Competition and Consumer Amendment (Responding to Exceptional Circumstances) Bill 2026

The majority voted in favour of a motion to agree with the remaining stages of the bill so it can now pass. In other words, they voted to read it for a third time. This means the bill will now be sent to the House of Representatives for their consideration.

What does this bill do?

According to the bills digest, which is a document prepared by the parliamentary library:

The Competition and Consumer Amendment (Responding to Exceptional Circumstances) Bill 2026 would amend the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (the CCA) to introduce a new power for the Minister to make exceptional circumstances declarations, and to allow the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to grant an authorisation or declare a class exemption in relation to conduct that might otherwise breach competition law, when this would assist in responding to the exceptional circumstances. The Bill would also increase the maximum penalties that could apply for breaches of the Oil Code of Conduct for the petroleum marketing industry.

The ACCC currently has powers to authorise specified conduct on application, or classes of conduct generally, that might otherwise breach some competition laws, where it is in the public interest to do so. This power includes authorising conduct in response to a declared national emergency under the National Emergency Declaration Act 2020 (NEDA).

• the amendments would provide an additional basis for the ACCC to authorise conduct in circumstances which may not meet the NEDA’s national emergency criteria.

Ministerial declarations would be open to disallowance by the Parliament. As a result of a Senate amendment introduced by the Greens, class exemptions would also be subject to disallowance.

Ministerial declarations, and ACCC authorisations and class exemptions may commence retrospectively, but no earlier than 1 April 2026.

The Oil Code of Conduct does not currently contain any civil penalties. The Bill would amend the CCA to increase the maximum penalties that could be applied to breaches of the Oil Code of Conduct, to reflect the higher penalties available for contraventions of the industry codes for franchising and food and grocery industries.