The Federal Court has found ARM Architecture and former Managing Director Anthony John Allen guilty of rigging bids for a $250 million facility at Darwin’s Charles Darwin University.
The practice admitted to the court it had attempted to engage in cartel conduct when Allen sent emails to eight architecture firms in September 2020, asking the firms not to bid for the second phase of the project, after ARM had undertaken the first.
Allen claims he had attempted to induce the other architecture firms to make an arrangement or arrive at an understanding with ARM, containing a cartel provision. When the university was made aware of the allegations, ARM was excluded from tendering, with Allen leaving the practice in March 2022.
“I made a very serious mistake by attempting to induce the other firms to engage in bid-rigging, and this has had serious consequences for me,” Allen’s educative notice reads.
“I have lost my position, my reputation, and my involvement in a profession that I love. Do not do what I did. Learn from my mistakes. Whatever pressure you may be under, and whatever motivation you may have, do not attempt to induce others to engage in cartel conduct.”
ARM is subject to a penalty of $900,000, while Allen himself will pay a personal penalty of $75,000 for his involvement. The practice has also been ordered to conduct an education, training and compliance program relating to obligations under the Competition and Consumer Act and pay part of the ACCC’s costs, with Allen additionally instructed to contribute to the ACCC’s costs.
“This judgement should serve as a strong reminder for everyone, including professionals and professional services firms, that bid rigging is against the law, no matter what industry you are in,” Cass-Gottlieb says.
“When a business attempts to rig a bid or form a cartel, they harm competition by unfairly seeking to advance their interests over those of its customers. When they do so on a public project, they are also doing so at the expense of the public purse.”
Allen will now seek to have an educative notice about his experience published under his name on the website of the Architects Registration Board of Victoria, which will serve as a warning to fellow built environment professionals. The orders were made following joint submissions by the parties and the ACCC to the Court, including in relation to the form of final declarations and orders.
“The ACCC has recently enhanced its cartel detection program and we encourage public procurement officials to be alert to the signs of bid rigging and other cartel conduct in public tenders. If they have any concerns, they can report the matter to the ACCC, and they can do so anonymously,” Cass-Gottlieb concludes.
