11 July 2013 The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has authorised the Queensland Newsagents Federation (QNF) and its current and future members to collectively bargain with Tatts Group (including Golden Casket) for five years.

“Lottery products such as scratchies, lotteries and lotto are often an important part of a newsagent’s business. This authorisation is likely to give members of Queensland Newsagents Federation the opportunity to provide more input into the terms of their lottery agency agreements, which is likely to ultimately result in more efficient agreements,” ACCC Deputy Chair Dr Michael Schaper said.

There are approximately 1100 lottery agents in Queensland. Many lottery agents are also newsagents and all are small businesses.

The ACCC has previously authorised similar collective bargaining arrangements for lottery agents including newsagents in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, and Victoria. It has also previously authorised similar collective bargaining arrangements by the Lottery Agents Queensland.

“The collective bargaining arrangements will also give many Queensland newsagents a choice of collective bargaining group for lottery arrangements,” said Dr. Schaper.

Authorisation provides statutory protection from court action for conduct that might otherwise raise concerns under the competition provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. Broadly, the ACCC may grant an authorisation when it is satisfied that the public benefit from the conduct outweighs any public detriment.

More information about the application for authorisation and the ACCC’s decision is available at the Authorisation Register.