ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

Australian Competition Tribunal
Has jurisdiction to hear merger authorisation applications and appeals from from formal merger clearance decisions of the ACCC

Federal Court of Australia
Primary jurisdiction in competition law matters.

Competition and Consumer Act 2010, section 50
Prohibition of acquisitions that would result in a substantial lessening of competition

Competition and Consumer Act 2010, section 50A
Acquisitions that occur outside Australia

Competition and Consumer Act 2010, Part VII, Division 3 - Merger clearances and authorisations
Sections 95AA - 95AZN

ACCC Merger Guidelines (November 2008)
Replaced the 1999 Merger Guidelines

ACCC Formal Merger Process Guidelines (June 2008)

ACCC Merger Review Process Guidelines (July 2006)

Draft Merger Review Process Guidelines 2013 were released on 1 July.

ACCC v Metcash Trading Limited [2011] FCA 967 (25 August 2011)

Australian Gas Light Company v ACCC (No 3) [2003] FCA 1525

Dawson Committee Report - Chapter on Mergers (2003)

Cooney Committey Report (1991)
Mergers, Monopolies & Acquisitions

Griffiths Committee Report (1989)
Mergers, Takeovers and Monopolies: Profiting from Competition?
Report of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs

Swanson Committee (1976)
Trade Practices Act Review Committee
Discussed in chapter 8 - Briefly, recommended it was 'desirable for the Act to deal with anti-competitive mergers', that there be 'special provision for mergers involving failing companies' (in the form of a defence and not an exception) and that there be 'a threshold test for mergers involving small companies'.

See reading room - Australia

Australian Competition Law
Including section on Merger Law in Australia