Competition and Consumer Act 2010

A corporation that has a substantial degree of power in a market must not engage in conduct that has the purpose, or has or is likely to have the effect, of substantially lessening competition in:

that market; or

any other market in which that corporation, or a body corporate that is related to that corporation:

supplies goods or services, or is likely to supply goods or services; or

supplies goods or services, or is likely to supply goods or services, indirectly through one or more other persons; or

any other market in which that corporation, or a body corporate that is related to that corporation:

acquires goods or services, or is likely to acquire goods or services; or

acquires goods or services, or is likely to acquire goods or services, indirectly through one or more other persons.

A corporation is taken for the purposes of this section to have a substantial degree of power in a market if:

a body corporate that is related to that corporation has, or 2 or more bodies corporate each of which is related to that corporation together have, a substantial degree of power in that market; or

that corporation and a body corporate that is, or that corporation and 2 or more bodies corporate each of which is, related to that corporation, together have a substantial degree of power in that market.

In determining for the purposes of this section the degree of power that a body corporate or bodies corporate have in a market:

regard must be had to the extent to which the conduct of the body corporate or of any of those bodies corporate in that market is constrained by the conduct of:

competitors, or potential competitors, of the body corporate or of any of those bodies corporate in that market; or

persons to whom or from whom the body corporate or any of those bodies corporate supplies or acquires goods or services in that market; and

regard may be had to the power the body corporate or bodies corporate have in that market that results from:

any contracts, arrangements or understandings that the body corporate or bodies corporate have with another party or other parties; or

any proposed contracts, arrangements or understandings that the body corporate or bodies corporate may have with another party or other parties.

For the purposes of this section, a body corporate may have a substantial degree of power in a market even though:

the body corporate does not substantially control that market; or

the body corporate does not have absolute freedom from constraint by the conduct of:

competitors, or potential competitors, of the body corporate in that market; or

persons to whom or from whom the body corporate supplies or acquires goods or services in that market.

Subsections (4) and (5) do not limit the matters to which regard may be had in determining, for the purposes of this section, the degree of power that a body corporate or bodies corporate has or have in a market.

To avoid doubt, for the purposes of this section, more than one corporation may have a substantial degree of power in a market.

In this section:

a reference to power is a reference to market power; and

a reference to a market is a reference to a market for goods or services; and

a reference to power in relation to, or to conduct in, a market is a reference to power, or to conduct, in that market either as a supplier or as an acquirer of goods or services in that market.