Ensure that you are across the three key developments in consumer and competition law. Delve into competitive pricing practices. Peek behind the curtain of privacy law reform and its impact on Australian Consumer & Competition Law. Brace for impact as mandatory merger clearance lands in Australia.
Description
Attend and earn 3 CPD units in Substantive Law
This program is applicable to practitioners from all States & Territories
Chair:
Justin Jones, Partner at Ashurst
4.15pm to 5.15pm Was/Now Down/Out? Spotlight on Competitive Pricing Practices
- Examine laws and principles governing price and sale advertising
- Penalties and risks
- Recent enforcements and actions in these areas including Coles and Woolworths
- Best practices for compliance and risk mitigation
Presented by Matt Hansen, Partner, Ansimoff Legal
3.00pm to 4.00pm Privacy Reform Unveiled: Impacts on Australian Consumer and Competition Law
- Misleading and deceptive conduct arising from privacy practices, including ACCC enforcement action
- Proposed new security standards and recall procedures for connected products
- Consideration of merger controls on data related transactions
- Update on market studies into competition in digital markets
- Other relevant considerations under the recent privacy, cyber and AI reforms
Presented by Bronwyn Furse, Partner, Thomson Geer; Recognised in Intellectual Property Law, Best Lawyers 2025
4.00pm to 4.15pm Break
2.00pm to 3.00pm Mandatory Merger Clearance Coming to Australia: What is Means for M&A
- Background to the Legislative reforms
- The thresholds for Mandatory Clearance (and what amounts to an "acquisition")
- The time lines and the process changes
- Changes to the substantive law & next steps in 2025 and 2026
Presented by James Gray, Lawyer, K&L Gates and prepared by Ayman Guirguis, Partner, K&L Gates; Legal 500 Asia Pacific Leading Individual for Competition and Trade in Australia, 2024, Best Lawyers in Australia Competition Law, 2025
Presenters
Justin Jones, Partner, Ashurst
Justin is a partner in Ashurst's APAC Competition team, with over 20 years' experience in advising on a wide range of competition and consumer law matters. Justin is experienced in assisting clients to obtain merger clearance, respond to regulatory inquiries, defend and pursue litigation, achieve best practice regulatory compliance, and secure other regulatory authorisations and exemptions. Justin is recognised in Chambers, Legal500, Lexology and Best Lawyers as a leading competition lawyer in Australia.
Matt Hansen, Partner, Ansimoff Legal
Matt Hansen is a Partner at Anisimoff Legal, which is a specialist advertising, marketing and media law firm and member of Adlaw International. Matt has been with Anisimoff Legal since 2006 and manages the firm’s trade promotions practice group. Matt regularly provides in house training seminars for agency and brand clients in respect of trade promotions, intellectual property, privacy and marketing laws, as well as specialist training for industry compliance in areas such as liquor. He is an expert in trade promotions law, and regularly advises clients in this space as well as providing commercial advice on intellectual property, commercial contracts, privacy, consumer law, advertising standards and codes, social media, liquor, wagering, environmental claims and therapeutic goods.
Bronwyn Furse, Partner, Thomson Geer
Bronwyn Furse is a commercial lawyer with specialist expertise in the areas of privacy, data protection and cybersecurity, and intellectual property amongst others. Her practice traverses public and private industry sectors including financial services, government, health, health tech and other technology providers, manufacturing, automotive, higher education, health, manufacturing, energy and resources, from start-ups through to multinational groups. Working with multinational groups means Bronwyn's work involves complex cross border work, and understanding of relationships between various local and offshore privacy regimes. In relation to privacy, data protection and cybersecurity she routinely provides advisory services, manages data breaches, complaints and investigations, assists with contractual negotiations, develops compliance frameworks, undertakes audits, conducts privacy impact assessments, and delivers tailored training. Bronwyn is on the Australia and New Zealand advisory board for the International Association of Privacy Professionals, as well as the Licensing Executives Society. She is routinely recognised by her peers as one of the Best Lawyers in Australia in the areas of Privacy and Data Security Law, Intellectual Property Law and Franchise Law, and in Doyle’s Guide as a recommended lawyer in the areas of Intellectual Property and in Technology, Media & Telecommunications Law.
James Gray, Lawyer,
Ayman Guirguis heads up the Competition and Consumer Law team at K&L Gates in Australia. He advises on all aspects and issues of competition including the implications of mergers, joint ventures and supply chain issues; defending clients alleged to be parties to cartels or other anticompetitive arrangements; and consumer law issues including responding to ACCC investigations and defending prosecutions commenced by the ACCC. Ayman was formerly a senior officer of the ACCC. Ayman is named as a leading individual for Competition/Antitrust in Chambers Global and Best Lawyers.
