AICD lodges submission to ACCC consultation on beneficial collaboration and class exemptions to support productivity

The AICD supports the ACCC’s exploration of new class exemptions that can unlock responsible, productivity-enhancing collaboration between businesses while maintaining appropriate competitive safeguards. In its submission, the AICD recommends that the ACCC introduce targeted class exemptions in the following two key areas:

1. Sustainability-related collaborations: The AICD recommends the creation of a class exemption to provide a clear, low-risk framework - or “safe harbour” - for bona fide cross-sector sustainability initiatives. This would include collaborations addressing issues such as climate change, modern slavery, and sustainable supply chains. By offering regulatory certainty and reducing compliance burden, such an exemption would enable responsible collective action by business, drive innovation, and align Australia with emerging international practice. In doing so, it would help deliver material public benefits including enhanced productivity, improved environmental and social outcomes, and more resilient supply chains.

2. Cyber security and critical infrastructure information-sharing : The AICD also proposes a targeted class exemption to facilitate the timely, good-faith sharing of cyber threat intelligence and critical incident information between organisations, including competitors. This would strengthen national cyber security and critical asset resilience, remove legal barriers that currently discourage cooperation, and support government objectives under the 2023–2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy. The exemption would also complement obligations under the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018 (SOCI Act), helping to safeguard Australia’s economic and national interests.

The submission highlights that such exemptions would deliver long-term productivity and resilience benefits for Australia, reduce unnecessary legal uncertainty, and position Australian organisations to compete effectively in a global economy - while ensuring that competition principles are preserved.

The AICD encourages the ACCC to adopt a broad interpretation of public benefit when assessing potential collaborations, focusing on enabling initiatives that deliver net positive outcomes for the economy and community. As noted by the Treasurer following the recent Economic Reform Roundtable, regulators should aim to strike the right balance between risk and growth, rather than regulating for edge cases.