Mergers and acquisitions

False

Competition

Competition is an important driver of economic dynamism and productivity. It encourages businesses to pass on to consumers and workers:

lower prices
higher quality products
higher wages.

This helps to ease cost‑of‑living pressures over time.

Mergers and acquisitions contribute to the efficient functioning of the economy. They provide ways for businesses to:

achieve economies of scale
diversify risk
exit underperforming businesses.

Anti‑competitive mergers and acquisitions can limit innovation, reduce quality and increase prices.

Review

The Competition Review looked at:

the effectiveness of Australia’s current merger rules and processes
ways to improve merger rules and processes.

The Taskforce advised government on changes to Australia’s merger rules and processes.

Reforming merger control

The government is reforming Australia’s merger rules to streamline the approvals process. It will introduce a mandatory and suspensory administrative system for mergers and acquisitions.

This reform will:

make Australia’s merger system faster, stronger, simpler, more targeted and more transparent
allow the ACCC to detect and stop harmful anti‑competitive mergers and acquisitions.

The Treasury Laws Amendment (Mergers and Acquisitions Reform) Act 2024 implements the new merger system. It passed Parliament on 28 November 2024.

The Competition and Consumer (Notification of Acquisitions) Determination 2025 was registered on 30 June 2025. It implements key aspects of the new merger system. This includes the notification thresholds and the notification forms.

Summary of the notification thresholds

Mergers that meet the thresholds must be notified to the ACCC before completion. Mergers do not need to notify if exempt.

Treasury has prepared a summary of the thresholds. The summary covers the thresholds and key exemptions. It also covers the additional requirements for major supermarkets.

Merger reform thresholds summary ‑ PDF 196.01 KB