-09-23
What changes in United States
Known here as: Antitrust and consumer protection
| Topic | What changes |
|---|---|
| Antitrust | Sherman Act, Clayton Act and FTC Act, not the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth). Merger notification is HSR, not the ACCC regime. |
| Consumer protection | FTC Act section 5, state UDAP statutes and, in California, the CCPA for privacy rights. |
- ABA Formal Opinion 512, Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools (29 July 2024) · 2026-09-23
- California Attorney General: California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) · 2026-09-23
- FTC: The antitrust laws (Sherman Act, FTC Act, Clayton Act) · 2026-09-23
- 15 U.S.C. § 45 (FTC Act section 5) · 2026-09-23
- FTC: Premerger Notification Program (HSR) · 2026-09-23
Precedents for this area
- ACCC acquisition notification under the mandatory merger regime: preparation guide (Form, AI use Yellow). Practical guide to deciding whether an acquisition must be notified to the ACCC and preparing a short- or long-form notification in the ACCC acquisitions portal, with the thresholds, fees, review timelines and gun-jumping traps as at 17 October 2026.
- Consumer guarantee demand letter (repair, replace, refund or compensation) (Letter, AI use Yellow). Letter for a consumer client to a supplier that has failed a consumer guarantee under the Australian Consumer Law, identifying the guarantee, explaining why the failure is major or minor, stating the client's chosen remedy and claiming consequential loss.
- Unfair contract terms review checklist for standard form consumer and small business contracts (Checklist, AI use Yellow). Clause-by-clause checklist for reviewing a standard form consumer or small business contract against the unfair contract terms regime, now backed by civil penalties, with a record of the reasons for keeping, changing or removing each risk term.
- ACCC section 155 notice: response plan, document hold notice and AI-assisted review protocol (Other, AI use Yellow). First-week plan for a client served with an ACCC s 155 notice: a document hold notice to staff, a response workplan, a privilege schedule, and a protocol for using search and AI review tools that records what the ACCC now asks to be told about AI tools and prompts.
- AI-washing and AI-generated advertising claims: substantiation checklist (Checklist, AI use Yellow). Pre-publication checklist for two risks: claims about a product's AI capabilities (AI-washing), and marketing content generated by AI (copy, images, reviews, prices), so every claim is true, not misleading and backed by evidence before release.
- Competition law compliance policy for algorithmic and AI pricing tools (Policy, AI use Yellow). Policy that controls how a business selects, configures and monitors pricing software and AI tools so they do not share competitors' sensitive information, coordinate prices or mislead customers, with approval, data, audit and escalation rules.
- Scams Prevention Framework compliance checklist for banks, telcos and digital platforms (Checklist, AI use Yellow). Readiness checklist for entities in sectors designated under the Scams Prevention Framework (Pt IVF of the Competition and Consumer Act), mapped to the six principles, with the key dates as at 17 October 2026 and the items still waiting on sector codes and rules.
All precedents for Competition & Consumer Law. Signed-in accounts can read the full text.