Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Visy Industries Holdings Pty Ltd (No 3)

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) brought an action against Visy Industries Holdings Pty Ltd (Visy), and several of its directors and employees, for multiple contraventions of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) (TPA). The Federal Court of Australia was required to determine whether the actions of Visy and its employees amounted to breaches of the TPA, and if so, to what extent. The court examined the evidence and legal arguments presented by both parties, focusing on whether Visy engaged in anti-competitive practices through various agreements and understandings with Amcor Limited, another major player in the corrugated fibreboard packaging (CFP) market. The court found that Visy had indeed contravened the TPA through a series of anti-competitive agreements with Amcor, including market-sharing, customer allocation, and coordinated price increases. These agreements were found to have the purpose, effect, or likely effect of substantially lessening competition in the CFP market. Consequently, the court imposed substantial pecuniary penalties on Visy and its employees and issued injunctive orders to prevent future contraventions. Additionally, Visy and its employees were required to implement a trade practices compliance program.