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'Section 189' tally suggests manageable workload under Australia's new merger regime

By James Panichi ( September 24, 2025, 06:05 GMT | Insight) -- Claims that low thresholds under Australia’s new merger regime will overwhelm the competition watchdog don’t appear to be supported by the past three months’ notification tally, with the regulator revealing it has issued just 82 “section 189” letters since July 1. Section 189 is the mechanism that allows for an informal clearance by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission between July 1, when the new mandatory and suspensory regime came into effect, and Dec. 31, when the old, voluntary-notification mechanism expires.Claims that low thresholds under Australia’s new merger regime will overwhelm the competition watchdog don’t appear to be supported by the last three months’ notification tally, with the regulator telling MLex that it had issued just 82 “section 189” letters....

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