Australia’s new, formal, mandatory and suspensory merger regime comes into effect on a voluntary basis on 1 July this year and will be mandatory from 1 January 2026. Join G+T partners Elizabeth Avery, Louise Klamka and Jeremy Jose for a webinar first livestreamed in April on the coming notification thresholds and waivers, the timelines, the new framing of the merger test, the long and the short of the forms – and the pieces of the puzzle still to come. And keep an eye out for the next webinar on 18 June!
Presentation slides 
Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team 
Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au  

 

Australia&rsquo;s new, formal, mandatory and suspensory merger regime comes into effect on a voluntary basis on 1 July this year and will be mandatory from 1 January 2026. Join G+T partners Elizabeth Avery, Louise Klamka and Jeremy Jose for a webinar first livestreamed in April on the coming notification thresholds and waivers, the timelines, the new framing of the merger test, the long and the short of the forms &ndash; and the pieces of the puzzle still to come. And keep an eye out for the next webinar on 18 June!
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cdn.bfldr.com/FM3YDCO2/as/v64kb4fw4rg6pmcx65p6/Gilbert__Tobin_-_A_practical_guide_to_the_new_Australian_merger_regime_-_Part_1">Presentation slides</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Meet the Gilbert + Tobin&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gtlaw.com.au/expertise/competition-and-regulation" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.gtlaw.com.au/expertise/competition-and-regulation&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1742889503795000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3jF42K_jKwHX2B48WQZStr">Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation</a>&nbsp;team&nbsp;</li>
<li>Email us at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:edge@gtlaw.com.au">edge@gtlaw.com.au</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;

Get the lowdown on developments in competition law in Australia and around the world with The Competitive Edge, a competition law podcast. Each fortnight Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein explore insights and trends with our resident experts and special guests to give you the competitive edge. 

Get the lowdown on developments in competition law in Australia and around the world with The Competitive Edge, a competition law podcast. Each fortnight Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein explore insights and trends with our resident experts and special guests to give you the competitive edge.&nbsp;

The Competitive Edge

Australia’s new merger reforms have commenced and mark the most significant overhaul in how mergers and acquisitions are regulated in decades.

The changes introduce a mandatory notification process, giving the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) greater power to assess deals before they proceed. The regime is complex and any failure to notify applicable transactions to the ACCC results in a deal being automatically void – so it is critical that you understand how the rules will affect you.

This playlist contains The Competitive Edge podcast episodes relevant to this topic.

Australia&rsquo;s new merger reforms have commenced and mark the most significant overhaul in how mergers and acquisitions are regulated in decades.
The changes introduce a mandatory notification process, giving the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) greater power to assess deals before they proceed. The regime is complex and any failure to notify applicable transactions to the ACCC results in a deal being automatically void &ndash; so it is critical that you understand how the rules will affect you.
This playlist contains The Competitive Edge podcast episodes relevant to this topic.

Australia's new merger reform regime: The Competitive Edge

Get the lowdown on developments in competition law in Australia and around the world. Gilbert + Tobin’s Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein explore insights and trends with leading experts to give you the competitive edge.

Get the lowdown on developments in competition law in Australia and around the world. Gilbert + Tobin&rsquo;s Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein explore insights and trends with leading experts to give you the competitive edge.

Anatomy of a Merger: Partners Elizabeth Avery, Louise Klamka and Jeremy Jose on the practical implications of the new merger process

Reforms to the merger reforms

Peter Warren / Wakeling Automotive deal

Kimberly Clarke / Kenvue deal

Unfair Contract Terms - ASIC v CashnGo

Agentic AI and Antitrust Authorisations

Interview with ACCC Commissioner Luke Woodward

Wrap up

Commissioner Luke Woodward takes us through the ACCC's evolving approach to enforcement – from undertakings and infringement notices to dawn raids and court action – and how the ACCC is grappling with, and using, AI. Plus the latest merger reform reforms recalibrate the new regime; the one remedy to rule them all; unfair contract terms and irony in ASIC v CashnGo; and calls for antitrust authorisations to avoid anthropomorphised AI agents absconding … All this and our 5th birthday with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. 

Links
"The Equalizer" intro  
Breaker Morant trailer 
Edward Woodward's Scottish accent in The Wicker Man 
G+T on the latest changes to the merger review framework 
The Peter Warren/Wakeling Automotive and Kimberly-Clark/Kenvue deals on the acquisitions register 
Kia: The Features Film 
The ASIC v Venture 5 Group (t/as CashnGo) proceedings 
Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and Ian Jackman as Justice Wolverine   
ABC on the OpenAI agent breakout in the AI's own words 
Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team 
Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au  

Commissioner <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/luke-woodward-compreg/">Luke Woodward</a> takes us through the ACCC's evolving approach to enforcement &ndash; from undertakings and infringement notices to dawn raids and court action &ndash; and how the ACCC is grappling with, and using, AI. Plus the latest merger reform reforms recalibrate the new regime; the one remedy to rule them all; unfair contract terms and irony in ASIC v CashnGo; and calls for antitrust authorisations to avoid anthropomorphised AI agents absconding &hellip; All this and our 5th birthday with co-hosts <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/moyadodd/">Moya Dodd</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-rubinstein-8b7711133/">Matt Rubinstein</a>.&nbsp;
Links
<ul>
<li data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="2">"The Equalizer" <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljvdTh1jq-Y">intro</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="2">Breaker Morant <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCh4xtIQPvY">trailer</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="2"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXq-NuS24fg">Edward Woodward's Scottish accent</a> in The Wicker Man&nbsp;</li>
<li data-aria-posinset="4" data-aria-level="2">G+T on <a href="https://www.gtlaw.com.au/insights/australian-government-passes-legislation-making-critical-changes-to-Australias-merger-control-regime">the latest changes to the merger review framework</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li data-aria-posinset="5" data-aria-level="2">The <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/public-registers/acquisitions-and-mergers-registers/acquisitions-register/peter-warren-wakeling-automotive-0">Peter Warren/Wakeling Automotive</a> and <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/public-registers/acquisitions-and-mergers-registers/acquisitions-register/kimberly-clark-corporation-kenvue-inc">Kimberly-Clark/Kenvue</a> deals on the acquisitions register&nbsp;</li>
<li data-aria-posinset="6" data-aria-level="2"><a href="https://whatiswong.com/Kia-The-Features-Film">Kia: The Features Film</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li data-aria-posinset="7" data-aria-level="2">The <a href="https://www.asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2026-releases/26-203mr-court-orders-cashngo-to-pay-35-million-penalty-for-unfair-contract-terms">ASIC v Venture 5 Group (t/as CashnGo)</a> proceedings&nbsp;</li>
<li data-aria-posinset="8" data-aria-level="2">Hugh Jackman as <a href="https://youtu.be/mszdaYlCDes?t=28">Wolverine</a> and Ian Jackman as <a href="https://youtu.be/5lYaeyG5-as?t=1432">Justice Wolverine</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li data-aria-posinset="9" data-aria-level="2">ABC on the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-11/how-openai-agents-hacked-hugging-face-messages-revealed/107125126">OpenAI agent breakout in the AI's own words</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li data-aria-posinset="10" data-aria-level="2">Meet the Gilbert + Tobin <a href="https://www.gtlaw.com.au/expertise/competition-and-regulation">Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation</a> team&nbsp;</li>
<li data-aria-posinset="11" data-aria-level="2">Email us at <a href="mailto:edge@gtlaw.com.au">edge@gtlaw.com.au</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

The Equalizer: Commissioner Luke Woodward on the new era of enforcement at the ACCC

Proposed reforms to the merger reforms

Serial acquisitions - Vets Central deal

Microstar/Konvoy deal

ACCC v Subaru - motor vehicle info scheme

FIFA Forward Enterprise

Interview with Jamie Guthrie + Geoff Petersen

Energy partner Jamie Guthrie and Competition partner Geoff Petersen give us some good news on the energy transition, along with the challenges that lie ahead -- what the governments and energy networks are doing, the impact of data centres, how to finance it all, and a quasi-carbon tax. Plus merger reform reform gets closer, serial acquisitions in pets and vets, carmakers pull a fast one and the ACCC is furious, and FIFA finds out … All this and Marty McFly with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. 

Links: 
Dr Emmett Lathrop Brown PhD on 1.21GW 
The long-awaited Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Accountability for Tax Adviser Misconduct and Other Measures) Bill 2026 
More French leave in the Phase 2 Adelaide Hills vet merger, and the Microstar/Konvoy beer keg merger is 86ed 
The Furious 7 skydriving scene and the ACCC's case against Subaru 
The Hood's many defeats on The Thunderbirds 
The Nelson Review, aka the National Electricity Market wholesale market settings review
RES Group's 1.21GW 
Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team 
Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au  
Shai-Hulud 

Energy partner Jamie Guthrie and Competition partner Geoff Petersen give us some good news on the energy transition, along with the challenges that lie ahead -- what the governments and energy networks are doing, the impact of data centres, how to finance it all, and a quasi-carbon tax. Plus merger reform reform gets closer, serial acquisitions in pets and vets, carmakers pull a fast one and the ACCC is furious, and FIFA finds out &hellip; All this and Marty McFly with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.&nbsp;
Links:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="2">Dr Emmett Lathrop Brown&nbsp;PhD on&nbsp;<a href="https://youtu.be/gw5Ejh-SyEE?t=266">1.21GW</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="2">The long-awaited&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r7514">Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Accountability for Tax Adviser Misconduct and Other Measures) Bill 2026</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="2">More French leave in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/public-registers/acquisitions-and-mergers-registers/acquisitions-register/vets-central-%E2%80%93-hills-veterinary-centre-0">Phase 2 Adelaide Hills vet merger</a>, and the Microstar/Konvoy <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/public-registers/acquisitions-and-mergers-registers/acquisitions-register/microstar-logistics-konvoy">beer keg merger is 86ed</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li data-aria-posinset="4" data-aria-level="2">The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYb43iY2Nk0">Furious 7&nbsp;skydriving scene</a>&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/subaru-in-court-for-allegedly-failing-to-give-independent-repairers-equal-access-to-car-repair-information">ACCC's case against Subaru</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li data-aria-posinset="5" data-aria-level="2"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nutI6fF08rs">The Hood's many defeats</a>&nbsp;on&nbsp;The Thunderbirds&nbsp;</li>
<li data-aria-posinset="5" data-aria-level="2"><a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/energy/markets/nem-wms-review">The Nelson Review</a>, aka the National Electricity Market wholesale market settings review</li>
<li data-aria-posinset="6" data-aria-level="2">RES Group's&nbsp;<a href="https://www.res-group.com/au/resources/res-sells-large-245mwdc-australian-solar-farm-to-iberdrola/">1.21GW</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li data-aria-posinset="7" data-aria-level="2">Meet the Gilbert + Tobin&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gtlaw.com.au/expertise/competition-and-regulation">Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation</a>&nbsp;team&nbsp;</li>
<li data-aria-posinset="8" data-aria-level="2">Email us at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:edge@gtlaw.com.au">edge@gtlaw.com.au</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li data-aria-posinset="9" data-aria-level="2"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ofkdCUDCEqM">Shai-Hulud</a>&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

1.21GW: Jamie Guthrie and Geoff Petersen with the good news on the energy transition 

ACCC and AER annual regulatory conference

Golden Globes & HFPA

Eloise Schnierer and Kimberly Peckham

Fiona Jose, Shane Phillips and Rachel Perkins

Danny Gilbert on the corporate challenge

That's a RAP: First Nations leaders Rachel Perkins, Fiona Jose and Shane Phillips join us at the Sydney launch of G+T's new Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan. What's a RAP, what's a Stretch RAP, what's our RAP, and what's the competition and consumer connection? Plus optimism and pessimism, model Ts and AI at the ACCC/AER Regulatory Conference, the Golden Globes lodge the Penske File, and the plan to wrap the Opera House. All this and more with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. 

Links:   
Things that Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapped or wanted to wrap 
Jayde Richmond from the National Anti-Scam Centre at the Bannerman Competition Lecture 
AER's final decision on the Basslink conversion 
Marinus Link and Marinus Dijkhuizen  
G+T on the new mandatory standards for large-scale data centres and the Office of AI 
Bono at the 2003 Golden Globes (NSFW)  
Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team 
Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au  

That's a RAP: First Nations leaders Rachel Perkins, Fiona Jose and Shane Phillips join us at the Sydney launch of G+T's new Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan. What's a RAP, what's a Stretch RAP, what's our RAP, and what's the competition and consumer connection? Plus optimism and pessimism, model Ts and AI at the ACCC/AER Regulatory Conference, the Golden Globes lodge the Penske File, and the plan to wrap the Opera House. All this and more with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.&nbsp;
Links:  &nbsp;
<ul>
<li data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="2">Things that Christo and Jeanne-Claude&nbsp;<a href="https://kaldorartprojects.org.au/john-remembers-christo-and-jeanne-claude/">wrapped or wanted to wrap</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="2">Jayde Richmond from the National Anti-Scam Centre at the&nbsp;<a href="https://youtu.be/dJ1KPYSe2PM?t=104">Bannerman Competition Lecture</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="2">AER's final decision on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aer.gov.au/industry/registers/determinations/basslink-determination-2025-30/final-decision-basslink-conversion">Basslink conversion</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li data-aria-posinset="4" data-aria-level="2"><a href="https://www.marinuslink.com.au/">Marinus Link</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marinus_Dijkhuizen">Marinus&nbsp;Dijkhuizen</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li data-aria-posinset="5" data-aria-level="2">G+T on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gtlaw.com.au/insights/australian-government-announces-mandatory-ai-standards-for-large-scale-data-centres-and-new-office-of-ai">new mandatory standards for large-scale data centres and the Office of AI</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li data-aria-posinset="6" data-aria-level="2">Bono at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEIWI15F6aA">2003 Golden Globes</a>&nbsp;(NSFW)&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li data-aria-posinset="7" data-aria-level="2">Meet the Gilbert + Tobin&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gtlaw.com.au/expertise/competition-and-regulation">Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation</a>&nbsp;team&nbsp;</li>
<li data-aria-posinset="8" data-aria-level="2">Email us at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:edge@gtlaw.com.au">edge@gtlaw.com.au</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

Anatomy of a Merger: Partners Elizabeth Avery, Louise Klamka and Jeremy Jose on the practical implications of the new merger process

Australia's new merger reform regime: The Competitive Edge

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