Treasury & financeStatutory authorityExists today
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
ACCC
6 November 1995 – present
National competition, consumer protection, product safety and prices regulator, enforcing the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and the Australian Consumer Law and regulating access to monopoly infrastructure.
How it came into existence
Formed on 6 November 1995 under the Competition Policy Reform Act 1995, following the Hilmer review of national competition policy, by merging the Trade Practices Commission and the Prices Surveillance Authority.
- Competition law enforcement
- Consumer protection
- Authorisations and merger review
- Prices surveillance and monitoring
Legislation: Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (formerly Trade Practices Act 1974), as amended by the Competition Policy Reform Act 1995
Changes during its life
- 1 July 2005The Australian Energy Regulator was established as a separate statutory body constituted within the ACCC, which supplied its staff and resources.
- 1 January 2011The Trade Practices Act 1974 was renamed the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and the national Australian Consumer Law took effect.
- 2025The Competition and Consumer Amendment (Australian Energy Regulator Separation) Act 2025 made the Australian Energy Regulator a standalone agency, ending its constitution within the ACCC.
- 1 January 2026A mandatory merger notification regime under the Treasury Laws Amendment (Mergers and Acquisitions Reform) Act 2024 took full effect, with the ACCC deciding notified acquisitions.
- Telecommunications competition and access regulation
- Electricity transmission network regulation
- Gas transmission pipeline regulation
Gas pipeline regulation moved to the AER when the National Gas Law commenced.
Main functions
- Enforcement of competition law and the Australian Consumer Law
- Merger review and authorisation of anti-competitive conduct
- Consumer product safety
- Access and price regulation of telecommunications, transport and other infrastructure
- Prices monitoring and surveillance
- Consumer Data Right accreditation and enforcement
Where it sits
In the portfolio of Department of the Treasury.
- Type of body
- Non-corporate Commonwealth entity
- Portfolio
- Treasury
- Accountable authority
- Chairperson – Competition and Consumer Act 2010 section 6A(1AA)(b) as amended by Competition and Consumer Amendment (Australian Energy Regulator Separation) Act 2025
- ABN
- 94 410 483 623
Lineage
Loading lineage…
Sources
Primary sources
- List of Commonwealth entities and companies under the PGPA Act, 1 July 2026 (Department of Finance) (as Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC))
- Australian Government Organisations Register (Department of Finance, data.gov.au) (listed from 11 December 2014 to the latest release (30 June 2026))