Gina Cass-Gottlieb Set for Another Five Years at the Helm of the ACCC
Gina Cass-Gottlieb Set for Another Five Years at the Helm of the ACCC
One of Australia's most influential regulators is set to remain in the job for another five years.
The Albanese Government has nominated Gina Cass-Gottlieb for a second term as Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, extending her leadership of the competition watchdog from 20 March 2027.
The appointment remains subject to agreement from the states and territories before being recommended to the Governor-General.
Cass-Gottlieb took over as ACCC Chair in March 2022 after spending 25 years as a senior competition and regulation partner at Gilbert + Tobin. She was also the first woman appointed to chair the ACCC since it became an independent statutory authority in 1995.
Her first term has coincided with a significant period of change in Australian competition law.
Most notably, the ACCC has overseen the implementation of what the Federal Government describes as the most substantial reforms to Australia's merger regime in more than 50 years.
Under Cass-Gottlieb's leadership, the regulator has also pursued major proceedings involving supermarkets, airlines and digital platforms, while establishing the National Anti-Scam Centre.
The next five years could prove equally significant.
Product safety, digital platforms and the implementation of Australia's new merger regime are among the areas that will continue to shape the ACCC's regulatory agenda. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said retaining Cass-Gottlieb would provide continuity in the regulator's leadership and strategic direction.
LawUno Insight
For Australia's competition lawyers, this is more than a leadership announcement.
A second Cass-Gottlieb term would mean continuity at the top of the ACCC during one of the biggest shifts in Australian competition regulation in decades.
And there is an interesting full-circle element to her career.
Cass-Gottlieb spent decades advising businesses on competition and regulatory matters from one of Australia's leading firms.
She now leads the regulator enforcing those rules.
If the reappointment process is completed, she could remain at the helm of the ACCC until 2032.