---
title: "ACCC acquisition notification under the mandatory merger regime: preparation guide"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/precedents/competition-and-consumer-law/accc-acquisition-notification"
type: "precedent"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "a29-accc-acquisition-notification"
area_id: "A29"
kind: "form"
ai_level: "yellow"
version: 1
law_stated_as_at: "2026-10-17"
---

# ACCC acquisition notification under the mandatory merger regime: preparation guide

> 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…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/precedents/competition-and-consumer-law/accc-acquisition-notification  
Law stated as at: 2026-10-17

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

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.

## Key facts

- Kind: Form. A form to complete, or a guide to completing an official one.
- Practice area: [Competition & Consumer Law](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/competition-and-consumer-law.md)
- Jurisdictions: Australia
- AI level: Yellow. AI can help in set ways. A lawyer checks specific points before use.
- Law stated as at: 2026-10-17
- Status: Maintained. Checked on 2026-10-17 against the official form at accc.gov.au and the 6 authorities it cites, for Australia.

## When to use it

Use at term-sheet stage for any acquisition of shares or assets connected with Australia that will be put into effect on or after 1 January 2026. Do not use as a substitute for reading the current Notification of Acquisitions Determination and the ACCC's forms, which change.

## How AI may be used

Close supervision. AI can collate revenue and transaction data into a threshold table and index deal documents, but a lawyer must apply the thresholds, exemptions and control tests, because putting a notifiable acquisition into effect without clearance is a contravention.

**AI may:**

- Map the revenue, transaction value and prior-acquisition data the client supplies into the threshold table below, flagging every missing figure.
- Index the deal documents and board papers for the notification and flag documents that discuss competitors, market shares or pricing.
- Draft factual descriptions of the parties and the transaction from verified documents for the lawyer to review.

**AI must not:**

- Must not decide whether a threshold is met, an exemption applies or the acquirer obtains control.
- Must not draft competitive-effects submissions or market definition arguments without lawyer direction and review.
- Must not receive the target's competitively sensitive information outside an agreed clean-team arrangement.

**The lawyer checks:**

- Revenue figures use the Determination's definitions and the correct test date (generally the contract date).
- Acquisitions in the previous 3 years have been checked for the creeping-acquisition tests.
- Transaction documents prevent completion until the ACCC's determination or waiver.
- The notification has been checked for accuracy before lodgement, because false or misleading information is a contravention.

## Authorities

- [Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) Pt IVA, including ss 51ABE, 51ABG, 51ABO, 51ABP](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A00109/latest/text)
- [Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) ss 45AW, 45AX, 45AY, 45AZ, 45AZA, 45AZB (obligations and gun-jumping)](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A00109/latest/text)
- [Competition and Consumer (Notification of Acquisitions) Determination 2025 (Cth) ss 2-1 to 2-4, 7-50](https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2025L00753/latest/text)
- [Treasury Laws Amendment (Mergers and Acquisitions Reform) Act 2024 (Cth)](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2024A00137/asmade/text)
- [ACCC, Thresholds for notifying acquisitions (guidance page)](https://www.accc.gov.au/business/mergers-and-acquisitions/merger-control-regime/thresholds-and-exemptions-for-acquisition-notification)
- [ACCC, Assessment process and review timelines (guidance page)](https://www.accc.gov.au/business/mergers-and-acquisitions/assessment-process-and-review-timelines)

## Official form

[Official form](https://www.accc.gov.au/business/mergers-and-acquisitions/notifying-an-acquisition)

## Where this comes from

The official form is published by accc.gov.au; this page is a completion guide. Last checked on 2026-10-17.

## Full text and drafting notes

The full text and the drafting notes are not part of this public page. Signed-in firm accounts can read them at https://ailawframework.com/precedents/competition-and-consumer-law/accc-acquisition-notification and through the signed-in MCP connector https://ailawframework.com/mcp/firm.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*