While criminal cartel provisions have existed in Australia's Competition and Consumer Act (CCA) for a number of years, August saw the first criminal conviction for a cartel offence. The conviction was against Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK), a Japanese shipping company that pleaded guilty to price collusion in shipping vehicles to Australia. The AUD 25 million fine (approximately USD 19.6 million) was the second highest ever issued under Australian competition law, in spite of incorporating a 50 percent discount for an early guilty plea, reflecting NYK's cooperation with the investigation.
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In September, the Full Federal Court unanimously confirmed the findings of the Federal Court's earlier decision against the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in respect of an alleged cartel in the supply of eggs. The ACCC had alleged that a number of Australian egg companies, through an industry association, attempted to induce egg producers to reduce the number of eggs for supply in Australia. The court held that the intended conduct fell short of the required "contract, arrangement or understanding" under the CCA. The court found that the association's intention was to bring to the attention of its members the oversupply of eggs, and for each member to act independently from that point. This was held to be part of the role of an industry association – bringing profitability to the mind of its members – rather than a concerted attempt to engage in cartel conduct.
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