Full Federal Court dismisses ACCC proceedings against Medibank

The Full Federal Court today dismissed the proceedings that were first brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) against Medibank in June 2016.

Justices Perram, Murphy and Beach found that Medibank had not engaged in misleading and deceptive or unconscionable conduct with respect to the communication of changes made to arrangements with some in-hospital diagnostic service providers in 2014. This followed a decision last year where Justice O'Callaghan had reached the same conclusion.

Medibank defended the ACCC’s appeal because it firmly believed it had not acted unlawfully or unconscionably nor had it misled or deceived its customers.

Quotes from Medibank CEO Craig Drummond:

“We are pleased that the Court has again dismissed the ACCC’s case, as we firmly believe that our actions were not unlawful.

“These proceedings, which were initially brought against Medibank in June 2016, relate to the communication of changes made to arrangements with some in-hospital diagnostic service providers in 2014.

“Over the past 2 years we have continued to focus on delivering for our customers, responding to their needs and improving our offering. Today’s decision means we can continue to focus on our customers.

“The progress in our company is pleasing but we must learn from this and ensure that in every decision we make we are prioritising the interests of our customers.”