POLICY STATEMENTS

The principal source of New Zealand competition law is the Commerce Act 1986. The purpose of this Act is to promote competition in markets for the long-term benefit of New Zealand consumers. It sets out to achieve this through provisions that facilitate the efficient operation of markets. In particular, it:

The Commerce Act was amended in 2001. A key change was the lowering of the merger threshold from one of 'dominance' to that of 'substantially lessening competition'.

The Commerce Commission, New Zealand's competition authority, may initiate an investigation into an alleged breach of the Act, which it does on the basis of information provided by the public and as a result of its own monitoring and surveillance activities.

The Commerce Commission does not provide policy advice. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is responsible for the provision of policy advice relating to competition law. The Ministry publishes a number of policy documents on its website, at www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/business/competition-policy.