A-G of the Commonwealth of Australia v Alinta Limited

The High Court of Australia considered a dispute between the Attorney-General of the Commonwealth of Australia and Alinta Limited concerning the interpretation of a notice issued under section 155 of the *Competition and Consumer Act 2010* (Cth) (formerly the *Trade Practices Act 1974* (Cth)). The notice sought information from Alinta regarding its alleged contravention of section 47 of the Act, which prohibits exclusive dealing. Alinta had challenged the validity of the notice, arguing it was too broad and did not sufficiently specify the contraventions in question.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the section 155 notice issued by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) was valid, notwithstanding Alinta's contention that it failed to adequately particularise the alleged contraventions of section 47 of the *Competition and Consumer Act 2010* (Cth). This required the Court to determine the scope of the Commissioner's power to request information under section 155 and the level of specificity required in a notice issued pursuant to that power.

The High Court held that the notice was valid. The Court reasoned that section 155(1) of the Act confers a broad power on the ACCC to request information where it has reason to believe a person has contravened, or is attempting to contravene, a provision of the Act. The Court emphasised that the purpose of a section 155 notice is to enable the ACCC to gather information to assist its investigation, not to provide a detailed statement of the case against the recipient. Therefore, the notice need only identify the provision of the Act that the ACCC suspects has been contravened and the relevant conduct or business. The Court found that the notice in question sufficiently identified the relevant provision (section 47) and the nature of the conduct being investigated, thereby satisfying the requirements of section 155.

The High Court dismissed Alinta Limited's appeal and affirmed the validity of the section 155 notice.