Productivity Partners & Anor v Australian Competition and Consumer Commission & Anor

Productivity Partners Pty Ltd and another party (the applicants) sought judicial review of decisions made by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts (the Minister). The dispute concerned the ACCC's determination that the applicants had contravened section 47 of the *Competition and Consumer Act 2010* (Cth) (the Act) by engaging in conduct that substantially lessened competition in a market. The applicants challenged the lawfulness of the ACCC's determination and the Minister's subsequent decision to refuse to grant an exemption under section 47(7) of the Act. The matter was heard in the Federal Court of Australia.

The primary legal issues before the Court were whether the ACCC's determination that the applicants had contravened section 47 of the Act was affected by jurisdictional error, and whether the Minister's decision to refuse an exemption was affected by an error of law. Specifically, the applicants argued that the ACCC had failed to properly identify the relevant market and had made findings of fact that were not supported by evidence. They also contended that the Minister had failed to consider relevant matters and had taken irrelevant matters into account when refusing the exemption.

The Court considered the principles of judicial review, including the grounds of jurisdictional error and error of law. It examined the evidence before the ACCC and the Minister, and the reasoning applied by each decision-maker. The Court ultimately found that the ACCC's market definition was not demonstrably flawed and that its findings of fact were open to it on the evidence. Furthermore, the Court concluded that the Minister had properly exercised his discretion in refusing the exemption, having regard to the relevant considerations.

The applications for judicial review were dismissed.