The Minister has various powers to enforce Part X of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (the Act). These powers may also involve the Minister seeking undertakings from the parties to a registered conference agreement or directing the Registrar of Liner Shipping to wholly or partly cancel the registration of a registered conference agreement.
Investigations may be held by the initiative of the Minister or by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) into a range of issues including unfair pricing practices or whether grounds exist for the Minister to deregister a conference agreement. The main grounds for deregistration is a breach of requirements imposed by Part X.
Offer to give an undertaking
Parties to a registered conference agreement and ocean carriers may at any time offer to give an undertaking to do or not do a specified act or thing. The offer to give an undertaking must be made in Form 5 in accordance with the requirements outlined in Regulation 43 of the Regulations. If the Minister accepts the undertaking it can be used to try to avoid more severe enforcement action such as the cancellation of the agreement or the imposition of pecuniary penalties under the Act. The relevant sections of the Act include: Sections 10.49, 10.59 and 10.64.