Competition Policy

The Ministry provides policy advice on the Commerce Act and application of competition policy to specific sectors to ensure a competitive environment that supports innovative, efficient business enterprise. Our Competition Policy group also provides purchase advice on the Commerce Commission and advises on the international dimensions of competition policy.

Review of Franchising Regulation
The Ministry of Economic Development conducted a review of franchising regulation to explore whether there were any widespread problems in the franchising sector which required franchise specific regulation.

Commerce Commision Review of Purchasing and Accountability Arrangements
The objective of the Purchase and Accountability review was to assess the accountability and purchasing arrangements, and to determine if alternative arrangements provide a more appropriate balance between accountability and flexibility.

Commerce Commision Baseline Review
The objective of the review was to identify the level of appropriation (for Votes Commerce and Communications) required to sustain the ability of the Commission to supply the required outputs in a manner that reflects value for money.

The Commerce Commission
This page provides a brief background to the Commerce Commission (the competition and consumer protection regulatory authority) with an external link to the Commission's website.

Review of Parts 4, 4A, and 5 of the Commerce Act 1986
The Ministry of Economic Development is currently leading a review of Parts 4, 4A, and 5 of the Commerce Act. These parts relate to the control of goods and services and to authorisations and clearances.

Fees for Clearance and Authorisation Applications
Links to discussion papers and media on a review of the Commerce Commission’s fees, for notification by firms of potentially anti-competitive practices under the Commerce Act 1986, and decisions of whether firms can undertake these actions.

SOEs CRIs and the Commerce Act
Government proposal to allow State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and Crown Research Institutes (CRIs) to cooperate without breaching the Commerce Act.

Archive
Competition Policy topics which are no longer current can be found in the archive section. These documents may no longer be updated or contain the most current information, but are still provided for your reference.