Canberra, 11 April 2022 – The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and Competition Law Implementation Programme (CLIP) hosted twenty-two (22) participants for the inaugural “CLIP Alumni Event”. CLIP secondment alumni from 2016 to 2019 joined a virtual workshop facilitating knowledge sharing, networking, and regional cooperation. AANZFTA CLIP is delivered with support from the AANZFTA Economic Cooperation Support Programme (AECSP) and in cooperation with the ASEAN Secretariat.

The event featured a keynote presentation from Ms Rose Webb, former CEO of the Hong Kong Competition Commission. Ms Webb spoke to the alumni about the evolution of a regulator’s role, key challenges facing regulators in the post-pandemic environment, and the value of strong information-sharing networks such as the CLIP alumni.

Ms Jasmine Rose Macquiling, a CLIP ’19 alumni from the Philippine Competition Commission, said of the keynote, “Ms Webb provided an enlightening reflection on how competition regulation has evolved over her career. When looking at my own, I am excited by what might happen in the future, especially with people getting to know more about the benefits of competition in the market through our enforcement and advocacy work. I would like to thank CLIP for giving me the chance to experience a secondment to the ACCC and make many new connections.“

The event also featured a panel discussion and small group sessions. Secondees reflected on their secondments and how they have implemented the skills, development, and current competition law challenges in their jurisdictions.

Ms Julie Glasgow, CLIP Director, closed the workshop by saying, “The secondment programme, run in cooperation with the New Zealand Commerce Commission, is a highlight of the work we deliver. We are very excited to find opportunities in the next phase of CLIP to recommence secondments and grow this alumni group in support of regional cooperation on competition law and policy.”

For further information, please contact the AANZFTA Support Unit at aanzfta_inquiry@asean.org or the AANZFTA CLIP Team at clip@accc.gov.au.