First National Group of Independent Real Estate Agents Limited v REA Group Ltd

In the Federal Court of Australia, First National Group of Independent Real Estate Agents Limited (First National) brought proceedings against REA Group Ltd (REA). The dispute concerned REA's alleged contravention of section 46 of the *Competition and Consumer Act 2010* (Cth) (the Act), specifically the prohibition against misuse of market power. First National, a network of independent real estate agents, alleged that REA, which operates the realestate.com.au website, had misused its substantial market power in the market for online real estate advertising services.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether REA had taken advantage of its alleged substantial market power for the purpose of engaging in anti-competitive conduct. This involved determining the relevant market, assessing whether REA possessed substantial market power within that market, and then considering whether REA's conduct, specifically its pricing and bundling of advertising services, constituted taking advantage of that power in a way that had the purpose or effect of substantially lessening competition.

Justice McDonagh's reasoning focused on the definition of the relevant market and the assessment of market power. The Court considered the competitive constraints on REA, including the availability of alternative advertising channels and the ability of real estate agents to choose not to advertise on REA's platform. Ultimately, the Court found that First National had not established that REA had a substantial degree of market power in the relevant market, nor had it demonstrated that REA had taken advantage of such power for an anti-competitive purpose.

Consequently, the Court ordered that First National's application be dismissed.