Time: 7.30am sharp for 7.40am to 8.50am
Venue: HopgoodGanim Lawyers boardroom A, Level 8, Waterfront Place, 1 Eagle Street, Brisbane
After new trade practices legislation was introduced last year, Australia now has some of the toughest cartel laws in the world. Not only have new laws shifted the boundary between legitimate arrangements and unlawful collusion, the penalties for a breach are severe, and extend to imprisonment for individual offenders, including company directors and (potentially) members of joint venture management or operating committees.
In the resources sector, the most common collective project participation structure is the joint venture, often involving companies that are otherwise in competition to some extent. It is vital that you understand what constitutes cartel conduct and how these laws affect your existing and future joint ventures. Affected companies include those that are active in oil and gas, including coal seam gas, as well as those who target coal and hard rock mining.
This informative breakfast seminar, specially designed for resources companies, outlined:
- what constitutes cartel conduct;
- the different types of cartel provisions;
- what criminal and civil penalties apply for individuals and companies;
- how to use the joint venture exception to the cartel provisions and its limitations, as well as the impact of the new cartel provisions on existing documented and undocumented joint ventures; and
- the “red zones” you should look out for.
