The Commonwealth of Australia, 'Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation' Guidelines, February 2022, 2nd Edition, Principle (c), 14. Accessed at:
https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Scrutiny_of_Delegated_Legislation/Guidelines . See also Australian Senate, 'Principle (c): Scope of administrative powers', revised February 2022.

4 Australian Government Attorney-General's Department, Fair Trial and Fair Hearing Rights, available at:
https://www.ag.gov.au/rights-and-protections/human-rights-and-antidiscrimination/human-rights-scrutiny/public-sector-guidance-sheets/fair-trial-and-fair-hearingrights .

The Treasury, Australian Government, Merger Reform Consultation Paper , November 2023, accessed 6 August 2024.

Note: Savings given in millions of local currency at current prices. Australian savings extrapolated from 2021-22 UK and US figures. Sources: Office for National Statistics; Competition & Markets Authority; Bureau of Economic Analysis; Federal Trade Commission; Australian Bureau of Statistics; Treasury; Refinitiv.

Dr Steven Kennedy PSM, Secretary to the Treasury, Post - Budget economic briefing : Address to the Australian Business Economists , 30 May 2024, accessed 10 June 2024.

More information: The Treasury, Australian Government, Merger Reform Consultation Paper - Appendices , November 2023, p 5, accessed 9 May 2024.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) data from The Treasury, Australian Government, Merger Reform Consultation Paper - Appendices , November 2023, p 8, accessed 9 May 2024

ACCC data from The Treasury, Australian Government, Merger Reform Consultation Paper - Appendices , November 2023, p 9, accessed 9 May 2024.

ACCC, Australian Government, Informal Merger Review Process Guidelines , September 2013, p 4, accessed 6 June 2024.

ACCC data from The Treasury, Australian Government, Merger Reform Consultation Paper - Appendices , November 2023, p 9, accessed 9 May 2024

The Hon Dr Jim Chalmers, Treasurer, and the Hon Andrew Leigh MP, Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury, Assistant Minister for Employment, ' A more dynamic and competitive economy ' , Australian Government, 23 August 2023, accessed 5 March 2023

The Treasury, Australian Government, Merger Reform Consultation Paper , November 2023, accessed 5 March 2024

The Treasury, Australian Government, Background Note : Economic literature relevant to mergers , 2023, accessed 5 March 2024.

House of Representatives, Standing Committee on Economics, Better Competition , Better Prices : Report on the inquiry into promoting economic dynamism , competition and business formation , March 2024, p 26, Australian Parliament, accessed 3 June 2024

The Treasury, Australian Government, Merger Reform Consultation Paper , November 2023, accessed 5 March 2024.

Submissions are available at Merger Reform consultation , Submissions , treasury.gov.au website.

These examples are detailed in ACCC, Australian Government, Second submission to Treasury on merger reform , 31 January 2024, pp 69-70, accessed 24 May 2024.

ACCC, Australian Government, Second submission to Treasury on merger reform , 31 January 2024, pp 67-68, accessed 24 May 2024.

The Treasury, Australian Government, ' Tracking mergers in Australia using worker flows ' , p 1, accessed 5 March 2024.

The Treasury, Australian Government, ' Tracking mergers in Australia using worker flows ' , p 4, accessed 5 March 2024.

The Treasury, Australian Government, Merger Reform Consultation Paper , November 2023, p 8, accessed 5 March 2024.

The Treasury, Australian Government, Merger Reform Consultation Paper , November 2023, p 8, accessed 13 May 2024.

The Treasury, Australian Government, Merger Reform Consultation Paper , November 2023, p 22, accessed 13 May 2024.

ACCC, Australian Government, Second submission to Treasury on merger reform , 31 January 2024, p 4, accessed 11 June 2024.

ACCC, Australian Government, Second submission to Treasury on merger reform , 31 January 2024, p 63, accessed 11 June 2024.

ACCC, Australian Government, Second submission to Treasury on merger reform , 31 January 2024, pp 69-70, accessed 24 May 2024.

Dr Rhonda Smith University of Melbourne and Professor Deborah Healey UNSW Law and Justice, Treasury Submission re Merger Reform , p 2, accessed on 28 May 2024.

The ACCC's ex post review involved analysis of time of day petrol pricing data for almost all retail petrol sites in Melbourne for the period 2015 to 2019. This enabled the ACCC to assess the effect of the acquisition (which occurred in May 2017) on regular unleaded petrol prices, ACCC, Australian Government, Ex post review of merger decisions 2022 , p 11, accessed on 24 June 2024; ACCC, Australian Government, Second submission to Treasury on merger reform , 31 January 2024, p 6, accessed 5 March 2024.

ACCC, Australian Government, Second submission to Treasury on merger reform - Attachment B : Report by Dr Graeme Woodbridge , 31 January 2024, p 13, accessed 12 June 2024.

ACCC, Australian Government, Second submission to Treasury on merger reform - Attachment B : Report by Dr Graeme Woodbridge , 31 January 2024, p 14, accessed 12 June 2024.

ACCC, Australian Government, Second submission to Treasury on merger reform - Attachment B : Report by Dr Graeme Woodbridge , 31 January 2024, p 15, accessed 12 June 2024.

ACCC, Australian Government, Second submission to Treasury on merger reform - Attachment B : Report by Dr Graeme Woodbridge , 31 January 2024, pp 15-16, accessed 12 June 2024.

Business Council of Australia, Submission to Merger Reform consultation , January 2024, p 19, accessed 23 May 2024.

See ACCC, Australian Government, Annual Report 2022 - 23 , October 2023, p 67, accessed 24 May 2024.

Council of Small Business Organisations Australia, Merger Reform Submission , January 2024, p. 3, accessed 26 June 2024.

ACCC, Australian Government, Second submission to Treasury on merger reform , 31 January 2024, p 64, accessed 26 June 2024.

The Treasury, Australian Government, Merger Reform Consultation Paper , November 2023, p 14, accessed 31 May 2024.

CHOICE and Consumers Federation of Australia, Submission to the Competition Taskforce consultation paper on merger reform , January 2024, pp 3-4, accessed 26 June 2024.

Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Submission to the Treasury Competition Review on Merger reform options , April 2024, p 1, accessed 12 June 2024 and CHOICE and Consumers Federation of Australia, Submission to the Competition Taskforce consultation paper on merger reform , January 2024, p 3-4, accessed 12 June 2024.

Numbers obtained from ACCC, Public informal merger review register [online public register], accessed 23 May 2024

ACCC, Australian Government, Submission to Treasury on merger reform , 20 December 2023, p 8, accessed 10 June 2024.

Department of Finance, Australian Government, Implementing the Charging Framework ( RMG 302 ), 21 June 2023, accessed 5 March 2024.

Iris Day, Zac Duretto, Patrick Hartigan and Jonathan Hambur ' Competition in Australia and its impact on productivity growth ', Treasury Round Up, October 2022, pp 15-16, accessed 5 March 2024.

OECD, OECD Economic Surveys : Australia 2023 , 2023, p 57, accessed 28 October 2023.

ACCC, Australian Government, Second submission to Treasury on merger reform , 31 January 2024, p 9, 61, 67, accessed 5 June 2024 and MGA Independent Business Australia, Reviving concentrated markets with merger reform - Response to the Treasury consultation paper on merger reform , 19 January 2024, p 7-8, accessed 5 June 2024.

CHOICE and Consumers Federation of Australia, Submission to the Competition Taskforce consultation paper on merger reform , January 2024, p 1, accessed 5 March 2024.

MGA Independent Businesses Australia, Reviving concentrated markets with merger reform - Response to the Treasury consultation paper on merger reform , 19 January 2024, p 2, accessed 6 March 2024.

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, OAIC submission to Merger Reform Consultation Paper , January 2024, p 2, accessed 5 March 2024.

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, Australian Government, Australian Community Attitudes to Privacy Survey , p 13, accessed 27 June 2024.

C Shapiro, Protecting Competition in the American Economy : Merger Control , Tech Titans , Labor Markets' , 2019, Journal of Economic Perspectives , 33 (3): pp 69-93, 77, accessed 28 October 2023.

D Andrews, J Hambur, D Hansell and D Wheeler, ' Reaching for the Stars : Australian Firms and the Global Productivity Frontier ' , The Treasury, Australian Government, 2022, Working Paper No 2022-01, ISBN 978-1-925832-41-9, accessed 28 October 2023.

Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) s2.

Productivity Commission (PC), Australian Government, ' On efficiency and effectiveness : Some Definitions ' , Staff research note, PC, Australian Government, 2013, accessed 27 October 2023.

ACCC, Australian Government, Statement of Expectations and Statement of Intent , 2024, accessed 12 June 2024.

More information: The Treasury, Australian Government, Merger Reform Consultation Paper - Appendices , November 2023, p 5, accessed 9 May 2024.

Mergers and acquisitions below the notification thresholds may also be voluntarily notified to the ACCC. Such mergers and acquisitions would be subject to the same administrative system as above-the-threshold mergers and acquisitions.

The Treasury, Australian Government, Notification Thresholds Consultation , August 2024, accessed 30 August 2024.

Department of Finance, Australian Government, Australian Government Cost Recovery Policy , 2023, accessed 12 June 2024.

ACCC, Australian Government, Second submission to Treasury on merger reform , 31 January 2024, pp 67-68 (Attachment C), accessed 5 March 2024. The ACCC provides 6 examples of mergers not notified to the ACCC in recent years. They include a large number of acquisitions by Petstock, Qantas acquiring 20 per cent of Alliance Airlines, Primary Healthcare's acquisition of certain pathology assets from Healthscope, as well as mergers in the software, manufacturing and agricultural sectors.

OECD, Guide for helping competition authorities assess the expected impact of their activities , April 2014, accessed 5 March 2024.

United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Impact assessment report 2022 to 2023 , 11 July 2023, accessed 5 March 2024 and United States, Federal Trade Commission, Annual Performance Report for Fiscal Year 2022 and Annual Performance Plan for Fiscal Years 2023 to 2024 , accessed 5 March 2024.

ACCC, Australian Government, Submission to Treasury on ACCC preliminary views on options for merger control process , 20 December 2023, p 3, accessed 5 March 2024.

This is calculated on the basis of the 3 section 50 cases heard by the Federal Court in the past 15 years: ACCC v Metcash (2011); Vodafone Hutchinson v ACCC (2020); ACCC v Pacific National (2020). For each case, the duration is measured from the first application to the date of the final decision (including any appeal).

This figure is an estimated average based on costs ordered by the Federal Court in Vodafone Hutchinson v ACCC (2020) and ACCC v Pacific National (2020).

Business Council of Australia, Submission to Merger Reform consultation , January 2024, p 19, accessed 5 March 2024.

Based on Treasury analysis of confidential transaction value data provided by the ACCC, and calculated on the basis of the average phase 1 duration of 59 days and average phase 2 duration of 133 days. In the case of pre-assessments, the transaction value data period covers 1 October 2022 to 29 November 2023 and was adjusted to reflect a 12 month period on the basis of a 14 day average duration for pre-assessments.

Based on estimates supplied by the ACCC.

Based on estimates supplied by the ACCC.

Numbers obtained from ACCC, Public informal merger review register [online public register], accessed 23 May 2024.

See, for example, Business Council of Australia, Submission to Merger Reform consultation , January 2024, p 9, accessed 10 June 2024.

United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Impact assessment report 2022 to 2023 , 11 July 2023, accessed 5 March 2024. The CMA did not publish a figure for the costs incurred for merger control specifically but noted that the average annual total consumer saving as result of the CMA's principal tools in 2020/21-2022/23 was £2713.8m and the average annual total costs were £105.1m for a total benefit/cost ratio of 25.8:1.

United States, Federal Trade Commission, Annual Performance Report for Fiscal Year 2022 and Annual Performance Plan for Fiscal Years 2023 to 2024 , accessed 5 March 2024. For the relevant period, the data includes 18 merger matters, and 2 competition enforcement cases. The FTC does not disaggregate the benefit to consumers between mergers and competition enforcement cases.

Note: Savings given in millions of local currency at current prices. Australian savings extrapolated from 2021-22 UK and US figures. Sources: Office for National Statistics; Competition & Markets Authority; Bureau of Economic Analysis; Federal Trade Commission; Australian Bureau of Statistics; Treasury; Refinitiv. The estimates assume the benefits are proportional to GDP and excludes consideration around differing population size, consumer spending, market structure and concentration, regulatory approach, which may mean the benefits in Australia would be far greater than in the UK and US.

Dr Steven Kennedy PSM, Secretary to the Treasury, Post - Budget economic briefing : Address to the Australian Business Economists , 30 May 2024, accessed 10 June 2024.

The Treasury, Australian Government, ' Tracking mergers in Australia using worker flows , p 1, accessed 13 June 2024.

Business Council of Australia, Submission to Merger Reform consultation , January 2024, p 19, accessed 23 May 2024.

Tech Council of Australia, Merger reforms Consultation : Tech Council of Australia submission , January 2024, p 7, accessed 10 June 2024.

Information taken from the ACCC, Public informal merger review register [online public register], accessed 23 May 2024.

Competition and Markets Authority, Impact Assessment 2022 to 2023 , July 2023, accessed 10 June 2024.

Based on preliminary ACCC resourcing and activity-based costing 2024-25 Budget estimates.

The Australian Government's 2024-25 Budget, Budget Paper No . 2 , p 178, accessed 11 June 2023.

Dr Steven Kennedy PSM, Secretary to the Treasury, Post - Budget economic briefing : Address to the Australian Business Economists , 30 May 2024, accessed 10 June 2024.

Refer to Table 1 above.

AustralianSuper, AustralianSuper submission to Treasury Merger Reform Consultation Paper dated November 2023 ( Consultation Paper ), January 2024, p 4; accessed 26 June 2024.

Law Council of Australia, Response to Competition Review Merger Reform Consultation Paper , January 2024, p 5, accessed 26 June 2024.

Tech Council of Australia, Merger reforms Consultation : Tech Council of Australia submission , January 2024, p 8, accessed 26 June 2024.

Business Council of Australia, Submission to Merger Reform consultation , January 2024, p 4, accessed 26 June 2024.

Tech Council of Australia, Merger reforms Consultation : Tech Council of Australia submission , January 2024, p 8, accessed 26 June 2024.

Law Council of Australia, Response to Competition Review Merger Reform Consultation Paper , January 2024, p 5, accessed 26 June 2024.

Tech Council of Australia, Merger reforms Consultation : Tech Council of Australia submission , January 2024, p 8, accessed 28 August 2024.

Dr Rhonda Smith University of Melbourne and Professor Deborah Healey UNSW Law and Justice, Treasury Submission re Merger Reform , p 2, accessed on 26 June 2024.

New Zealand, which has a voluntary merger control system, has adopted this standard.

The Treasury, Australian Government, Merger Reform : A Faster , Stronger and Simpler System for a More Competitive Economy , 10 April 2024, p 19 (Attachment B), accessed 13 May 2024.

Refer to Table 1 above.

Dr Rhonda Smith University of Melbourne and Professor Deborah Healey UNSW Law and Justice, Treasury Submission re Merger Reform , p 2, accessed on 26 June 2024.

Council of Small Business Organisations Australia, Merger Reform Submission , January 2024, p. 3, accessed 13 June 2024, CHOICE and Consumers Federation of Australia, Submission to the Competition Taskforce consultation paper on merger reform , January 2024, pp 3-4, accessed 13 June 2024.

Refer to Table 1 above.

The Treasury, Australian Government, Merger Reform Consultation Paper , November 2023, accessed 23 March 2024.

See OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), OECD Competition Trends 2021 - Volume II : Global Merger Control , 2021, p 12, accessed 29 October 2023.

Submissions are available at Merger Reform consultation , Submissions , treasury.gov.au website.

The Treasury, Australian Government, Merger Reform : A Faster , Stronger and Simpler System for a More Competitive Economy , 10 April 2024.

CHOICE and Consumers Federation of Australia, Submission to the Competition Taskforce consultation paper on merger reform , January 2024, p 3, accessed 13 June 2024.

National Farmers' Federation, Submission to Competition Review consultation on merger reform , January 2024, p 2, accessed 13 June 2024.

Council of Small Business Organisations Australia, Merger Reform Submission , January 2024, p. 3, accessed 13 June 2024, Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Submission to the Treasury Competition Review on Merger reform options , April 2024, p 2, accessed 13 June 2024.

Retail Guild of Australia, Addressing retail dominance through merger reform , January 2024, p 12, accessed 13 June 2024.

MGA Independent Businesses Australia, Reviving concentrated markets with merger reform - Response to the Treasury consultation paper on merger reform , 19 January 2024, p 11, accessed 13 June 2024.

Emeritus Professor Stephen Corones, Consultation paper : Merger Reform , December 2023, pp 1-2, accessed 13 June 2024, Dr Rhonda Smith University of Melbourne and Professor Deborah Healey UNSW Law and Justice, Treasury Submission re Merger Reform , pp 3-4, accessed on 13 June 2024.

CHOICE and Consumers Federation of Australia, Submission to the Competition Taskforce consultation paper on merger reform , January 2024, p 1, accessed 13 June 2024.

CHOICE and Consumers Federation of Australia, Submission to the Competition Taskforce consultation paper on merger reform , January 2024, p 4, accessed 13 June 2024.

National Farmers' Federation, Submission to Competition Review consultation on merger reform , January 2024, pp 1-2, accessed 13 June 2024.

National Farmers' Federation, Submission to Competition Review consultation on merger reform , January 2024, p 2, accessed 13 June 2024.

Emeritus Professor Stephen Corones, Consultation paper : Merger Reform , December 2023, p 4, accessed 13 June 2024; Dr Rhonda Smith University of Melbourne and Professor Deborah Healey UNSW Law and Justice, Treasury Submission re Merger Reform , pp 2-3, accessed on 13 June 2024.

Retail Guild of Australia, Addressing retail dominance through merger reform , January 2024, p 11, accessed 13 June 2024.

Law Council of Australia, Response to Competition Review Merger Reform Consultation Paper , January 2024; Business Council of Australia, Submission to Merger Reform consultation , January 2024, pp 2, 9, 19, accessed 13 June 2024.

Law Council of Australia, Response to Competition Review Merger Reform Consultation Paper , January 2024, p 1; Business Council of Australia, Submission to Merger Reform consultation , January 2024, pp 2, 9, 19, accessed 13 June 2024.

Business Council of Australia, Submission to Merger Reform consultation , January 2024, pp 19, accessed 13 June 2024; Arnold Bloch Liebler, Submission to Treasury on the Merger Reform Consultation Paper, January 2024, pp 1-2, accessed 13 June 2024.

The Treasury, Australian Government, Reforming mergers and acquisitions - exposure draft , 24 July 2024.

ACCC, Australian Government, Statement of Expectations and Statement of Intent , April 2024, accessed 12 June 2024.

ACCC, Australian Government, Statement of Expectations and Statement of Intent , April 2024, accessed 11 June 2024.

ACCC, Australian Government, ACCC and AER annual reports , accessed 9 July 2024.

ACCC has conducted 2 ex post merger reviews, Ex post review of merger decisions 2022 and Ex post review of merger decisions 2024 , accessed 25 June 2024.

Based on ACCC data.

ACCC, Australian Government, Statement of Expectations and Statement of Intent , April 2024, accessed 12 June 2024.

ACCC, Australian Government, Regulator Performance Guide , accessed 9 July 2024.

United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority, Impact Analysis - Reforms to Merger Control , 20 April 2023, p 43, accessed 23 May 2024

United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority, Impact Analysis - Reforms to Merger Control , 20 April 2023, p 43, accessed 23 May 2024

The Treasury, Australian Government, ' Tracking mergers in Australia using worker flows ' , p 1, accessed 5 March 2024.