From 1 January 2026, under its merger control regime the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (“ACCC”) must be notified of certain proposed transactions (including proposed acquisitions of property, leases or agreements to lease).

The parties must wait for approval before the proposed transaction can proceed.

The Competition and Consumer (Notification of Acquisitions) Determination 2025 prescribes notification thresholds. Background.

Failure to notify a notifiable acquisition can lead to the transaction being void and significant penalties of up to $50million or if more, 3 times the value of the reasonable attributable benefit obtained, or 30% of the corporations’ adjusted turnover during the breach period.

New non-control thresholds and asset acquisitions thresholds have been delayed until 1 April 2026.

On 18 December 2025, the Government published the Competition and Consumer (Notification of Acquisitions) Amendment (2025 Measures No.1) Determination 2025.

The changes made include:

• Amendments to the definition of ‘connected entities’ to exclude minority shareholders in certain situations.
• Changes to thresholds for asset acquisitions, including how to attribute revenue to assets for purposes of assessing monetary thresholds.
• Changes to thresholds for serial acquisitions.
• Identifying classes of share acquisitions that must be notified even though the transaction does not result in a change of control.
• Exemption for acquisitions of land in the ordinary course of business.
• Other financial markets exemptions.

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Author: David Jacobson
Principal, Bright Corporate Law
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About David Jacobson
The information contained in this article is not legal advice. It is not to be relied upon as a full statement of the law. You should seek professional advice for your specific needs and circumstances before acting or relying on any of the content.