Competition and Consumer Law

The litigation and dispute resolution team at SWS Lawyers regularly advises clients across a broad range of markets in relation to the various aspects of competition and consumer law.  

Our experience working across a broad range of industries has enabled us to develop expertise in assessing risks for our clients in this area.  We regularly advise in the area of misleading and deceptive conduct, the provision of advice in relation to advertising, (both for our clients and in relation to conduct of their competitors) and on compliance with consumer protection provisions such as consumer guarantees and unfair contracts.

SWS Lawyers is experienced advising in the area of restrictive trade practices, including in the area of mergers and acquisitions and regularly advises in relation to Australian Competition and Consumer Law (ACCC) clearance in the area. 

Our experience includes:

• Merger clearance – acting for a tourism industry operator in relation to a proposed merger with a competitor. Our assistance included advising the client on the statutory process for seeking informal clearance by the ACCC, assisting with the preparation of submissions and collation of supporting evidence, and negotiating with the ACCC.  Our client ultimately received informal clearance.
• Competition law – providing advice to clients on competition law issues including anti-competitive conduct such as exclusive dealing, third line forcing and cartels. Our clients in this area have included suppliers of solar systems under innovative pricing models, consumer goods suppliers and other manufacturers and distributors. 
• Australian Consumer Law – preparing terms and conditions of supply of goods and services to meet the requirements of the Australian Consumer Law; advising clients on Consumer Guarantees and associated matters.