11 October 2024
The TCA supports the Australian Government’s goal for Australia’s merger regime to be ‘faster, simpler and stronger’, and the significant opportunity for Government to use these reforms to grow Australia’s tech ecosystem. Mergers and acquisitions are critical for Australian companies to scale into globally competitive tech companies, and are a significant exit strategy and incentive for innovation and growth in Australian tech startups.
We welcome the transition to a merger regime that is clear, provides certainty about the assessment of transactions and the process by which they will be assessed, and results in a timely outcome. In particular, the TCA is pleased to see Government respond to the concerns raised by the TCA and others in the consultation process, resulting in the removal of the market concentration thresholds, changes to the way that serial acquisitions are assessed and rolling back the changes to the competition test across the Competition and Consumer Act.
However, the TCA still has concerns regarding the proposed changes to the merger regime, and their likely impact on the tech sector. In particular, the TCA is concerned about thresholds over-capturing mergers, the potential for lengthy delays to the merger review process, and changes to the merger test. These changes may reduce the incentives for the founding of innovative tech startups in Australia, and making it a less attractive market to invest in.
We acknowledge the critical ways the Government has taken on feedback from the TCA. We look forward to working closely with the Government to continuously improve changes to the Act to benefit innovation and investment in the Australian tech ecosystem.
